Preparation is key for teen babysitters

By Zenaida Serrano Espanol
Advertiser Staff Writer

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The Hickam resident loves the job because "it makes me feel good," she said. "I could help the parents out that need the babysitting ... so they can do whatever they need to do."

Many teens who babysit may occasionally also have to deal with problems while babysitting, whether it's a scrape on the child's knee, or in more extreme cases, a house fire.

Renae has never experienced any serious emergencies while babysitting, but she's well prepared, having taken a babysitter's training course given by the American Red Cross.

In other cases, however, teens who are hired on a whim for an emergency or a one-time babysitting are not formally trained at all, and experts say parents should not assume that all teen sitters know everything there is to know about childcare and home safety.

Whether a teen babysitter takes a formal babysitting class or has a careful discussion with the child's parents, some kind of preparation is imperative and can improve the safety level of care, experts say. For a successful babysitting experience, experts offer the following advice to parents and teenage sitters:

Tips for parents

The American Red Cross suggests that parents:

• Look for certain characteristics and traits in the prospective sitter.

  Parents should recruit from among relatives, friends and neighbors they know. Some of the characteristics parents should look for are teens who: are comfortable around children, are capable of assuming responsibility and have basic first aid skills.

• Always interview a prospective babysitter and talk with parents who have hired him or her before.

  The Red Cross suggests parents also allow time for the babysitter to ask questions.

• Tour the home with the sitter and point out important items such as fire extinguishers, phones and flashlights. Show the emergency escape plan.

The American Academy of Pediatrics advises parents to:

• Discuss feeding, bathing and sleeping arrangements for your children.
• Tell your sitter of any allergies or specific needs your children have.

Dawn Hewes, Renae's mother and an American Red Cross babysitting instructor, also offers these tips to parents:

• Provide a list of emergency phone numbers. (See box.)

  "Make sure that they have a list of telephone numbers, who to contact, where to contact (and) cell phone numbers," Hewes said.

• Review rules of the home with the babysitter.

  These include, for example, whether or not the sitter and child are allowed to go outside together and where to; things the babysitter shouldn't touch; things the child can or can't play with; and rules regarding television and computer time.

• Always let the babysitter know how he or she did.

  "It's always good for the kid to get feedback saying whether they did good or if there was something that they didn't do right," Hewes said, "because they'll never know if you don't tell them."

  Hewes said that if parents think the sitter handled a situation in the wrong way, they should discuss it with the sitter in a calmly matter, saying to the teen something like, "Maybe next time we should probably do this ... "

  Discussing such things with the teen, Hewes said, can help them improve their babysitting skills.

Tips for teens

The American Academy of Pediatrics advises teens to:

• Always phone for help if there are any problems or questions.
• Never open the door to strangers.
• Never leave the children alone in the home — even for a minute.
• Never give the children any medicine or food unless instructed to do so by the parents.

Hewes also recommends that teens:

• Don't hesitate to ask questions.

  The interview process should go both ways, Hewes said. She suggests babysitters ask parents about how they should handle emergency situations or situations in which the child misbehaves.

  "Ask the parents what (the children) can or cannot do," Renae added.

• Plan activities for the child ahead of time.

  "If you're babysitting for long periods of time, always try to prepare yourself before hand," said Hewes, who suggests sitters plan various activities such as reading or arts and crafts, especially for toddlers.

  "Anything that you can probably think of to occupy them because toddlers are harder to occupy than, say, a 5 or 6 year old," she said.

  Renae suggested that sitters "bring toys that the kids are allowed to play with," she said.

• Carry a first-aid kit with you if you leave the house with the child.

  Hewes said if the sitter has permission from the parents to leave the house with the child, such as to go to the park, the teen should carry a small first-aid kit, which they could put together themselves. Items would include "little things that are not too heavy to carry," she said, like bandages, antiseptic, tweezers and small scissors.

• Give a full report to the parents when they come home.

  The babysitter should tell parents, for example, how many times they changed the infant's diaper, how often and what the child ate, if the child napped and for how long, how the child reacted with the sitter and if there were any problems in general, Hewes said.

Important phone numbers

The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends parents leave a list of the following numbers with their sitters:

• Parents (include cell phone and pager numbers)
• Neighbors (include cell phone and pager numbers)
• Doctor
• Fire/rescue
• Police
• Poison center
• Home phone
• Home address

Reading list

The following books can offer babysitters, young and old, and parents, tips for a successful babysitting experience:

• "50 Best Babysitting Tips" (Pleasant Company Publications, $1.95, hardcover)
• "American Red Cross Babysitter's Handbook" (American Red Cross, $9.75, paperback)
• "Guide to Baby-Sitting" (Apple, $3.99, paperback)
• "The Babysitter Survival Kit: A Guide for Parents and Sitters" (Time Life, $14.95, paperback)
• "The Ultimate Baby-Sitter's Survival Guide", (Focus on the Family, $5.99, paperback)