Have you met Angel Jasmijn from Het Gooi yet?

“Hi everyone! I'm Jasmijn, 18 years old and from Het Gooi. I study law at the University of Utrecht. I used to have a part-time job in the hospitality sector that I did in addition to my studies, but due to the corona crisis that is unfortunately no longer the case. Because my classes are fully online, I have lots of spare time, so I decided to start babysitting again. A friend of mine told me about the Charly Cares app and how much she liked it, so I signed up and am now once again busy babysitting.”

“I still remember watching the press conference in which Rutte announced that primary schools too were to be closed immediately. In the time it took me to watch the press conference on my phone, I received 9(!) bookings. So, I would say that babysitting in corona times has been going quite well. I could even say that I am currently babysitting even more than I did before the corona crisis. I do however try to babysit for the same families as much as possible. I have two fixed babysitting addresses, for example. I visit one on Fridays, and the other books me a couple of times every week.”

“I'm careful about who I see and about my social circle in general. Not only for the sake of the parents and the children I babysit, but also for the sake my own family and friends. I only babysit for addresses I know and where I come more often anyway, so that I can keep my social circle as small as possible.”

“Because I mainly babysit for the same families, I know what to expect from the parents, and they from me. For example, we don't make any type of agreements or a schedule prior to the babysitting service, because that's sort of automatic by now. Of course, I always keep my distance and wash my hands regularly. However, keeping 1.5 m distance from the children is impossible, so I mainly keep an eye on the distance I keep from the parents. Luckily, it's easy to keep that distance, seeing as how most parents are usually at work in another room. Of course, they drop by to get a cup of coffee every now and then, but that's to be expected and I actually appreciate seeing them.”

“Yes! When I started and I wasn't so sure about what to do with the children, I came up with the idea to make our own memory game. It's super easy: you cut two A4 sheets into large shares and everyone draws a figure. You then turn clockwise (or counterclockwise) and the next person then has to copy your drawing. You'll end up with all these sets of two, and then the fun can begin! It's a great game and it trains the kids' memory. You can make the game even more fun by adding a theme to it, such as animals, princess, dinosaurs, etc.”