I haven't posted in awhile, so sorry! I have been very, very busy lately. Anyways, enough of that... lets get back to what you're actually here for.
Okay, taking a class... very important for many, many reasons. Let's take a lookie here:
Basic Info:
So, are you thinking about taking a class? Good! Kudos to you for wanting to gain some knowledge on the subject beforehand. Before I took a class, I wanted some basic information- and more than what was on the brochure- so I knew what I had to do. The paperwork basically told me that I was going to learn the basics of the things I had already expected like diapering, CPR, the Heimlich maneuver, how to keep 'em busy, etc.. It also told me there was going to be a written and an "active" exam. The written exam is what you would expect- a test on everything that you learned- while the other exam covered first impressions, a subject we spent a very long time on (walking in with a firm handshake and a kind greeting, meeting each kid and making them feel comfortable, etc.), as well as what to do in a situation where you would need to perform CPR or the Heimlich.
Anyways, I am not sure what kind of a class you are planning on taking, but I didn't take mine through The Red Cross. Mine was taken through a great organization called SafeSitter (www.safesitter.org). It was two days long, (Thursday and Friday) and each day was seven hours. It may seem like a long time reading it now, but we really had to jam in quite a lot of information, and I was never bored throughout the course.
It's kind of hard to give a basic rundown... it was mainly learn/take notes in the manual you got for a few hours, lunch, and then some more of that but working with mannequins on the Heimlich and CPR (we viewed a video on both of these) with some snacks in between. The next day we covered the rest of the manual, lunch, and then a lot more practice with the Heimlich maneuver and CPR before the written test. During the test, we were each called out one by one to do the other test. Then on the second day our parents came and watched us receive our completion certificates and we got a free SafeSitter bag packed with stuff like colorful band-aids (because what kid doesn't prefer those, right?) a flashlight, and our manual (:
So, why take a babysitting class?
Babysitting classes, again, have many advantages. Okay, yeah, they are super fun (; , but how is that gonna help you?
Babysitting classes really help you gain experience. They don't just go over a few things about changing a diaper and send you home, they really help you make sure you know whats going on and how to deal with the many things that may come up, whether that might be a choking kid or one that's just plain bored. They will make sure you have every little thing down. I didn't necessarily walk in the door thinking that I already knew everything- heck, I was only eleven!- but I really did learn a lot more than I thought I would. I felt so much more comfortable knowing even just the basic info. Even just my words don't do it justice... they really are helpful.
We all want parents to trust us with their children, right? Of course. Taking a class not only is for your benefit, but for the moms and dads of the children you are watching over. You will reassure them that you know what you are doing and that you will be more knowing is a problem does happen to come up. I have gained a lot more clients after sharing that I took a course. I started watching over my siblings and other children more, and the information still helps me on the job. Plus, you could have your parents casually mention to their friends that you took a class, and just maybe, maybe, you will pick up the phone to a brand new client(;
Questions, comments, ideas? Please feel free as a bird to ask. I need more ideas for posts, and some questions and requests would be great, thank you!
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