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Youth babysitting classes teach important skills

Young people ages 11-14 interested in earning money through babysitting jobs have two great opportunities this summer to gain valuable skills to help them achieve their goal.
Safe Sitter® is a class designed to provide youth with the skills they need to be safe while home alone, while watching younger siblings or babysitting. During the one-day class, students learn safety skills, first aid and rescue skills, life and business skills, and child-care skills using interactive games and technologies.
"The kids usually enter the room very quiet, expecting a typical school atmosphere, but within 15 minutes they are laughing, playing games and role playing," says Susan Willis, public health educator at the Cleveland County Public Health Center (CCPHC), one of the sponsors of the event.
The class had its origin 35 years ago, when Patricia A. Keener, M.D., recognized the vulnerability of young children when cared for by unprepared providers. She created a program to teach young teens how to be better, safer babysitters. Safe Sitter® is now a national nonprofit organization with more than 900 registered providers in all 50 states.
Safe Sitter Cleveland County is sponsored by Safe Kids Cleveland County and provided in partnership with Cleveland County Health Department, Atrium Health-Cleveland, Alliance for Health and the Healthcare Foundation of Cleve-land County.
This year the dates for the one-day class will be Thursday, June 28, 2018, and Tuesday, July 31, 2018. Classes will be held from 9:30 a.m. - 3:30 p.m. each day at the Cleveland County Public Health Center, 200 South Post Road, Shelby. The class fee is $10, and lunch is provided.
Preregistration is required and is available by visiting www.surveymonkey.com/r/SafesitterRegistration. Scholarships are available. For more information, call 980-484-5205.

By April Hoyle Shauf

Special to Community First Media


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