But the fun started on the drive to World of Coke when the tire on my Mom’s 1996 station wagon blew out.

Today babysitter Lily, a 17-year old rising junior at Grady High School is weighing in on how she has kept her clientele occupied in these last days before school starts anew. Lily currently works for three different families with kids of varying ages…here’s her report:

There are different approaches for different ages. For the older kids, it’s best to stick to a single tactic: distraction. Blake (8) and Isabela (10) are the two older kids I’m watching this summer and they are all about GO GO GO. We've hit two summer blockbusters: Toy Story 3 and Despicable Me. Toy Story 3 was a fun kid-friendly movie –one of those movies that kids and adults like – great humor for all ages. Despicable Me – was hilarious. I can’t wait for my parents to see it –the lead character is the voice of Steve Carrel– loved him in “Little Miss Sunshine” and of course I’m addicted to “The Office”. This is a movie for all audiences.

Another fun diversion was our trip to World of Coke. But the fun started on the drive to World of Coke when the tire on my Mom’s 1996 station wagon blew out. It was a 100 degrees and there we sat on the side of the road till my Dad showed up to rescue us. It was worth the trouble, because at the World of Coke, we saw a very cool 4-D movie---they actually squirt water at you and the seats move-very cool! The kids went wild. Of course the taste-testing is the best -- then we walked across the street to the playground at World of Coke, which was a good energy-outer, since I’d just juked up these kids with 8 million gallons of caffeine! The playground was a great diversion while waiting for my dad to return the station wagon with a new tire.

I also work with two other families with little ones --Mary, 2, Sally, 6 months, Emma, 2 and Laurie, 10 months. This is a completely different experience from working with the older kids mostly because there's no need to talk --the children are amused for hours by something as simple as a bug on the wall. Keeping the younger ones happy is an easy job, but it comes with its share of consequences. Changing diapers, going down for nappy time and struggling with onezies can get hectic at times.