Youth learn ABC's of baby-sitting

They have their certificates and they’re ready to join the Baby-sitter’s Club —  15 aspiring baby-sitters attended an all-day course Friday to acquire the basic tools of quality child care.

Safety skills, entertainment ideas, parent expectations and techniques for handling behavioral issues were all part of the curriculum for the Baby-sitting Academy at Sierra View District Hospital.

The academy is designed for ages 12 through 16, said Health Educator Ruth Gonzalez. It included lecture, safety demonstrations, crafts and lunch.

“We’ve always geared the class to safety for the baby-sitter and the baby. If a baby is choking, the main thing is to remember to call 9-1-1. You always want to do an interview with the parents to know what they expect. Always baby-sit someone you know. They never want to baby-sit kids that they can’t handle,” said Gonzalez.

“Whatever goes on, safety is number one,” she said.

Amelia Sloan, 12, recapped what she learned after a long day in one of the hospital’s conference rooms.

“We learned about the personality of a child, and what’s important. [The Academy] just teaches what you should and what you shouldn’t do, and it’s not just baby-sitting. It’s also motherly skills,” she said.

“We learned activities that are good for any age, and what food to give them,” added Mackenzie Lehmann, 12. “We learned... when the babies are little, you get paid more, because it’s more responsibilities.”

For Aneissa Prince-Mata, 13, the desire to brush up on her skills comes from her experience baby-sitting her one-year-old nephew, Zion.

“We’ve been learning how to do [Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation] on kids and babies, when to call 9-1-1, what to feed them, what to do when they’re throwing a tantrum or choking,” Prince-Mata said.

“The CPR was really useful. I really want [to babysit].”
Katherine Williams said she has had some practice baby-sitting, and would like to continue it — possibly professionally.

“I started with my neighbors. They have kids that I love, so they used to pay me to watch them while they were home, and we would do fun things like play hide and go seek.”
Learning CPR and the Heimlich Maneuver were the most helpful techniques the course provided, Williams said.

Williams and her cousin, Sarah Knights, 12, made themselves comfortable and enjoyed time together decorating carry bags for a baby-sitter survival kit that was included with their tuition to the academy. The kit included a baby-sitting handbook for review, coloring books, alphabet and number flash cards, movies and craft ideas.

“When you baby-sit, children always like what you bring,” said Gonzalez.

During part of the academy, the participants learned how to make rock art — decorations created by painting small rocks — which they can make with the kids they baby-sit.

The prospective baby-sitters weren’t the only ones who were able to learn from the academy. Three Porterville High School students who are part of the Health Academy, and are training at the hospital and Porterville Convalescent Home for the Certified Nurse Assistant program, also participated in the academy. Their teacher is Pamela Avila.

Francisco Espinoza, 18, Katie Emberson, 16, and Amninder Dhaliwali, 16, attended the event in hopes that it would offer them helpful information for the job.

“I mostly did this because Ms. Avila asked me, and she’s the greatest person, so I figured, ‘why not?’” said Francisco Espinoza, while he enjoyed a snack during a short break.

Dhaliwali, who has 11 siblings, said the academy will help him make a positive impact on the many children in his family. “I learned a bit of everything, because I was born in India, and we have a different policy there. I grew up with a bad experience,” he said, “and now, with my nephews and nieces I can show them different. I learned more in depth on how to care for them properly, so it will be nice to share what I’ve learned. Now I know what proper tools I need to go on and take care of them properly.”

“It’s really fun,” said Madison Grayson, 12. “Learning the CPR was a totally new thing, and I’ve never been part of that situation before, and now I feel more comfortable.”
 
Sabrina Ziegler is a freelance writer. Send e-mail in care of recorder@portervillerecorder.com.