Babysitting - International Variations in Definition

International Variations in Definition

In British English the term refers only to caring for a child for a few hours, on an informal basis and usually in the evening when the child is asleep for most of the time. In American English the term can include caring for a child for the whole or most of the day, and on a regular or more formal basis, which would be described as childminding in British English.

In Pakistan a babysitter or nanny is known as an ayah or aya, a person hired on a longer term contract basis to look after a child regardless of the presence of the parents.

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