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Margaret Morrissey
Professor Sonja Andrus
English 1001.023
7 December 2015
Discourse Community Paper: Babysitting
By definition, the phrase “discourse community,” is “a group of people who share a set of
understood basic values and assumptions, and ways of communicating about those goals.” John
Swales, in The Concept of Discourse Community, once defined them as groups that have goals or
purposes, and use communication to achieve these goals. I choose the discourse community of
babysitters to interview and research about. This topic interests me because I am a babysitter
myself. I babysit or work at a daycare at least four days a week, get paid anywhere from $10 to
$18 per hour depending on the family, and I feel like I know a wide range of babysitters that
would be possible interviewee’s. I was also interested in getting parents feedback on topics such
as daycare centers, babysitters, pay rates, and more.
Before I dive into my research and interview portion of this paper, I believe it is
important for me to first give support as to why babysitters are in fact, a discourse community.
John Swales wrote an article, The Concept of Discourse Community, that demonstrates the six
principles a discourse community obtains, which are: having a broadly agreed set of common
public goals, have mechanisms of intercommunication among its members, uses its participatory
mechanisms primarily to provide information and feedback, utilizes and hence possesses one or
more genres in the communicative furtherance of its aims, in addition to owning genres, it has
acquired some specific lexis, and has a threshold level of members with a suitable degree of
relevant content and discourse expertise. (Wardle, 2011)
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A babysitter’s main goal would obviously be to care and nurture the children they are
called upon to watch, and to get paid accordingly for their time they provided to the families.
Another main goal I believe to be true, is the idea that a babysitter wants the parents they babysit
for to tell all their friends to hire you as well.
In regards to how babysitters communicate, it may seem somewhat intricate. To keep in
touch with parents, babysitters often use phone calls or texting in order to keep in contact with
parents, and many babysitters contact other babysitters to babysit for someone if they aren’t
available when asked. However, not all babysit are part of a daycare like I am, and many rely on
their own word of mouth to advertise themselves. This type of babysitter is certainly part of the
discourse of babysitting, but does not necessarily practice their discourse within a specific
community. An example of a specific community I found was found Care.com, which is an
online network to match caregivers up with people who need the help. For the sake of this paper,
I made an account and examined how the site works. Basically, you add in when you are free,
how far you’re willing to travel, references, a photo, and your set pay rate. Parents can then
access your profile and choose if you are a good fit for their family. On the Care.com website, I
found a discourse community of babysitters called, A Nanny on the Net. Members of Nanny on
the Net are practicing the discourse as well as being in a community. ("Nanny Needed in
Milford")
Babysitters within a discourse community may use mechanisms such as the Care.com
website to get information regarding gigs, as well as provide feedback about pay rate, time, and
more. In the Nanny on the Net community, they use forms of Facebook and email in order to
contact and refer clients.
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In reference to utilizing and using more than one genre, some babysitters may also
subscribe to magazines such as Parenting Magazine in order to find new ways to keep kids
entertained, as well as behaving appropriately.
Above is a photo example of a Parenting Magazine cover. ("Parenting")
In addition to owning genres, Care.com has acquired the specific lexis off babysitters. It
is sort of the “babysitter handbook” of Care.com, and includes many resources to use for finding
jobs, how to handle conversations appropriately and set boundaries with parents, a first aid
section for babysitters in immediate need of one, as well as basic knowledge any caregiver
should know such as CPR, Heimlich Maneuver, and more.
In regards to the final principle, the discourse community that I am a member of at St.
Ignatius Loyola School definitely has a hierarchy. We have adults that have been working at the
school for many years, young adults like me who have been there a few years and work as a
college student, as well as high schools just starting out. Once you become a college student, you
begin rotating the Fridays with the adults, that way you aren’t stuck working every Friday night.
Most of the new teenage workers will work on Friday nights, until they have grown older and
into the role better. That is definitely an example of something that is learned. On Care.com,
there are obviously babysitters more established than others, so I’m assuming they may get asked
to babysit more often than those new to Care.com
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Through my online research, I’ve noticed that on many parenting blogs many parents
don’t find it worth it to go on a nice date if they have to pay the babysitter a large amount of
money. Many parents say they spend more paying the babysitter than on the actual date, and
more research shows that teenage babysitters aren’t willing to turn down a night of going out
with friends if they aren’t getting paid decently. I can see both sides to these arguments. In most
cases, babysitters get paid per hour per child, and in my case and like many others, I get a few
bucks more if I have to drive the children anywhere. The going average rate is about $8 per hour.
In regards to daily life and daycares daycares, parents feel as if daycare is more affordable and
they find that it helps children learn social skills, manners, and receive better discipline.
Daycares provide meals, snacks, nap times. However, children may pick up bad habits from
other non-behaved children and won’t get as much individualized attention which are major
drawbacks to some parents. Other say even though babysitters come with a higher price tag,
many parents find the individualized attention, flexibility of a babysitter, and their child feeling
more comfortable in their own home worth it. Babysitters may also be able to help with meals,
consistency in house rules, transportation to after school activities, and housekeeping.
("Babysitters Now")
Hannah, a fellow employee of mine at St. Ignatius After School Care, said that she
worked there because she loved the kids, and after a long day at school it was easy for the
children to cheer her up. She said although it has frustrating times, like tantrums and accidents, it
was worth it. At the after school care center we work at, we are getting paid $10.50 an hour,
which is well worth it. Shannon, a peer of mine and fellow babysitter, stated that it’s a rewarding
occupation because she can watch the children grow and learn new things. Shannon finds it even
more rewarding that she is someone the children can look up to, and she takes that responsibility
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with great care. Shannon has gotten paid fairly for most babysitting gigs, besides one where she
was bold enough to step in and ask for more than $4 per hour. Although she loves the work, she
felt as if the child care duties were worth more than $4 per hour.
Jake, another co-worker of mine, is 25 years old and works at St. Ignatius After School
Care as an extra job he works when he is free. Jake has been working here for eight years, and
enjoys the upbeat energy the kids bring and has loved watching them grow up. He has seen some
kids since they were students in kindergarten, to now eighth graders about to move on to high
school. He is obviously high up on the hierarchy, but many parents that have just now signed
their children up to go to after care haven’t warmed up to him as well. Now, I know that Jake is
completely harmless, but there is a stereotype that only teenage girls are babysitters and boys
who babysit are creeps. However, Jake finds that parents come around quickly to him being
there.
Personally, my favorite part is watching the kids grow up. This is my fifth year working
there and seeing the children make important milestones such as graduating, choosing a high
school, perform in the school Christmas play, are so priceless! I have babysat many of the
families within their own home and the bonds I have formed with each family are amazing. This
may be one reason why I have found it hard to move out, knowing I wouldn’t see these kids and
families as much. I enjoy being a part of this community, and encourage anyone who loves
children and wants to pursue a career in a child-related field to begin getting experience now!
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Works Cited
"Babysitters Now." Babysitters Now. Web. 5 Dec. 2015.
"Nanny Needed in Milford." Care.com. 1 Dec. 2015. Web. 8 Dec. 2015.
"Parenting.”: Magazine. 8 Jan. 2014. Web. 8 Dec. 2015.
Wardle, Elizabeth A., and Doug Downs. Writing about Writing: A College Reader. Second ed.
Boston: Bedford/St. Martins, 2011. Print.