Ways to say it
| Spanish | Romanization (Wiktionary) |
|---|---|
| cuidar niños (los) | de |
| hacer de canguro/niñero |
The phrase is used to describe watching or tending to someone else's child for a period of time, which is often a paid service.
Which one should you use?
The phrase cuidar niños is a neutral way to say 'to take care of children' and can be used whether you are being paid to babysit or simply helping out a friend.
Is there a formal and an informal way to say it?
hacer de canguro/niñero is a colloquial way to express the idea of babysitting. For a noun, you can use niñera to refer to a female babysitter or niñero to refer to a male babysitter.
Is it said differently in some regions?
In Latin America, specifically in places like Mexico, an informal way to say 'babysit' is Cuidar a los chicos. In Spain, the colloquial expression hacer de canguro is commonly used.
How does it change in a sentence?
When you are referring to specific children (the children), you must include the personal 'a' after the verb, resulting in cuidar a los niños.
How do you pronounce it?
de
Did you know?
- In Spain, the phrase hacer de canguro uses the word for 'kangaroo' to describe a babysitter. This metaphor treats the person as a carrier for the children.
- The verb cuidar shares a common ancestor with the English word 'cogitate', as both stem from the Latin 'cogitāre', which means 'to think'.
- In some contexts, cuidar can be used to express worry or concern for someone, moving beyond the act of babysitting.
Examples in context
- ¿Podrías hacer de canguro esta noche para que salgamos?Could you babysit tonight so we can go out?
Sources
- Wiktionary, “babysit” translations, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries cuidar, de, hacer, CC BY-SA 4.0.
