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| |    Babysitting Training Resources by Susan E. Davis reviewed by Connie Harvey Back when I was a teenager, girls embarked on their babysitting career simply by letting parents in the neighborhood know that they were available. The idea of getting training, certificates, or any other kind of preparation was unheard of. In fact, I can distinctly remember calling my mother from my first babysitting job (at the tender age of 12), because the one-month-old in my care wouldn't stop crying. My mother advised me to put the baby on his tummy and rub his back until he fell asleep. How times have changed! These days, there's far more publicity about safety concerns, with everything from the need to put babies to sleep on their backs to prevent sudden infant death syndrome to the importance of using child car seats properly. That means that becoming a successful babysitter involves some preparation so that your son or daughter can assure parents that they can deal with the behavioral and safety aspects of the job, as well as any professional issues that might arise (such as salary negotiations, marketing, and interviewing). Of course, there's much you can teach your daughter or son about child care at home, and your local middle or high school also may have a program for teaching babysitting skills. Besides looking at the wealth of information found on drSpock.com about caring for children of all ages, here are some other resources, including two nationally based programs that help prepare preteens and teens for their new responsibilities: The American Red Cross Babysitter Course This nine-hour course teaches 11- to 15-year-old boys and girls decision-making skills, basic child care such as diapering and feeding techniques, and even a few rudimentary child-development concepts (e.g., what is safe play at different developmental stages). It also introduces them to some first-aid basics and professional considerations, such how to find babysitting jobs and negotiate for pay. Participants receive a Red Cross babysitter's handbook that they can carry with them, as well as forms for recording interview details and important phone numbers. The Safe Sitter Course The Safe Sitter course, which is offered primarily through hospitals, targets children between the ages of 11 and 13. Like the Red Cross course, it covers the basics of safety, routine care, child behavior (and behavior management, such as stopping tantrums and using timeouts effectively), and professionalism. Go to www.safesitter.org to find out where the class is given near you. First-aid courses Neither the Red Cross nor the Safe Sitter class offer certificates in first aid or CPR, although both offer an introduction to those topics. To further prepare your child, enroll him or her in a first-aid class and perhaps infant and child CPR training. Such skills are invaluable, and could be crucial in the case of choking, drowning, electrocution, or other medical emergency. It's also a big, big selling point with parents looking for babysitters.
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