Home > Get Trained > BABYSITTER'S TRAINING

Because You Care...Prepare
What you need to know and what every parent wants in a safe and responsible babysitter!

Designed for 11 to 15 year olds, our 7-hour Babysitter's Training gives babysitters the skills and confidence to safely and responsibly care for children and infants. Through hands-on activities, interactive video and lively discussions, the course teaches young people how to: - Care for children and infants - Be a good leader and role model - Make good decisions and solve problems - Keep the children you babysit and yourself safe - Handle emergencies such as injuries, illnesses and household accidents - Write resumes and interview for jobs - And much more!

Click here to watch a short presenation about the Babysitter's Training course.

Each student receives a Babysitter's Training participant's set which includes:
- Babysitter's Training Handbook, a 168 page reference book
- Emergency Reference Guide, a quick reference for common first aid and cardiac emergencies
- Babysitter's Training CD-ROM which contains valuable babysitting resources that you can take home with you after the training
- Babysitter First Aid Kit

Also, depending on inventory at the time of your class, the instructor will have Red Cross Babysitter T-shirts for sale. They are $10. Please instruct the students to bring exact cash or a check made payable to the American Red Cross if they wish to purchase one. You can also purchase a shirt by visiting us at 1040 S. 8th Street in Colorado Springs.

Here are some of resources that you'll find on the CD-ROM:
- Babysitter's Report Record
- Business Card Templates
- Family Information Card
- Family Interview Form
- Parental Consent and Contact Form
- Resume Template
- Safety Inspection Checklist
- Self-Assessment Tool
- Activity Booklet

Please note: our Babysitter's Training does not include a First Aid or CPR certification. If you're looking for those certifications as well, check out our Babysitter Boot Camp below!

Complete the course in just one day and begin babysitting the next!
To enroll, view our schedule of classes and register here.

Book and CD-ROM available for Purchase! If you're unable to take the Babysitter's Training course, the Babysitter's Participant Set (with Handbook, Emergency Reference Guide and CD-ROM) is available for purchase for $15.00. Stop in and see us 1040 S. 8th Street in Colorado Springs or 4104 Outlook Blvd. #135 in Pueblo to buy yours today!

Babysitter Boot Camp
An expanded version of our Babysitter's Training course, the Babysitter Boot Camp is open to children ages 11-15 and is a 2-day event designed to provide you with the knowledge, skills and confidence necessary to be the best babysitter on the block!

This training camp includes:
- Babysitter's Training certification (w/books and CD-ROM described above)

- First Aid certification

- Infant & Child CPR certification (w/laminated step-by-step Skills Card)

- Dog First Aid and CPR certification (w/book and DVD) - one more thing that can set you apart from other babysitters!

- Red Cross First Aid Kit

- Red Cross Babysitter T-Shirt

- When available, guest speakers from the Colorado Springs Police Department, Colorado Springs Fire Department, dog training instructor or self defense instructor will present safety information

The Babysitter Boot Camp is held four times a year - a spring session over spring break; two summer sessions and a winter session during the December holiday break. Each camp is two days long, 8am - 5pm each day. Cost is $125 per student. This training is open only to children ages 11-15. Students are asked to bring a sack lunch both days (drinks and snacks will be provided). Pre-registration is required.

Enroll here!

Babysitter List Service
(A community service provided by the Health & Safety Education Department)

If you are looking for a qualified babysitter, we may be able to help!

The babysitter lists provided to the public is not a "referral" program. It is a service offered to the community by the American Red Cross Pikes Peak Chapter based on community requests and needs. Upon receipt of a completed Babysitter List Request Form, we will email a list of a few names and numbers of babysitters that have taken the Red Cross Babysitter's Training Course through the Pikes Peak Chapter and live close to your area. Although we believe that the teenagers provided on this list should be qualified to babysit, we do not know them personally. We encourage you to interview and screen them, just as we recommend that their parents or guardians interview and screen you. We have a signed parental permission slip on file on students whose parents have chosen to leave their name with us as potential babysitters.

Those that complete the American Red Cross Babysitter Training course receive a certificate acknowledging their participation. The training helps participants develop skills in five critical areas: leadership, safety and safe play, basic care, first aid, and professionalism. The course also offers knowledge and skills practice in rescue breathing and choking procedures, but the participants do not receive certificates for these skills.

The American Red Cross recommends that parents and guardians look for the following qualities in a babysitter:
- Has taken the American Red Cross Babysitter's Training course
- Is comfortable around children
- Is capable of assuming responsibilities
- Knows how to keep both your child and herself/himself safe both inside and outside
- Is skilled in calmly handling any emergencies
- Knows how and when to summon help
- Has basic first aid skills, including bandaging, rescue breathing and choking care
- Can provide basic child care appropriate to your child
- Will be attentive over the needed length of time
- Is enthusiastic about interacting with your child

Tips for a Successful Babysitting Experience
- Start looking for a sitter early. Don't wait until the last minute.
- Give preference to someone already working with children, or introduce a first time sitter gradually into the experience - beginning with short, simple situations.
- Always interview a prospective babysitter and talk with his/her parents.
- Ask for referrals and talk with the parents who have hired him/her before.
- Fees to be charged and paid should be established at the time the sitter is called and should be based on the responsibilities to be assumed. (i.e.) Will the child be asleep or awake and active? How many children and how old are they? Are there diapers to change or is the child toilet-trained?
- Ask how he/she would handle certain possibly difficult situations that may occur.
- Have the sitter tour the home and point out important things such as fire extinguishers, phones, flashlights, how to operate locks and how to shut off water in each room. Show the emergency escape plan.
- Review rules of the home including those for meals, pets, TV/computer time, friends, and play inside and outside the home.
- Advise if a child has problems such as the need for medication and how much, if the child is afraid of the dark, if the child needs or has a special "security" toy or object, or if the child uses unusual words in asking for things.
- Do not expect your babysitter to do your housekeeping. The sitter's first responsibility is for the safety of the child.
- Allow time for the babysitter to ask you questions.
- Provide a list of key emergency phone numbers.
- The sitter should be told when the parents expect to return, if they will be delayed and if there are any changes in plans or destination.
- Parents are responsible for the safe return of their sitter to his or her home.
- Explain possible behavior problems and how you would want them handled.
- Introduce the babysitter to your child...allow them to get to know each other...observe.
- The best advice the Red Cross can offer parents is to remind them that their own child may someday be "sitting" and to treat all sitters as they would like their own children to be treated.
- We may receive many calls for lists so some sitters may already have babysitting jobs. If you would like additional names, please contact us again.

The Babysitter List Service is offered by the American Red Cross Pikes Peak Chapter free of charge. However, if you would like to make a donation to help offset the cost of providing this service, we would appreciate your contribution. Please make your donation payable to the American Red Cross Pikes Peak Chapter.

If you have any questions regarding this service, please contact Heather Walma in the American Red Cross Health & Safety Education Department at (719) 785-2728 or hwalma@pparc.org.

Please complete this form. Within a few days, we will contact you with names of babysitters in your area. All fields are required.