Babysitting Clinic

This was an activity the girls requested. I'm pretty sure that, like making bread for sacrament, if you're going to be in Activity Days, you HAVE to do this activity. ;)

Here are some tips, some hand outs, and some reflections from our babysitting night.

1. There is so, so much to babysitting. You cannot possibly do this topic justice in 90 minutes. The girls are excited, but please let them know, they are not experts after tonight. They are beginners with some good ideas!
2. Not every girl wants to babysit, and the younger girls are too young to do it anyway. BUT... most are not too young to be left home alone for 30 minutes or so, or left with older siblings and no "official" babysitter. Many of the things a good babysitter needs to know are ALSO good for the girls to know if they are home alone. Emphasize this.
3. While some girls just LOVE babies, most girls want to babysit for the money! A discussion of what are fair babysitting rates is a good idea. I've heard some ridiculous amounts--$15/hour... wow, really? That's crazy! I think $5/hour is fair for 2-3 kids. We also discussed how more kids to watch should = more pay; how to split the profits with a friend if you bring help along, how to tell your rates before you agree to a job, paying tithing on what you earn, and also offering FREE sitting sometimes as a service.

Because there is so much to cover, I had to decide what basics we were going to hit. Hands on teaches the most, so we divided our group of 15 girls into three groups of 5 and had these three stations:

1. Basic first aid (super basic): cleaning and bandaging a small cut, cool water on burns, ice packs for bumped heads, and so forth. The girls also made a small first aid kit that went in a sandwich sized ziploc bag, and included bandaids, alcohol wipes, sterile gauze pads, and disposable gloves.

2. Fun snacks: we made Teddy Bear Toast, with toast, peanut butter, sliced bananas and chocolate chips. (The "recipe" for Teddy Bear Toast, along with a 2 other fun snacks, is in the booklet.)

3. Babysitting scenarios: we gave the girls a babysitting tips booklet (link to download below) and then talked about "what if" situations as we went over the booklet. This section included the "what do you charge?" discussion. Some scenarios we discussed were:
What if someone calls or comes to the door?
What if you have a fire?
What if someone tries to break in?
What if the kids are fighting?
What if the kids will not listen to what you say?
What if someone gets hurt?

Everything from the minor, to the major, we talked through, and let the girls comment and ask questions.

TIP: Of these three stations, basic first aid was the shortest, and that group was kind of waiting while the other two groups finished their 20-25 minute sessions. We included an emergency numbers sheet with the Babysitting Scenarios group, but I would probably move that handout and its accompanying discussion to the First Aid group next time to even out the time better.

Supplies needed will include: first aid items and baggies; teddy bear toast ingredients, and handouts for each girl. Extra snacks/treats are not needed, as the girls made, then ate, the teddy bear toast!

The Spiritual Side:

Faith in God application: Serving Others, #5

“Entertain young children with songs or games you have learned or made yourself. Show that you know how to care for and protect a young child.”

Scripture verse: Mosiah 4:14-15

  14 And ye will not suffer your children that they go hungry, or naked; neither will ye suffer that they transgress the laws of God, and fight and quarrel one with another, and serve the devil, who is the master of sin, or who is the devil spirit which hath been spoken of by our fathers, he being an enemy to all righteousness.

  15 But ye will teach them to walk in the ways of truth and soberness; ye will teach them to love one another, and to serve one another.

The pamphlet was a take home for the girls and covered a lot. We used it as the basis for most of our discussion.  

Download it from here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B9ltWADMnsx7MjZwY1NqVmM5THc/view?usp=sharing

It is meant to be printed double sided on a single sheet of paper. Cut the printed sheet in half (so each half sheet is 8.5 inches by 5.5 inches) and then fold the halves. This makes a little booklet which you can staple in the middle.

Download the basic information sheet from this link: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B9ltWADMnsx7ZVZNckZXbjA3aTg/view?usp=sharing

This is a sheet that the girls can take with them when babysitting. They should fill it out with the parents before the parents leave. It is also a good idea to keep one for themselves home on the refrigerator for when they are home alone!

What is in the babysitting pamphlet: