Online Class: Professional Babysitting Skills

You may have often heard the phrase, "What you don't know can't hurt you," or "Ignorance is bliss." However, in today's high tech world, knowledge is the key to success, and people with knowledge are in demand. Whether you are a scientist, doctor, mechanic, or babysitter, having the right knowledge is very important.

Very simply, knowledge can be defined as: things you need to know before you can do something. For example, before you can drive, you need to have someone give you driving lessons. Driving lessons give you the practical knowledge and training to pass your driving test, and become a good driver.

Similarly, this course will give you the practical knowledge to put together your own recipe for success as a great babysitter.

To become a great babysitter, you need to know about everything in this course. Each section of the course will take you through these important facts. Here are some of them:

1.   Important qualities you need to have as a great babysitter, and how to get these skills.

2.   To be a successful babysitter, you need to know your responsibilities, and also the responsibilities of the people hiring you. You also need to know how to make sure both you and the adults hiring you live up to these responsibilities.

3. You need to know how to prepare and present yourself, and how to interview adults to get all the information necessary to help you do a great job.

4.  You need to understand that the children's safety, and your personal safety, are most important while babysitting.

5.   You need to know how to feed, dress, bath, play, console, discipline, and take care of minor cuts or bruises, as well as any major emergencies that might arise while you are in charge.

6.   You need to know how to handle any special circumstances you may have with the child's parents, how much to charge, and how to collect your money.

This course helps you remember things by making you think about them, then helps you plan a course of action, and finally, helps to put your plan into action.

Think of why you want to be a babysitter.

• Do you like caring for kids?

• What ages of kids do you want to care for?

Preschoolers (ages 3-4)

School age (age 5 and older)

• Can you balance your school work and babysitting?

  Will babysitting affect your school work?

  What types of children will you be able to handle, and perhaps do your school work at the same time you are babysitting them?

• Can you balance your social life and babysitting?

  Are you willing to sacrifice spending time with friends, going to the mall, or other social activities?

• Can you take a babysitting or first aid course?

  Again, will it affect your school work or social life?

Think about the qualities of a babysitter:

•   Are you responsible around the house? People will leave not only their children, but their homes, in your care and you must be responsible to make sure the children are taken care of, and everything in the home is the way the parents left it when they return.
•   Are you safety conscious? The safety of the child, and your personal safety, are very important when you are a babysitter.
•  Can you put the needs of the kids before your own? You will often need to put the needs of an unhappy child before your personal need to finish your homework assignment.
• Can you handle problems with discipline? You may have to be the peace maker between quarreling siblings without taking sides, or discipline children for not doing what you ask them to.
•   Can you respect people's privacy? Remember, you will be in their homes and should keep away from drawers, e-mail and other personal information.
•   Do you panic easily? Or are you able to handle emergencies in a calm manner?

• Think of the types of kids you want to babysit. (Infants, toddlers, or children)
• Remember, you may not be allowed to babysit infants if you are under 18 years of age.
• Try to remember the qualities of your own babysitters. What did you like and dislike about them?

• Think about the real reasons you want to babysit.

 Is it simply to earn pocket money? Remember, babysitting is not easy, and if this is your only motivation for taking on the job, this may not be the best job to be involved in.

Put your thoughts down on paper as bullet points, similar to what this course is doing. It will help you remember things when you have to discuss them with someone, and also when you go to the next step, which is your plan.

Now that you have thought things over and decided that babysitting is really what you want to do, you can put together a plan of action. However, before you begin planning, discuss your thoughts with your parents if you're under 18 because:

 

• You may need to have your parents' permission to babysit if you are under 18 years of age.
• You will need dependable adults to support you in case of an emergency while babysitting.
• You may need transportation from your home to your babysitting location.
• You may need to know some of the laws governing babysitting that apply to your area.
• You may want to take a babysitting course, like the one offered by the American Red Cross, and will need your parents to enroll you in it.
• You may have to buy a babysitting toolkit and want your parents to help you get it.

 

Once you have gotten your parents' approval, you are ready to start on your next phase -- the plan -- which we will talk about in this course as well.