Platinum Author
The safety of your teenage daughter or son is a high priority when it comes to working, no matter what kind of job it happens to be. With babysitting jobs, the issue of safety is even more important, for many different reasons. For one, unlike a regular job, such as a fast food restaurant or working for the parks department, your son or daughter is working in a private home. Because the rules are different, there isn't as much overall supervision, and concerns may be even higher.
There are some basic safety rules that your child should know and follow when out babysitting. Before they even start their first job, they should take some first aid classes, and be certified in CPR training. If some kind of emergency comes up, they will know what to do. Any other early child care classes that are age appropriate should also be taken, in order for your son or daughter to understand what may be required of them when taking care of young children.
Whoever your child is babysitting for, you should meet the parents. This way you can determine things like unsanitary, or other unsafe living conditions. This also lets you see and evaluate the people your kid is working for, where they live, and what kinds of pets, if any they have. If they are babysitting in an apartment complex, or a residence that has other tenants living nearby, you need to make them aware of possible interactions with other people.
Your child should never be allowed to babysit more children they can safely handle. The parents' friends or other relatives shouldn't be allowed to come by and drop off their children for yours to take care of, without prior knowledge and planning, and of course extra compensation. Never allow other adults to show up unexpectedly at any time. Just because you or your teen may know the person they are working for doesn't mean that they will know another person, and these can cause dangerous situation to arise.
Your child should never have friends come over while they are babysitting someone's children. This is distracting, and can lead to many problems. If for ANY reason, your child starts to feel uncomfortable, they should call you right away, and you should always be available in case this kind of situation happens. You can come over and help them out, if the parents can't be contacted, until they get home.
Your child should always have phone numbers on hand in case of an emergency. This means not only a way to get a hold of the parents, but any emergency services as well. You should also discourage your child from babysitting for people who have a habit of not coming home on time, and that come home intoxicated. There are going to be a few times when a situation comes up when the parents may be late, but this shouldn't be a habit.
While this isn't a personal safety issue, your child should always have some kind of payment agreement written up with the parents. This way there is no trouble when it comes down to being paid for services rendered. If there is any problem, you need to be there with your child to resolve these issues.
About this Author
Sheila Dollarsby has 3 children and many times requries time to herself. So she usually calls the babysitter she hired from Sittercity to sit with her kids when she needs time alone or time with her husband. She trusts her Sittercity babysitter because of the background checks and rigorous hiring process that Sittercity puts their babysitters through.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Sheila_Dollarsby
