Safe Babysitter Class Set up for Preteens

A babysitter educational class was set up this week to give teens an open invitation to learn how to be a safe sitter. The class was held at MidMichigan Medical Center Alpena on Wednesday with 8 attendees. The first day of summer meant more learning for some.

The class was set up for the teens to learn how to become a safe sitter when watching a child, and the stages of childhood. Sitter instructor Alecia Dietz said the students were interested in becoming babysitters for preschoolers and school aged kids.

“They learned about the different 4 age groups, and how to handle them, and with the diaper changing and exploring what kind of age group that they’d like to baby–sit for and what responsibilities they would have,” Dietz said.

Usually students who participate in the safe sitter class are between the ages of 11 to 13 years old. 13-Year-Old Phineas Imhoff said the class helped him learn skills in case of an emergency.

“I have learned how to help if an infant is chocking, several ways to deal with kids and some other things. I also learned ways to help out with my younger brother if he gets hurt,” Imhoff said.

Dietz said parents would be pleased with the future sitters of Alpena.

“I would say that I’d be able to trust them because they have the skills to keep the child safe. If there were an emergency they would know how to handle it. Especially with the first aid skills and management skills. The CPR is the most important part, because you know that you can trust them with a child’s life,” Dietz said.

The students even guided me on skills they learned throughout the day. Hopefully parents will feel at ease knowing that their child are in the right hands with these future babysitters.

If your young teen is interested in becoming a sitter there will be more classes available in the future.