to care for a child temporarily while parents are away
compound of baby + sit, first recorded in 1940s
Babysitting is literally sitting with babies - though they rarely stay sitting!
Childcare labor was systematized as female work in 20th-century domestic ideology. 'Babysitting' became gendered as temporary 'girls' work,' erasing professional childcare skill and adult male participation.
Use 'childcare' for professional contexts and when precision matters; 'babysit' remains colloquial but default to gender-neutral language for job roles.
["provide childcare","supervise children","childcare provider"]
Early childhood educators—predominantly women—pioneered developmental psychology (Montessori, Erikson's foundations). Their scientific contributions are often credited to male theorists.
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