Baby Sitters in Training

It is a right of passage in growing up: baby-sitting for your younger brother or sister, a cousin or another family in the neighborhood. For many kids it is a first job, a way to earn some extra money and a true lesson in responsibility.

For many parents a baby sitter who knows the ropes and loves their kids is a necessity to everyday life.

Several local youth participated in the American Red Cross baby-sitting course offered by the . The program teaches future sitters the important factors in caring for both infants and young children.

Students learned the basics like how to correctly pick up and hold a child, to prepare a bottle or spoon-feed a baby and how to change a diaper. They practiced these fundamentals on dolls.

“I don’t think this is going to fit,” said 12-year-old Maddie Alesia, of Grayslake, as she flipped and turned both the doll and the diaper back and forth several times before figuring it out.

“This is good practice,” instructed Becky Stave of the American Red Cross, who led the course. “Just remember, when you’re changing a real baby, they squirm and wiggle and it’s not this easy.”

Stave is a certified instructor who regularly leads the classes offered through the . Along with the essentials, she also covered basic first aid, choking, how to control bleeding and dealing with allergic reactions and asthma.

A portion of the class focused on the sitters as individuals and leaders.

“It is important they know how to be a leader and take charge if there is an emergency,” Stave said. “It is such a big responsibility that they are going to be with other kids and these parents are trusting them.”

That is exactly the reason Connie Barhorst, of Grayslake, signed up her son Kyle. “He’s a little apprehensive, but I really need him to be trained and able,” Barhorst said of having her 11-year-old watch his younger siblings.

“He’s looking for an opportunity to get out and make money, and I wouldn’t hire a sitter who didn’t have this training,” Barhorst said. “It’s essential to the job.”

Elizabeth Schmit, 11, of Grayslake. is ready to get to work. With plans to baby-sit three children the same evening as the class, Elizabeth wanted tips on how to deal with stressful situations.

“I am watching a 4-year-old, 3-year-old and an infant, so I know I’ll be busy,” Schmit said as she paid extra attention to a training video that focused on how to deal with two children at one time, and what to do if those children were not getting along with each other.

“I know she can do it, but it’s good for her to be trained,” said Schmit’s mother, Judith.

“It gives her a good sense of responsibility and covers some of the things I might take for granted — like where remote control is or who to call in an emergency. I think this will be good for her," she said.

Many of the students in the class said they have some experience watching their siblings, and have other potential jobs already lined up. 

“I have a lot of neighbors who have kids and I want to start watching them,” said 11-year-old Maddie Lenning, of Grayslake.

Each of the students takes home a Red Cross handbook. Stave encourages them not only to practice the basics in holding, feeding and changing children, but also to review the safety guidelines before taking a job.

For more information on future baby-sitting training courses, contact the .