What would you do if someone knocks at the door while you were babysitting? Would you
know what to if the child started to choke? These are just two of the possible situations you can encounter while you are babysitting, and there are thousands more. The Babysitter Training Course by St Mark James better prepares teens for their first babysitting job. This training course is offered to teenage kids ages 11 and up. It goes through all the possible scenarios, empowering young teens to properly care for children and ensure their safety.
Completing a babysitter course (find a first aid course here) does not only boost your chances at getting a babysitting job, it actually trains you on how to handle emergencies and how to make decisions for the safety of the children. Furthermore, the training course equips you with basic first aid skills which can truly be lifesaving.
Some important things you can learn in a babysitting course include:
- Going through the interview process for the job
- Setting your rate
- Caring for, feeding, dressing and holding a baby
- Dealing with emergency situations (fire, injury, sickness)
- Knowing when and how to call for help
- Performing basic first aid
And there are a lot of valuable life lessons and skills that you can learn in between these modules. Building essential life values such as confidence, camaraderie, volunteerism, discipline, and more.
You might also consider taking a first-aid or CPR class (course list here) so you can learn how to properly handle injuries. Very young children have no value for safety, so it is not uncommon for them to suffer from minor injuries such as bruises, scrapes or cuts. Although not very common, children may also sustain more serious injuries such as choking, burns or drowning. First-aid classes offered by the workplace approved covers care for common childhood injuries. These courses also include infant CPR training to manage children who are not breathing.
Once you have completed the babysitting course, you will get a certificate or card to attest to your proficiency. This will boost your chances of getting a job and prepare you for the real job. It may sound all too simple but actually finding can be quite a challenge.
First, you have to go through the interview process. You should not only build up on your skills but also try to learn about the family – whether you will be comfortable working for them. If you the family does not make you feel comfortable – For whatever reason – do not take the job. Here are some red flags you should look for:
- You will be assigned to care for more than four kids (especially very young children and babies)
- You are not comfortable with the parents
- You observe the children are badly behaved
- You find the house totally messed up
- The parents insist you do tasks or chores that you are not comfortable with
It is very important that you talk with the parents and observe the family before accepting the job. Make sure you are comfortable working with the family; better yet, try out the job and see whether you will like the working arrangements.
Related Articles
- Essential Telephone Safety Tips for Babysitters – Read Here
- Emergency Planning – The First Steps of Home Safety – Read Here