MURRAY, Utah — Inside the Intermountain Health hospitals, there’s a class nearly every week that prepares kids ages 9 to 15 to become babysitters.
It’s called their Super Sitter Safety course, which teaches them everything from how to respond quickly to an emergency situation, responsibility, swaddling a baby, changing a diaper, and CPR.
Jane Krump is one of the instructors for the class, and she’s been teaching it for a few years now.
“We teach them all kinds of skills,” she said. “Like choking hazards, how to do CPR, putting together a first aid kit, a babysitting kit, how to diaper and change a child — all the essential things that kids should know if they want to be a babysitter.
She said they go over the emergency contacts and when it’s important to contact either their own parents or the child’s parents. “The kids in the class are between 9 and 15 years old,” she said. “And it’s usually their first job ever, and they need to know that there is responsibility with it in taking care of someone’s child.”
According to a recent poll by Kidsit, the word babysitter became common in the 1930s and is one of the oldest professions in the world. And now, Kidsit, it’s common for households when both parents work, and the most common age groups to babysit are toddlers, preschoolers, and small school kids.
For Krump, it’s a solid first job to have, and it teaches important life skills that can help them throughout their lives. “I think it’s really good for the kids,” she said. “It teaches them to be responsible and to think about other people.”
The classes at Intermountain Health are available at the hospitals from Logan to Provo, including Layton, Utah Valley, Riverton, Ogden, Logan, Lehi, and Salt Lake City. The Super Sitter Safety course lasts for about 90 minutes and costs $35. Each student gets a babysitting bag and a booklet with everything they need to know. For those looking to register for the class, you can find the classes here.
