Class gives teens tips on working in baby-sitting

By Venice Buhain | The Olympian • Published July 19, 2008

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OLYMPIA – Before the teens could watch other kids, they learned last week how to lift them up.

Resources for baby sitters

There are numerous checklists on the Web that baby sitters and parents can use to make sure baby-sitting goes smoothly.

Mount Rainier Chapter of the American Red Cross has a page dedicated to baby-sitting checklists. You also can find more about local classes, which offer a baby-sitting certificate that teens can put on a resume:

•www.rainier-redcross.org/ New_web/PROGRAMS/RedCrossBusinessofBabysitting.htm

Phoenix Police Department has some tips for baby sitters to help them stay safe at a client's home:

•http://phoenix.gov/POLICE/babysi1.html

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services also has a form that parents can fill with relevant emergency, medical and practical information for their baby sitter:

•www.4women.gov/Pregnancy/tools/babysitter.cfm
Baby-sitting words of wisdom

Here are some tips for teens thinking about getting into the business of baby-sitting:

•Baby sitter Victoria Zoller, 16, of Lacey, said she tries to visit the child's house and visit the kids before the actual job. "Get the lay of the land."

•Be patient with the children. "If you're just going to lose it, ... the little one learns from what you're doing," said Sophia Pettis, 12.

•Inspect the house for hazards and make sure things are out of reach of the children, such as stoves, knives, scissors and plastic bags. "Make sure there are no dangerous items that they can get to," Kaitlin Amador-Woodard, 12, said.

•Be nice and respect the parent's rules. "It's just nicer to be nice, and you don't want the kid to learn from you if you're not nice," Kaitlin said. "Also if you don't (be nice), you could get fired," Sophia said.

•Don't leave any questions unasked. It's better to ask the parent in person, before something becomes an issue, Zoller said.

•Don't panic if a child starts to cry. "Try to comfort them, hold them," Zoller said. The Red Cross recommends that baby sitters try to see if a child needs to be fed, changed, put down for a nap, comforted or played with, before calling the child's parent.

•Zoller doesn't bring toys or games, but prefers to use the child's games. "I'd have to sanitize it, if I brought it from kid to kid," she said.

•Know where the emergency first-aid kit and the telephone are. You might want to bring your own first-aid kit.

•Keep another adult's number nearby, just in case. "I know I can call my parents for backup," Zoller said. "I've never had to."

Sources: American Red Cross, Victoria Zoller, Kaitlin Amador-Woodard, Sophia Pettis

American Red Cross Mount Rainier Chapter volunteer Mike Jones demonstrated the basics of lifting a baby to the 14 students in "The Business of Babysitting" training session in Olympia.

"One hand under the back and the neck, one hand under the bottom, then you lift," he said, cradling the doll's head in his elbow.

"Now, does anyone know the football hold?" he asked.

Students between 11 and 15 years old were learning how to run a baby-sitting business and take responsibility for younger kids in the Red Cross training class.

For many, taking care of younger children is among a teenager's first jobs.

"Some of them have experience," said Jones, the instructor. "A lot of them have baby-sat for their siblings or relatives. But others have no experience."

The students learned about basics in business, such as how to advertise safely and how to write a resume for parents. They also learned how to feed and diaper a baby, which are skills that some of the students have never been exposed to.

They also got some primers in emergency planning and preparation, such as how to deal with a 9-1-1 call, questions to ask parents, and how to identify situations that might lead to a child choking or falling.

"They learn how to be preventative, and we make sure that they know they can do things to avoid a situation," said American Red Cross Mount Rainier Chapter spokeswoman Karen Kim. "It goes a long way to preventing those types of injuries."

Kim said that the class, which is offered year-round, is popular with teens who want to start a business and with parents who want their children to learn basic child care. She said some parents pay for the classes for their own baby sitters.

Jones said that the students do not learn CPR in the baby-sitting class, but are encouraged to take more specific first-aid and CPR training for children and infants.

Sophia Pettis and Kaitlin Amador-Woodard, both 12, said that they have taken care of their younger siblings, but they wanted to learn more about the business of baby-sitting and how to handle emergencies with younger kids.

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