Babysitting Basics
Whether you have been babysitting forever and have a huge client base or are just trying to start out to make some extra money and have something to do while helping out neighborhood families, you need to learn all about babysitting basics to know what you are doing. Child care is a very important job so you need to know what is going on.
One of the most important factors to remember about being a babysitter is that you will have a lot of responsibility. You are in charge and it is important that you ensure the children do not get into any trouble or get hurt. You are the caretaker that will be responsible for making sure they have all of their needs met.
If you want to see how you stack as far as babysitting goes, look over these child care basic guidelines and be sure you are following these each time you are babysitting for someone.
First, you should always be prepared. In fact, it’s best to be overly prepared. Although you expect that your jobs will go by easily without any complications, you still have to be prepared just in case there is a problem. It is important to make sure you have emergency numbers and that you have them posted someplace easy to find in a hurry- preferably by the telephone. These numbers might include:
• 911 and/or local emergency number
• fire department number
• police number
• poison control telephone number
These are all for emergencies but there are some other numbers that you will want to have on hand as well such as:
• the parent’s cell phone or pager number
• number for where the parents will be
• numbers for trusted neighbors or nearby relatives
• number for the child’s doctor
If there is a serious problem or emergency, you will likely want to call 911 first and get help on the way and then proceed to get in touch with the parents. However, in some cases you will want to call the parents first and ask them what the best course of action is for minor incidents.
It’s important you have a conversation with the parents beforehand regarding all of this and what they expect you to do if there is a problem.
Some other information you will need to or want to have is the location of where you are. It might sound silly but it’s important you know the address of where you are as well as directions of how to get there in case there is an emergency. It’s best to have this written down even if you think you know it by heart because it is easy to forget something in an emergency situation.
You should also know the emergency fire exists, any medical history on the children that is relevant, any known allergies as well as emergency first aid training. With all of these things, you can be prepared for anything that might come along while you are babysitting.
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