Do you need qualification to do a course to be a babysitter?

Parents, would you hire me as a babysitter?

• Hello, I am almost 16 years old (will be sixteen before I put out fliers) and I love to babysit! However, some of my clients are moving soon so I am looking for a few new families. I am planning on handing out fliers to families in my neighborhood and church, and I may also post a flier at the gym where I work out. Here is some info about me: -I have been babysitting since I was 12 and was a mothers helper since I was 10. I currently babysit about 3 times a week but need more jobs because the family that uses me most frequently is moving. -I have babysat up to four children at once. The youngest I have babysat on my own was 6 months. -I am CPR certified for children and infants. -I have taken a course and am a certified babysitter. -Children are my passion, I plan to work with children as either an elementary teacher or a neonatologist with newborn babies. There is nothing that makes me happier than babysitting! -I am taking a child development course next year, where I will learn about the development of children birth to five years. I will be a student teacher at a local preschool because that is part of this course and I am so excited! -I volunteer in the church nursery and at a local elementary school through the National Honors Society at my school that I belong to. -The worst situation that has ever happened while I was babysitting was when an 11 month old got sick at night. He was throwing up and had a fever, poor little guy. I cleaned him up and called his parents to let them know, I just held him close and comforted him until he fell asleep again. The parents told me I handeled it exactly how they wanted me to. So would you hire me? Of course you would have to get to know me and interview me first. Please don't say you only hire family, that doesn't help me at all. I just need opinions on how to get more jobs and what I can do better. I will also be buying my first car with the babysitting money I have been saving so I will have transportation in case of an emergency!

• Answer:

  I would never hire a babysitter from a random flyer. Ask local schools if you can put an add in their news paper or in the local news paper. If you must give out flyers, make sure you put them in peoples letter boxes. 1 - 12 is only 4 years experience. I wouldnt hire a 16 year old in most cases. I would want them to be 18+ 2 - Okay...Shorten that to you have experience with children aged 6months and up. And are willing to babysit up to 4 kids at a time. 3 - Are you sure? Whats the difference between CPR on a baby and CRP on a child? 4 - Those courses are BS....Any course a babysitter should do is the first aid/peadiatric first aid (which includes CPR) and a childcare course as the only babysitters I would hire are ones with an interest in working with kids as their career. Babysitting courses are just ripping you off. 5 - Wanting to work in childcare will help. 6 - If that course is one which will lead you to being qualified in a nursery, then that is great. Would make me consider you... 7 - I dont care about church. Im not religious and it would make me nervous you might go crazy religious on my kids. 8 - Dont talk about the kids in the flyer or anything like that. I wouldnt want my kid to be used as your details for another job.