8 Desirable Certifications for Baby Sitters
One of the toughest tasks that parents face is selecting a good babysitter. While many parents rely on friends and family, others need to search among complete strangers for quality childcare.
The odds of getting a quality babysitter, is raised if you find a candidate with good certifications. Parents need to know that the babysitter - no matter what his or her age - is prepared for any emergency that might arise in their absence. While experience is important, it's not enough that someone has been watching children for years. People who watch children should be professionally trained to deal with emergencies.
Certifications Available
1. Babysitter Training Course
This training is aimed at young people turning 12 years of age within the calendar year or older who want to demonstrate their capabilities by completing the course under responsible direction. It includes topics such as:
- Caring for the Child
- Nutrition
- Safety and Basic First Aid
- Handling Emergencies
- The Sick Child
- Games and Play Activities
- Children with Special Needs
- Advice for Parents
- Rights and Responsibilities
- Child Development and Behavioural Problems
2. First Aid
All babysitters should be familiar with first aid.They need to know how to handle anything from a scrape on the knee, to a more serious injury, that requires them to stop a wound from bleeding.
3. CPR/AED
- Another requirement you may wish your babysitter to have is training and certification in CPR and/or AED (automated external defibrillator)
- They need to know what to do in the event that a child starts to choke or cannot breathe.
- There is training that is specifically for infants under two.
4. Swimming/Lifeguard
- This is a great certification for your babysitter to have if they plan on taking your children to the beach, pool or swimming lessons.
5. Safe Sitter
- This is a program taught through hospitals that not only teaches the basics of first aid and safety instructions, but they also get more in detail about to keep children safe.
- Some of the topics include preventing injuries or accidents, feeding infants and treating issues, such as diaper rash, bug stings and the cold.
6. Self-defence
- This is a great certification to have for babysitters.
- It gives you peace of mind especially if your babysitter plans on taking the kids to a park and so on.
- There is a good chance that it is training that will never be used, but somehow it does install a sense of security.
7. Music Instructor
- If your babysitter is a certified music instructor, it is a real bonus.
- Negotiate a combined rate if they are willing to give music instruction while they watch your children.
8. Driving Licence
- Having a babysitter with a driver's licence can be very convenient.
- You may or may not feel confident having the babysitter drive your children in your car. If they have taken a driver's education course you might feel better about this.
Parents who hire certified babysitters should expect them to be professional as well as prepared. As a result of their extensive training, certified babysitters are equipped with basic childcare information and are more likely to be better prepared to handle emergency and/or crisis situations. Further, they are able to enrich their time with the children because of their other skills and certification.
