Babysitting Guidelines

The guiding principle should be that looked after children and young people
should as far as possible be granted the same permissions to take part in
normal and acceptable age appropriate peer activities, as would reasonably
be granted by the parents of their peers. With this in mind parents, carers and
professionals need to make judgements on whether or not there are known
risks, which would preclude a young person whether, looked after or not to be
involved in babysitting

While children who choose to work on newspaper delivery rounds, on farms
or in retail jobs are covered and hopefully protected by general and specific
health and safety law - notably the Health and Safety (Young Persons)
Regulations 1997, but for those who choose babysitting as a means of
earning money fall outside these laws.

In the absence of legislation, both RoSPA and the NSPCC recommend that
no one under 16 should be left to care for an infant. The British Red Cross,
stipulate that participants of their training program for babysitters must have
reached their 14th birthday by the time of their final assessment.

Good Practice
If as a parent or carer, you decide to take on a young babysitter under the age
of sixteen, you must be prepared to take some responsibility for anything that
should go wrong in your absence. Under some circumstances, the police will
charge parents with negligence. You must also be prepared to take
responsibility for the care and safety of your babysitter - including making
arrangements in advance for the sitters safe return home if they are not being
collected by a parent or sleeping over - Never let a young babysitter travel
home alone late at night.
Remember that the majority of babysitters mean well and genuinely
like children. However, these qualities might not be enough if difficulties
should occur. You need to know that your babysitter is a competent
person.
Define the qualities you are looking for in a good babysitter: for
example; responsible, mature, reliable, honest, capable, tolerant,
patient, kind but firm, has experience with young children, has first aid
experience etc.
Make sure the babysitter knows how and when to call the emergency
services if it should become necessary.
Encourage your babysitter to visit your home and get to know the child
or children who will be left in their care. It will also help them
understand the particular household and the childrens daytime and
nighttime routines.
Give an honest opinion when the question arises concerning your
babysitter having friends to sit with them (same sex or opposite sex).
Use common sense and remember that babysitting can be a lonely
business.
Make adequate preparations for your babysitter not only in terms of
refreshments but also in giving them enough information to cover all
eventualities. Make sure your sitter knows where everything is.
Never take advantage of a babysitter by leaving them to cope with an
already sick or upset child who you know will not settle.
Never leave a babysitter alone with several children for long periods of
time.
Always return home as close to the time you agreed with your
babysitter as you can. If you are going to be late, inform the babysitter,
if possible.
Talk to your babysitter about the childs progress and give them up-to-
date information, especially important if the sitter does not see your
child regularly.
If you feel unhappy about any aspect of the care of your child, talk it
over with the babysitters.
Always ensure that the babysitter has your contact details, as well as
other people they can contact in the event that they are not able to
reach you, in the event of any difficutlies or emergencies they
encounter.

Choosing a babysitter
When deciding to use a babysitter remember to:
Follow your instincts - if in doubt don't use them.
Ask for at least two references and contact the referees yourself.
Choose a babysitter over 16 years old.
Listen to your child . Talk to your child about any issue of babysitting
that they are unhappy about.
If your child is unhappy about your use of a particular babysitter, find
someone else .

Guidance for young people
Are you aged sixteen years and over and able to accept the
responsibilities of looking after one or more children?
Why do you want to baby-sit? Is it for the love of children or to earn
some extra money? Hopefully, it is a combination of both. If it is simply
to get away from your own house so that you can do what you like in
someone elses, think again.
Take some basic training in the safe care of young children.
Remember that young children are not only prone to illness but also to
having mishaps and accidents. It is essential that you can cope with
such emergencies. If you can study child development and first aid at
school, do so; otherwise, take a first aid course offered by the St J ohn
Ambulance or Red -Cross.
A good working knowledge and understanding of safety in the home
environment is important so that you can recognise good and bad
safety practices. You should be able to identify hazards and risks.
You ideally need some experience of dealing with and looking after
small children and should spend some time with a family where there
are small children present. Getting to know the child you will be caring
for before you baby-sit is a good idea.
Organise a suitable back-up system - such as having a near relative or
neighbour available whom you can call upon in an emergency or
simply to ask advice about an uncertain situation.
If you agree to baby-sit, always be prompt and arrive in good time.
Try not to let the childs parents leave the home before learning where
to contact them. Ask for other numbers, too - e.g.; family doctor, other
relatives etc. You must feel safe, secure and happy to be left alone with
the child or children before the parents depart for the evening.
Know, in advance, exactly how you will be getting home after the sitting
session. You might also like to negotiate terms of payment and
whether or not you are allowed to have a friend sit with you. Make sure
you know what you can and cannot do in someone elses home.

Additional areas of consideration

When a LAC young person is considering whether they wish to be considered
as a babysitter either within the fostering household or for a member of the
foster carer social networks. The following aspects need to be considered in
conjunction with the previous points:

Whether or not the parents of the LAC young person have been
consulted and what their view is on the subject?
Whether the history of the LAC young person makes babysitting a
suitable option, in terms of risk factors that could be posed to the
children they would be caring for.
If it is felt appropriate for a LAC young person to undertake the task of
babysitter for the fostering household, the views of the parents and
professionals involved in relation to the other LAC children in
placement need to be considered.
LAC young people should be encouraged to access training schemes
specifically for undertaking the role of babysitter, these can often be
accessed through youth services.



References

RoSPA (Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents)
NSPCC (National Society for the Protection of Cruelty to Children)
The Red Cross