A Red Cross poll has recently found what any of the region’s parents can probably tell you: A good baby sitter is hard to find. That’s because most folks won’t just settle for the gum-popping, boyfriend-calling teenaged girl next door. Parents these days are going big or going — er, staying home.
“Parents want recommended sitters who have childcare training and CPR certification,” Tener Goodwin Veenema, a member of the Red Cross Scientific Advisory Council, said in a news release. “As a mother of four, I know that there is more to choosing a babysitter than price or availability. The safety and welfare of our children is first and foremost.”
The Red Cross poll found that 55 percent of parents surveyed decided to stay home because they couldn’t find a babysitter. The survey also found that nearly a third of parents rejected a potential babysitter because of safety concerns. The survey asked parents about their behavior over the past two years.
The survey also found that most parents believe sitters should be paid more “if they are trained to help a child who is choking, recognize potential emergency situations, identify items that could be hazardous to small children, and give first aid for minor cuts and bruises.”
Even so, about half of Americans rely on unpaid babysitters, the survey found. One quarter pay between $6 and $10 an hour, 10 percent pay between $11 and $15 an hour and 4 percent pay between $16 and $20 an hour.
The Red Cross offers babysitting, CPR and first aid courses.
