"Can you watch her for a second?" Half of my sister's face peeked out from the side of my phone.
"Yeah!" I laughed. And that's how FaceTime babysitting burst into my life.
Before you freak out, it was literally for about 5 minutes. Maybe 8 minutes. It was before this whole worldwide health situation we're currently in, but now I think it was a precursor to what most of us need right now: FACETIME BABYSITTING.
Parents everywhere are drowning right now and have no way of bringing in a grandparent or babysitter to give them even just a little break. Thank God for technology.
How does babysitting over a device work?
We went on and on and on
We sang songs. My niece showed us her new shoes and where she keeps all her socks. (Riveting, I know.)
We did a funny face contest. We took turns snorting like pigs and barking like dogs. She was in her room by herself, with my sister's phone, and I was 250 miles away. After a few more minutes, my sister popped her head into the frame, saying, "Oh my gosh, thank you so much! You have no idea how much that helped me just now!"
Then we all said goodbye.
Why can't all of us start doing this FaceTime babysitting thing whenever we need a short break?
Because it totally worked
And there's no better time to make this a trend than when we're all stuck in a never-ending Groundhog Day. It's easy — just keep kids talking and showing and dancing and singing and playing while you watch and engage in any way that works via our screens. You could even each pick a day and time each week to rotate a story time with your friends, where one mom reads a book to all the kids and the rest get to just breathe. While this may sound hard enough to do with your own kids, trust me, it's different with someone else's.
Think about how all of our lives right now would feel instantly easier if we just jumped on this as a resourceful way to conquer our safer-at-home challenges or just to support each other through an "I just need a second right now" moment.
Using the restroom. Putting on makeup. Giving the baby a bath while her 5-year-old big sister wants attention. Jumping on a conference call. Finishing writing that email that you just can't seem to complete because you have a kid crying about how he wants to play Paw Patrol with someone and that someone is you. All of this could be possible if we utilize what's in front of us.
I mean, we have this technology. Why aren't we using it for our own peace of mind? We are in emergency mode right now. And, we need as much help as possible, even if that help comes through a screen.
So, who wants to FaceTime later?
