SafeSitter program in Dixon on June 14 equips babysitters with lifesaving skills

DIXON – A nationally recognized babysitting program is offering local teens the chance to gain lifesaving skills this summer.

The SafeSitter Essentials with CPR course prepares students in grades six through eight to care for younger children and handle emergencies with confidence. The one-day class will run from 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, June 14, at the RiverWorks Coworking building, 114 E. Everett St. in Dixon. The program costs $75 per student and is limited to six kids per session.

The instructor-led class incorporates engaging games and role-playing to teach a range of critical skills:

• Safety skills: Students learn how to prevent and respond to common household emergencies such as power outages and severe weather.
• Child care skills: Lessons cover behavior management, child development stages and diapering.
• First-aid and rescue skills: Participants practice choking rescue, CPR and basic first-aid techniques to assess and respond to injuries or illnesses.
• Life and business skills: Students learn professional development from screening job offers to setting fair rates.

The course is taught by Stephanie McLean, a registered nurse and an American Heart Association-certified CPR and first-aid instructor who previously worked for KSB Hospital in Dixon. Her business, Sauk Valley CPR, provides online and in-person classroom instruction on CPR, first aid, Heart Saver and Basic Life Support for health care worker classes, automated external defibrillator training and recertification services.

“We want them to build confidence in a fun way for all these skills,” McLean said. “They practice through various role-playing and group activities, and at the end of it, we have a little graduation ceremony and a letter that goes to the parents explaining what we went over.”

McLean will offer the course a few times over the summer, with plans for additional sessions should enough public interest arise.

SafeSitter was founded in 1980 by Dr. Patricia Keener, who was then director of nurseries at Community Hospital in Indianapolis. The idea for the program came after a young child choked and died while in the care of an adult babysitter who did not know how to respond. The child was the daughter of a nurse Keener had spoken to just moments earlier.

For more information, visit saukvalleycpr.com. Visit the website’s calendar to download the registration form and enroll your child in the next class.