The job of babysitting requires proper training, otherwise in no way can a young person in the age group of 11-15 become a responsible babysitter. Therefore, people run to the organizations, which offer such courses.
Here is a brief preview of what is present in those interactive and activity-based courses, which include both a video and course handbook. The five areas, which get special emphasis in these courses, are:
a) Leadership: This segment addresses issues like personal responsibility, decision-making, communication skills and behavior management. Here a special method is used which is known as the FIND model. FIND stands for the following:
F – Figure out the problem
I – Identify the choices
N – Name the pros and cons
D – Decide what to do
In the behavior management section, students learn about the various ways of managing children, develop listening skills, and know about how to respond to typical child behaviors with patience.
They also learn about the positive approaches to teach the behavior to young children.
b) Safety and Prevention: This deals with two things: first, with General Safety and secondly with Safety in Play. First one addresses the various hazards that might happen in and around the house and also taking prevention against the spread of infection. The second one deals with Safety in Play that is, with the choice of play and play objects considering age and impact on safety.
c) First Aid: The third segment deals with what to do in an emergency and how to get help, and lessons in bleeding control, choking and rescue breathing
d) Basic Care: Here the discussion is held on how to care about physical needs like changing diapers, how to hold an infant and how to dress and feed them.
e) Professional Skills: This is very important for the students of the training course since this talks about the personal safety of the baby sitters, what they should choose and what job they should refuse. How will they assess various situations and then go for job hunting?
But now comes the trickiest part, which is for the parents. This is about how they can find the best nanny for their kids. The experts believe that the babysitter must possess the skills of trust and crisis management. Finding a Sitter You Trust
Before getting a baby sitter, look at the various statistical reports. According to them, accidental injuries cause maximum child death in the U.S. Before you hire any teenager as the nanny, make some enquiry about whether she knows about proper safety skills during emergency.
Where to Look and What to Ask
When you’ve decided that you need to get a baby sitter then the first and the best place to look for the person is within the community. After getting the names, check for the references.
See exactly what type of references is there and if there are families giving reference then immediately contact them for asking about the baby sitter.
Always observe Sitter Interaction with Your Kids
Now comes your part of checking the reaction of the sitter. Call the person over, ask him/her questions and check closely how he or she interacts with your children. It helps you know how much the baby sitter likes the kids or not. Ask him/her whether she has the proper training in first-aid. Always ask her what he or she will do in emergency situations. If the answers are affirmative then only hire the person.
Early Arrival Is the Key
Always ask the baby sitter to come over to your place half an hour before you leave for your work. And always remember to keep emergency telephone numbers with the baby sitter.
Discuss House Rules & Leave Contact Info
Always discuss the house rules with the baby sitter and give him/her the number where you can be reached always.
Call Home!
This is the most important thing. Make a call in the evening to see how is your baby, you can also call home whenever you find time and these calls might help you to avoid any potential problem.
Get a Debriefing
Once you get home start debriefing. This way you will come to know about the problem areas of the sitter. Some sitters are reluctant to admit any behavioral problems of the child if not asked. Therefore have a thorough discussion for your childs welfare.
Is He or She Qualified?
When choosing the baby sitter go by the American Red Cross Babysitter’s Training Program and check whether he/she is up to that standard.
So these are the tips for choosing a good baby sitter but the most important thing is go by your heart. Do you feel that this person can be entrusted with your child? If yes, then only go for the person.
