Keep Your Home Safe: Get A Qualified Babysitter
If you have young children at home, an excellent way to keep your home safe 
is to choose a sitter who has completed a Babysitting Course.
Recent figures show that unintentional injuries remain the fifth leading causes of death in Canada. The sad thing is that many of these injuries are actually preventable. Moreover, a great percentage of these unintentional injuries occur at home. If you have young children at home, one of the best ways to keep your hazard-free is to hire a babysitter who has a completed a Babysitting Course.
The chances of children being injured at home are greatly increased every time they are left unsupervised. You have to make sure that you leave your child under the watch of someone who is matured enough to handle such a major responsibility (at least 12 years old) and trained at babysitting. Moreover, infants and very young children should be left under the care of someone older and more experienced. Make a list of babysitters in your area. Check the background of your prospective sitter; be sure to ask for references and call them.
Here are other important things to consider:
• Have the sitter come days before you entrust your child to them so that you can observe and supervise him/her, as well as to see your child’s response.
• Make sure the babysitter knows the house rules.
• Before you leave the house, inform the sitter where you will be.
• Give the sitter your cellphone number and the contact number of your destination (such as work). Keep your cell phone with you and check it periodically.
• Sitters should have completed a Babysitting Course and know basic first aid for common pediatric emergencies. They should also know essential first aid skills, particularly infant and child CPR and Heimlich Maneuver.
• Make sure the babysitter knows when and how to call 911 or your local emergency medical services. Put the emergency numbers (local hospital,
ambulance, local poison control) near your phone. Also, post your address so that the babysitter can tell the emergency personnel immediately.
• Make sure the babysitter knows the nearest hospital and shortest route towards it, in case he or she needs to bring the child to the emergency department. Make necessary arrangements with a neighbor or relative if the babysitter does not know how to drive.
• Leave your children’s health record that contains current and previous health problems, treatments and medications, and allergies. Inform the babysitter about any MedicAlert identification tags of the child.
• If the babysitter needs to give medications, be sure to have him or her practice measuring and administering them.
• Give the name and contact number of a nearby relative or neighbor who can be called quickly if ever the babysitter needs help.
Sitters who have completed a Babysitting Course will most likely know how to respond in case of emergencies and injuries occurring at home. Leaving your children to someone trained in babysitting certainly gives peace of mind.