The St. John Babysitter Advantage©

The St. John Babysitter Advantage© initiative allows St. John to provide subsidized rates for our Babysitting Basics course to youth who may not have had the opportunity to attend such a course due to financial barriers. The course is intended for youth 11 – 16 years of age who will be looking after young infants and children. In the Babysitting Basics course they will learn the general principles of care, to be prepared for emergencies, and the basic First Aid skills that may help save a life.

Babysitting Basics courses are held year-round at local St. John Ambulance centres, but the subsidy program will only be available through the St. John Babysitter Advantage© initiative which runs from May to August, 2018.

Please contact us for details about courses in your area.

Parents can register their child in any Babysitting Basics course by contacting St. John Ambulance directly. They must state that they are registering for the St. John Babysitter Advantage© initiative in order to receive the subsidy.

If you are an organisation that would like to partner directly with us by hosting a private Babysitting Basics course at your location, specifically for youth in your programs, please contact your nearest St. John Ambulance centre. Private courses subsidized through the Babysitter Advantage© initiative are limited, due to available sponsorship funding.

If You Have a Babysitting First Aid Story – tell us about it and we’’ll share select ones on our website

Clarissa’s Story
Twelve year old Carissa practiced wrapping the bandage around her knee as she had been shown in the St John Ambulance Babysitting course. Bandaging was one of the First Aid and safety skills she learned during the one-day course designed for youth looking to pursue work in babysitting.

Laura, Carissa’s mother, was “really pleased with the program.” As a result, Carissa has been given more responsibility at home looking after her younger brother and consequently organizes safe activities with him. Recently when visiting family, a 2 ½ year old toddler ran out of the house and it was Carissa who scooped the child up before he got to the road.

“Carissa has become much more aware and her eyes are a little more open to the aspect of safety all around her now. The boost to her self-confidence has been evident,” says Laura.

Having learned many lessons in the class, such as proper care of infants and children, preventing injuries, and basic First Aid techniques, Carissa has taken her learning experience seriously and can often be found practicing bandaging on herself and the family dog.

“Carissa realizes she has the responsibility to learn the skills and has been intrigued with it all,” Laura adds.