A babysitter, or 'sitter', is a person paid to look after a family's child or children when the parents are away for a short time. Babysitters are often teenage females. Babysitters are different than nannies in that they only supervise, or look after, children for a short while instead of an extended length of time. Babysitters are popular in American and European countries, but now it is getting popular in Asian countries, like Japan and China.