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Is Your Child Ready to Babysit? A Checklist
to Help You Decide

Age isn’t what determines whether your child can handle the responsibility of babysitting—her stage of development does. Use this checklist to determine if your child is ready to babysit, or if a babysitting course like Safe Sitter® would help prepare her.

Safety Skills

• Does my child know what to do to keep herself and younger children safe?
• Does my child know how to handle common household emergencies, such as weather warnings or power outages?
• Would my child feel comfortable at someone else’s home alone after dark with no adults present?

Child Care Skills 

• Does my child enjoy being around younger children?
• Does my child have the patience and maturity to stay in control of herself during challenging situations, such as handling a toddler who is throwing a tantrum?

First Aid & Rescue Skills

• Does my child understand the responsibilities of caring for younger children, including handling illnesses or injuries?
• Does my child know how to rescue a choking child?
• Is my child able to handle a life-threatening emergency (i.e. know when and how to call 9-1-1)?

Life & Business Skills

• Is my child able to listen to and follow instructions?
• Is my child comfortable talking to adults?
• Is my child able to advocate for herself?
• Does my child know her own limits, and will she call for help if needed?

Visit Is Your Child Ready? to learn more about enrolling your young teen in a Safe Sitter® class, so you can have the peace of mind that she is ready to start babysitting.