One summer day, Allison, 12, was watching her two younger brothers, Nicholas, 10, and Benny, 5, while her parents were out. Everything was going fine—until Nicholas went to grab some chips from his room and found their family dog already helping himself. When Nicholas tried to take them back, the usually sweet dog snapped and bit him on the lip. Nicholas came out of his bedroom crying, and Allison immediately jumped into action. Seeing the cut on his lip, she grabbed her Safe Sitter® Student Handbook and followed the steps she had learned in class. She quickly assessed the situation and called her parents to get help. For Allison, Safe Sitter® was more than just a class—it was the reason she was able to help her brother when he needed her most.

Vicki, a Safe Sitter® Instructor in Iowa, taught her daughter, Christina, the skills she needed to stay calm during an emergency. When Christina, 12, was riding through town with her dad and three younger siblings, they witnessed a truck sideswipe a motorcyclist. As her dad got out to help the injured man, Christina stayed in the car, called 9-1-1, and gave the dispatcher nearby landmarks since she didn’t know the exact address. She kept her siblings calm for over an hour while first responders arrived, and her dad spoke with the police. Despite being nervous, Christina relied on her Safe Sitter® training. To distract her siblings, she even turned the situation into a game, pretending they were the firefighters and police. Her father was amazed at her composure, and her mother was proud she remembered her training so well. Thanks to her quick thinking, Christina played a crucial role in helping during a serious emergency.

After her parents had left home for the day, Alexis, 13, was in charge of Joel. It was early in the morning and, because Alexis had been given permission to sleep in a bit, Joel, 10, decided to get out of bed and head downstairs for a snack. A piece of carrot got stuck in his throat, and when water didn’t help, he realized he couldn’t breathe. Feeling woozy, he ran to his sister’s room and shook her awake. Instantly recognizing the signs of choking, Alexis stayed calm, turned him around, and performed abdominal thrusts—just as she had learned in her Safe Sitter® class. The carrot popped out, and Joel could breathe again. Alexis called her mom, in tears, to explain what had just happened. Her mom then rushed home from work to make sure both of her children were alright. When she arrived at home, she found Alexis holding Joel’s hand and rubbing his back, providing much-needed comfort to her brother.

Madeline and Samuel, two teens from Alaska, never expected to use the earthquake safety skills they learned in their Safe Sitter® class. One day, while watching their younger siblings, a 5.8-magnitude earthquake struck. Their mother, Marcia, was unpacking boxes in the garage while the children played in a room situated above the garage. When she realized what was happening, she panicked and rushed to check on them. When she arrived in the playroom, she saw Madeline under a coffee table with her younger siblings, speaking calmly and suggesting they pretend to be hiding, while Samuel held their youngest brother behind a couch, reassuring him. Marcia was amazed by their composure and later learned they had followed what they’d practiced in Safe Sitter®. Madeline now babysits regularly, always bringing her Safe Sitter® Handbook, while Samuel helps out at home. Their quick thinking during the earthquake proved that Safe Sitter® is more than just a class—it’s a lifesaving skill set.

Even though Cody had no desire to ever babysit, Nadine, Cody’s mother and Safe Sitter® Instructor, believed in the program so much that she enrolled him in one of her classes. Little did his mother know that her son would use the very skills she’d taught him to save her life four years later. One evening, as Nadine prepared dinner, she tasted a slice of hot roast beef. She inhaled a deep breath as she put it in her mouth and, almost instantly, it became stuck in her throat. Cody stepped behind her, gave three quick, forceful abdominal thrusts and the meat was dislodged. Thanks to the skills he learned in Safe Sitter®, Cody was able to stay calm in a medical emergency and save the person who had always taken care of him—his own mother.

India, the second oldest of seven children, took Safe Sitter® so that she could babysit for her younger siblings and other families. During a pizza party in biology class, India’s teacher began to choke. As India stood close by, she realized that her teacher was unable to talk at all and was in trouble. India asked her teacher if she was choking and offered to help. Once her teacher nodded yes, India quickly thought about the steps she learned in Safe Sitter® to rescue someone who is choking and then got behind her teacher and did three abdominal thrusts. Thankfully, this produced a gasp of air. India’s teacher was grateful, and her classmates were impressed that she stayed calm and knew what to do.

Daisy, a Girl Scout since kindergarten, took Safe Sitter® after her troop leader decided that all her scouts should take a class.  One spring day, Daisy was enjoying an afternoon of shopping at the mall with her grandmother Cathy, brother Nick, and cousin Nathan. They stopped to grab a meal at the food court. Cathy took a bite of her chicken and began to choke. The children watched in fear as the color on Cathy’s face changed and she struggled to take a breath. Nick turned to Daisy and asked her to do something. Daisy remembered what she’d learned in her Safe Sitter® class. She attempted one abdominal thrust, but she did it too gently as she was afraid of hurting her grandmother. Her next attempt was harder. The piece of chicken landed on the floor having been successfully dislodged from Cathy’s airway. Her troop leader’s decision to enroll her troop in a Safe Sitter® class proved to be a life-saving decision.

After taking Safe Sitter® Whitney shared what she learned with her younger sisters, Katie and Heidi. Just two days later, that knowledge was put to the test. While their mother, Julie, was at work, Heidi tried to microwave a chow mein dish but didn’t remove the seasoning packets or add water. Soon, smoke began to fill the kitchen. Katie noticed the package was red, like embers, and she stopped the microwave. The two girls went upstairs to get Whitney because they knew she’d taken Safe Sitter® and would know what to do. Following her training, Whitney led her sisters outside and called 9-1-1 and waited for help to arrive. She also contacted their mom using her sister’s phone, because she knew better than to go back into the house and risk injury or worse to get her own. Julie arrived home to find her daughters safe, thanks to Whitney’s quick thinking.

Rebecca took Safe Sitter® to prepare for babysitting, but she still felt nervous about handling emergencies. That changed when she and her friends were playing in a park and heard screams from a nearby river. She rushed over and found an 8-year-old boy who had been playing alone on the rocks and had cut his foot badly on one of them. The boy was crying and scared but she remembered from class to stay calm, and she reminded her friends that they needed to stay calm for him too. Remembering her training, Rebecca used a spare tank top to apply pressure to the cut, adding another shirt and a ponytail holder to keep everything in place while she carried the boy to his grandmother’s house. He later received eight stitches. Rebecca now knows she had what it takes to stay calm, use her Safe Sitter® skills, and handle situations, whether babysitting or not. Her mother credits Safe Sitter® for teaching her how to react quickly and effectively.

Kaylin took Safe Sitter® when she was 11. Now an adult, she never forgot what she learned. Years later, that knowledge helped her save a life. One day, her brother, Andrew, who has a disability and uses a wheelchair, was enjoying the family pool. Kaylin was inside watching a movie with a friend while their father was outside near the pool. Suddenly, he noticed Andrew had stopped splashing and was floating face down. Hearing her father call for help, Kaylin ran outside. Together, they pulled Andrew from the water. He was blue and not breathing. Remembering her training, Kaylin told her friend to call 9-1-1, then immediately began CPR. Andrew regained consciousness and started breathing again. Their father, overwhelmed with panic, was grateful for her quick response. Soon after, he enrolled in a CPR class—taught by Kaylin’s Safe Sitter® Instructor.