Baby sitters learn basics of safe care

0 Comments | Deseret News (Salt Lake City), Jul 22, 2007 | by Elizabeth Stuart Deseret Morning News

PROVO -- Eleven-year-old Rachel Everett giggles a little as Chelsea Mikesell, 11, applies pressure to the crook of her perfectly healthy elbow, expertly wraps gauze around her arm and tucks in the end to secure the bandage.

"You have to do it firmly to stop the bleeding," Mikesell said, as she dressed her friend's pretend wound, "but you can't do it too tight or you will cut off the circulation."

The giggling increased as the girls joined a handful of other 11- and 12-year-old girls who were pretending to choke Friday while their classmates practiced the Heimlich maneuver. It was hour seven of the American Red Cross two-day, 10-hour baby-sitting course, and though the instruction was frequently interrupted by loud exclamations and bouts of laughter, the girls seemed to be catching on just fine.

"You have to let them run around a little, or you're going to lose it and walk out without your hair," said Ed Hall, the American Red Cross health and safety director who taught Friday's course. "If you make things fun, they pick it up pretty quick."

The course covers everything from providing age-appropriate toys to decision-making and performing first aid. Hall keeps the class hands-on by playing games and using role play.

The girls beam when they talk about an obstacle course designed to help them practice dressing a baby, changing a diaper and keeping things cleaned up and safe. During another exercise, some girls pretended to be misbehaving babies and others had to try to keep them in line.

"It's so hard," said Charissa Riley, 11, who played the baby- sitter during the simulation. "You go over here to keep one baby away from a jar of paint and the other one's drawing on the wall with crayons."

The key, she said, is showing the children how to use their toys in a fun, safe way. Hall discussed how children's play needs change as they mature and class members brainstormed ideas for age- targeted activities.

Hall walked the children through the steps to resuscitate an unconscious baby and helped them practice CPR on life-size plastic mannequins.

"Do I really have to kiss it?" asked Sarah Hicken, 11, looking apprehensive as Hall handed her a face shield to put over her mannequin's face during the mouth-to-mouth exercise. It wasn't long, though, before she was opening her mannequin's airway and listening for signs of breathing along with her classmates.

Twelve-year-old Rebekah Johns can give a specific, step-by-step demonstration of the correct way to handle a choking infant and knows how to best prevent sudden infant death syndrome by laying the baby down correctly and checking the contents of the crib. She knows what to do if the child she is watching cuts himself and knows how to child-proof a room.

Even so, Johns is still hoping for emergency-free baby-sitting jobs.

"I'd probably be scared to use CPR and stuff," she said. "I would feel a little better, though, because I know what to do."

The Mountain Valley Chapter of the American Red Cross is offering another session of the two-day course Aug. 8 and 9. The class costs $50 and is open to youth 11 to 15 years old. To register, call 801- 373-8580.

E-mail: estuart@desnews.com