Babysitter education course set

Emma Madison, blonde, petite and 35, came awfully close to giggling like a schoolgirl as her husband Greg, 38, pulled a classic high school maneuver. Stretching his arms overhead with an exaggerated yawn, he let them drop again, one arm curling around his wife's shoulders as the opening credits of "The Da Vinci Code" splashed across the big screen at Regal Cinemas Saturday night.

With two tanker-size sodas and a bucket of rich, buttery popcorn between them, the Madisons — married for 12 years — were enjoying their first "date night" in nearly six months.

"Normally we'd be here about four hours earlier and trying to keep Emily and Stephen in their seats," Emma whispered. "We brought the kids last night to watch 'Over the Hedge,' but tonight we are finally taking a night for ourselves."

One of the most difficult decisions a parent faces, according to Emma, is choosing a babysitter.

"You're basically picking another child to take care of your children," she said after the movie. "Emily is 8, Stephen is 10, and the babysitter we just hired is 14. It's a little scary."

Between the decreasing age of available babysitters and the increasing responsibilities that go along with the job there is an urgent need for babysitter education, said Van English, family education coordinator for Lee Memorial Health System.

"Kids today aren't interested in babysitting when they get older like they used to be," she said. "Once they turn 16 and can drive, they're off to other things, so it's the younger pre-teens that are doing the babysitting now."

Working in conjunction with the national program Safe Sitter, Lee Memorial is offering Safe Sitter courses this summer. The two-day, 12-hour course as geared toward children ages 11 to 13 and teaches first aid and CPR techniques, emergency communication skills, and behavioral management methods to effectively work with unruly charges or stressful situations.

"There is an extensive amount of material covered during the class," English said, "and there is a lot of hands on learning."

Despite the young age of the students in the class, they are treated in an adult manner and taught how to make safe and responsible decisions for themselves as well as for any child they are babysitting.

"We teach them how to decide what they can handle on their own and what they would need to call a parent or neighbor for," said English. "We also teach them how to look at the business aspect of babysitting." English said students report earning between $5 and $10 per hour in South Lee County for a typical babysitting job.

"That's pretty good money," she said, "but it's also a lot of responsibility, so they deserve it."

Students of the course are given a certificate of completion upon successfully finishing the course, and English said many parents in South Lee County are starting to require some type of official training before hiring a babysitter.

Lee Memorial Health System also offers a job-matching service for those who have completed the course successfully. Although Lee Memorial will never give out a student's name or contact information, said English, they do accept calls from parents looking for a qualified babysitter. Lee Memorial will use the requesting parent's zip code to locate a nearby babysitter from their class graduate list. They will then call that graduate of the Safe Sitter course and describe the job and give the contact information to the sitter.

The next Safe Sitter class with seats still open will be Aug. 12 and 13 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. The cost is $50 and includes all materials and supplies. For an application, call 432-3271. Parents seeking qualified babysitters may also call 432-3271. For more information on the Safe Sitter course, visit the Web site at www.safesitter.org. Classes will be held at HealthPark Medical Center, 9981 South HealthPark Drive, Fort Myers.