Southborough Recreation Department is offering an American Red Cross Babysitting course on Monday, August 26th.
For $95, teens and tweens will learn skills important for any caregiver of infants and children to know. The course is for 11-15 year olds, and runs from 9:00 am – 3:30 pm. (Participants should pack a lunch.)
Designed for the 11 year old and up who wishes to learn how to care for infants and children. The course is fun and fast paced with hands-on activities, exciting video, role-plays and lively discussions. You will learn to be the best babysitter on the block. You will gain confidence to make smart decisions and stay safe in any babysitting situation.
Topics to be covered are: supervise children and infants; perform basic child-care skills such as diapering and feeding; choose safe, age-appropriate games and toys; handle bedtime and discipline issues; identify safety hazards and prevent injuries; care for common injuries and emergencies such as choking, burns, cuts, and bee stings; communicate effectively with parents; find and interview for babysitting jobs.
You will receive a Babysitter’s Training Handbook, Babysitter’s Training Emergency Reference Guide, and Babysitter’s Training CD-Rom.
Sign up through the Southborough Recreation Department.
(Photo from American Red Cross website)
I expected to see a price of $10.
$95 dollars seems outrageously high.The Rec Dept. is out of touch with reality on this one. Where are teens and tweens supposed to get that much? The idea of babysitting is to EARN a little extra money. The break-even point for $95 would be far, far down the road.
I must respectfully disagree with Richard. First of all, the $95 fee for the babysitting course is based on what the Red Cross charges the Recreation Department. Our daughter completed this course several years ago, and over the 6 hour class, she learned great LIFE skills, not just those limited to babysitting. We considered it to be an investment. Finally, considering the going-rate for sitters, she was able to pay us back after 3 evenings of babysitting, and still had some pocket money left over.
I agree with Richard the price is too high as are many of the Recreation Department programs. I no longer have my children participate in anything they offer because of the price. I just can’t afford it. I think somewhere around $40-$50 is much more reasonable. Afterall, we do fund their department as part of the town budget so if you sign your kids up for their programs you are funding them twice. I think I recently heard they are up to a 4 person staff. I can’t imagine they are that busy. No thanks.