Safety Tips For Your Babysitter While You're Not Home

By Lori Melton

Babysitting is a fun and rewarding job that carries a lot of responsibility. A good babysitter should enjoy caring for and relating to your kids and be mature enough to handle a variety of unexpected circumstances. Here's a list of important safety tips for your babysitter to follow when you're not at home.

Consider Taking a Babysitting CPR or First Aid Course

Many schools and community enrichment programs offer a Babysitting CPR course. The American Red Cross also offers online and hands-on Babysitting Training courses that cover a wide range of safety topics, including CPR and other important skills. Consider completing one of these before you start to babysit.

Emergency Contact Information

Make sure you have the parents' cell phone numbers, the name of the place they are going and a phone number for that location if available. Dial 911 immediately in the case of a life-threatening emergency (no breathing, unresponsiveness, major bleeding, no heartbeat). Also, keep a list of emergency numbers like the fire department, police department, the child's doctor, a trustworthy neighbor, relative or friend close at hand as well. It's also a good idea to write down the house address where you are babysitting in case emergency personnel ask you for your location.

If you're unsure in any situation, call the child's parents or another adult for direction or advice. It is better to be safe than sorry for not asking because you are embarrassed to ask or worried about interrupting someone.

Fire Safety

All families should have a fire evacuation/safety plan in place. Discuss this with plan with parents before they leave. Become familiar with all the exit points of the house, stay close to the floor (drop and roll, if needed), and never open a hot door. Above all, get the kids out as fast as possible, get everyone away from the burning house, DO NOT go back into the house for any reason and call the fire department immediately from the closest neighbor's house. Check out this great Babysitter Fire Safety Tips sheet from the Office of the Fire Commission for more information here.

Power Outages

You should know where flashlights, water, blankets, battery-operated radios and first aid kids are located in case of a power outage. Know how to get to the basement, cellar or a safe interior space in case of a tornado or severe storm.

Keep All Doors and Windows Locked

Always make sure all doors and windows in the house are locked. This is to keep strangers and intruders out and help prevent toddlers and small children from running out the door. Never answer the door or talk to strangers on the phone and tell them you are the sitter and the parents are out. If possible, consult the caller ID and let the answering machine field calls you don't recognize.

Pay Constant, Strict Attention to the Kids

It's very important to always keep a close eye on the kids, especially infants and toddlers. You should be able to see the kids at all times. You should also be aware of household "danger zones" and be vigilant about keeping kids away from them and other dangerous items.

For instance, make sure kids don't play close to stairs, climb to a high place from which they can fall, get near outlets, poison, matches, small items of any kind (straight pins, coins, Legos, etc.) small babies or children could put in their mouths and choke on or any other hazardous items.

Avoid making long phone calls, having friends over, or getting distracted by a tablet, iPod playlist, computer, video game or any other activity that will take your focus away from the kids. Staying as close to the kids as possible and paying strict attention to what they are doing will help prevent them from harm.

Never Shake a Baby or Child

Never, ever shake a baby or child. Doing so could cause serious injury or death.

Mealtimes

Make sure you're aware of a child's food allergies, if any, and seek parental guidance about what kinds of food or drink they can have. When feeding a baby a bottle, test the formula temperature first, always keep the baby's head slightly elevated while drinking and NEVER leave a baby unattended with a propped baby bottle. Babies don't have the strength and don't know how to push the bottle away if they start to choke.

Also, when cooking or preparing food, keep kids away from the stove, pan handles, lid, sharp knives and glass dishes. Don't give kids foods that can easily cause them to choke like grapes, peanuts, popcorn, hard candy, etc. Most importantly, don't leave kids alone while they are eating to help prevent choking or other food-related accidents.

Bedtime

Be familiar with safe sleep guidelines. Always place babies on their backs to sleep, NEVER on their tummies, and don't put anything in the crib with the baby. This includes no blankets, toys, pillows or stuffed animals. Putting anything in the crib with a baby increases the risk of suffocation. Click here to learn more about SIDS (Sudden Infant Death Syndrome) prevention and safe sleep guidelines in the NIH (National Institute of Health) Safe to Sleep campaign.