Entrusting someone to care for a child can be difficult. Finding a qualified babysitter requires time and effort, but the reward is well worth the assurance that children are in capable hands.
The recommendations of friends and family are best bets for finding reliable and capable babysitters. However, if the family is new to the area and doesn’t know how to find a sitter, they should ask neighbors or coworkers for recommendations, inquire at their place of worship, or talk to their pediatrician’s office for assistance.
Interviewing prospective sitters and checking their references will help narrow down sitter choices. “When talking with a prospective babysitter, parents need to find out about his or her experience caring for children and whether the sitter is certified in infant and child CPR or has taken a babysitting course,” said Kimberley Campbell, RN and Safe Sitter Instructor at Children’s Hospital. (Children’s Hospital offers both Infant and Child CPR and Safe Sitter on a regular basis as part of the Healthy Kids program).
In addition, parents may want to invite the sitter over for a “dress rehearsal” while parents are at home to familiarize the sitter with the family household and observe how he or she interacts with your child.
Once a babysitter has been chosen, parents need to prepare that sitter with certain information before leaving for a night out. Be sure to leave the sitter with the following information:
Parents should go over a child’s usual routine (homework, bedtime, mealtimes) and general house rules (i.e., TV, computer use, video games, playing outside, etc.).
Make sure the sitter knows where the parents can be reached at all times.
Point out where the sitter can find the number for poison control, which is 1-800-222-1222 (it should be posted in a prominent location).
Provide an emergency phone list that includes neighbors, friends, relatives, and the child’s doctor. Also, write the phone number and address of home in which the sitter is staying, so that in case of an emergency, the sitter can provide that information to the police or paramedics.
Show the babysitter where emergency exits, smoke detectors, and fire extinguishers are located. Demonstrate how to enable and disable security systems and alarms.
Parents may also want to enroll their sitter in a Safe Sitter Class at Children’s Hospital. Safe Sitter is a national organization that teaches safe babysitting techniques to adolescents ages 11-14. The class covers various situations that a babysitter might encounter including choking, feeding, when to dial 911 and how to perform rescue breathing. Parents can register their babysitter or child for the next Safe Sitter class, Saturday, February 12 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. by calling the Healthy Kids Hotline at (865) 541-8262. A complete list of class offerings is also available at www.etch.com.

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