Is My Child Ready To Babysit?
Six things to consider to raise a safe babysitter.
by Janet Raker, RN

PARENTGUIDE News October 2005

Babysitting begins in the sitter’s own home. It’s important for parents to stress the seriousness of babysitting when discussing it with their adolescent— the prospective sitter. When your son or daughter takes such a job, he or she is accepting the responsibility for a child’s life.

How do I know if my child is mature enough to babysit?
Readiness to babysit is not age specific, but a stage in development. By answering the following questions, you can gauge your child’s readiness.

• Does he seem capable enough to handle the responsibilities of caring for a younger child? Is he able to stay in control of himself and younger children, such as handling an infant who won’t stop crying?
• Does he practice safe habits? Is he able to handle typical household situations, such as telephone calls, someone at the door?
• Would he feel comfortable at someone else’s home without an adult after dark?
• Is he able to listen to and follow instructions? Does he feel comfortable talking to adults? Does he know his limits?
• Does he want to start babysitting? Has he actually asked to babysit?
• Does he enjoy younger children and do they naturally gravitate to him?

What should my child know before babysitting?
It is absolutely essential he knows how to rescue a choking child and is able to handle a life-threatening emergency, such as when and how to call 911. He should also know injury prevention, including standard safety precautions for himself and the children, basic first aid, age-appropriate care and behavior management. He also needs to know that babysitting means watching the children at all times and obeying the house rules.

What makes a good first babysitting job?
Your child should start by babysitting for one or two children (one is ideal) at one time and with a short job. Managing more than two children is too hard initially. The babysitting job is too long if it is more than three hours when the children are awake and more than five hours when the children are sleeping.
Preschoolers (3-5 year olds) are the best age group for novice babysitters. Even those in their late teens shouldn’t care for an infant less than 6 months of age until they’ve had at least two years experience. An infant under 6 months of age involves many complicated risks and may lead to frustration. Even with experience, a newborn (an infant less than 1 month of age) is not an appropriate babysitting job for a teenager.
An ideal first babysitting job would be to watch a neighbor or relative’s child while the parent is home, but doing other work. This allows adolescents to practice babysitting skills with a “safety net” in place.
Also, young adolescents should not accept a summer babysitting job where they babysit every day. During the school year, they should not accept jobs for both weekend evenings. They need time to “be kids” themselves— time for spontaneous events with friends— and daily jobs are overly demanding for their developmental level.

How can my child find a safe babysitting job?
Who hires your child indirectly affects your child’s safety. As the apple generally does not fall from the tree, it’s easier to relate to children of parents with whom your adolescent has had experience, like relatives and family friends. These tips may be helpful in booking a safe job:
• Suggest his name to your neighbors and co-workers.
• Suggest that he tell his teachers that he has started to babysit.
• Have him ask friends or an older sibling to give his name as a substitute when they are not available to babysit.
• Have him volunteer to babysit with familiar families in the nursery at your church or synagogue. When parents pick up their children, they can then see how your son interacts with their child. Showing how much he likes children is the best way for him to get a parent’s attention and a babysitting job.

• Do not allow him to post his name and telephone number in a public place! He should not give out any personal information by phone, flier or Internet that endangers his safety. Accepting babysitting jobs from strangers should not be allowed.

What else do I need to know to keep my child safe?
Your most important responsibility is to screen every job. Each babysitting job should be screened for ability, safety and availability. Be sure he can handle each job, because there is a real potential for tragedy whenever a sitter takes on more than he can deal with safely. Instruct him to ask questions to help him decide. How many children are there, and what are their ages? What’s the length of the job? How about the responsibilities? Factor in whether your son would feel safe with the family, in their home and in their neighborhood? And whether he has any other commitments for that time and date.

Your child’s safety should always be your primary concern. Sometimes he may be good for a babysitting job, but the job may not be good for him. Potential problems may include an older brother or sister of the children who might come home during the babysitting job, parents who continually stay out later than their expected return time, parents returning impaired from drugs or alcohol, a noncustodial parent demanding to take the children, etc. Trust your instincts about a family before problems arise, and have him refuse any potentially dangerous jobs!

Teach him to be wary of strange phone calls and strangers; strangers should never be allowed inside. Instruct him to lock all doors and windows, and close the blinds.

What do I need to know before my child babysits for younger siblings?
The most frequent babysitting job is babysitting younger siblings. It is also one of the most difficult jobs, and your support is critical for success. You can help make it easier by making it clear the older child is “in charge” in your absence. Rules should be discussed in front of all of your children. The child who is babysitting can help to make it easier by approaching the job determined to make it fun and the rules fair.
Remind your eldest child to give the same attention and focus to his brothers or sisters that he would any other babysitting job. Sibling sitting should be recognized as a valuable family contribution. Families may choose to pay the older child, grant a special privilege or simply take the time to say thanks for babysitting safely and playing by the rules.

Safe Sitter® is a national, nonprofit organization that teaches 11-13 year olds how to be safe and nurturing babysitters. A national trainer for Safe Sitter who works at National Headquarters in Indianapolis, IN, Janet Raker, RN, has been teaching Safe Sitter for more than 20 years. For more information, access Safe Sitter’s Web site at www.safesitter.org.