Would you let Amelia Bedelia babysit your child? At the beginning of the story “Amelia Bedelia and the Baby,” Mrs. Rogers tells Amelia that she has to go babysit. Amelia claims that she does not know a thing about babies, but she still goes and makes many mistakes before Mrs. Lane returns. Although Amelia did not know how to babysit, the book still shows sexism against men and women both.
The book reveals to have many different instances where women are portrayed in many ways. A conversation between Amelia and Mrs. Rogers states, “I don’t know a thing about babies. How can I babysit?” “Why, Amelia Bedelia!” said Mrs. Rogers. “You are very good with children.” “Babies are children too.” “If you say so,” said Amelia Bedelia. “Now you run along, Mrs. Lane is waiting” (Parish 5). Amelia loses voice because she does not get the chance to explain herself instead Mrs.…show more content… Lane gets mad at Amelia for feeding the baby catsup and strawberries. This makes Amelia look bad because she is mad about something “dumb” that a woman would do. On page 58 the book emphasizes, “Mr. Lane ate a strawberry tart. “Delicious,” he said. “Don’t you ever--” said Mrs. Lane. But that was as far as she got. Her mouth was full of strawberry tart. “My favorite!” she said” (Parish). Mrs. Lane was mad at Amelia for several reasons but as soon as she tries her food, she suddenly likes Amelia again. This sends a message that women are known a lot for their ability to cook meals. From time to time throughout babysitting, Amelia does dumb things. For example, not realizing why Missy wanted a bottle. Notably the book stated, “Amelia Bedelia read, “Give Missy a bottle.” She hurried to the kitchen. Then she stopped. “That can’t be right, babies shouldn’t have bottles. They could break” (Parish 13). This is gender bias towards women because it is inferred already that women are known for doing dumb things or that it is expected of
