Safer baby sleep

This is a guest posting from The Lullaby Trust. The Lullaby Trust, formerly FSID, promotes expert advice on safer baby sleep and provides specialist support for bereaved families.

Working with a baby or toddler can be an exciting and rewarding experience. However, we know how worrying it can be making the best decisions to keep babies and toddlers as safe as possible.

Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) is the sudden and unexplained death of a baby where no cause is found. While SIDS is rare, it can still happen and our advice below will ensure that the baby or toddler in your care is sleeping as safely as can be both a night and during the day.

Things you can do when working with a baby:

Always place the baby on their back to sleep

• You should always place the baby on their back to sleep and not on their front or side

• Make sure you and the family you work with are consistent with back sleeping- the chance of SIDS is particularly high for babies who are sometimes placed on their front or side

• Once the baby can roll from back to front and back again, on their own, they can be left to find their own position

Keep the baby smoke free

• Never smoke around the baby or have the baby on contact with smoky skin or clothing.

• Don’t let people smoke near the baby and keep the house, car, and other places the baby spends time, smoke free

Opt for expressed breast milk over formula

• If you have the option, always prioritise breast milk over formula, as this can be protective against the risk of SIDS

Place the baby to sleep in a cot or Moses basket in the same room as you for the first 6 months, even during the day. It’s the safest place.

• The chance of SIDS is lower when babies sleep in the same room as their parents or carers, but do not share the same bed as them

Ensure the baby has a firm, flat, waterproof mattress in a good condition

• You and the baby’s family should avoid using soft or bulky bedding (such as quilts, pillows and duvets) as these increase the chance of SIDS

• Sleep the baby on a firm, flat mattress that is clean and in a good condition. A mattress with a waterproof cover will help you keep it clean and dry

Things to avoid when working with a baby:

Never sleep on a sofa or in an armchair with the baby either next to you or on your chest, even during the day

• Sofa sharing with a baby greatly increases the chance of SIDS

Avoid letting the baby get too hot or too cold

• A room temperature of 16-20⁰C, with light bedding or a lightweight well-fitting sleeping bag, is comfortable and safe for sleeping babies

• Check the baby regularly to see if he or she is too hot. Look for sweating or feel the baby’s tummy – their hands and feet will usually be cooler, that’s normal. If the baby is hot, remove one or more layers of bedclothes.

Don’t cover the baby’s face or head while sleeping or use loose bedding

• The use of loose bedding which can cover the baby’s face or head can be dangerous and can increase the chance of SIDS

• To keep the baby safe and their head uncovered while they are sleeping you should:

o Place your baby on their back in the ‘feet to foot’ position – this is where the baby’s feet are placed at the foot of the cot – so they can’t wriggle down under the blankets

o Use blankets which are firmly tucked in, no higher than the baby’s shoulders or baby sleeping bag

For more information and advice, see the Lullaby Trust’s website at www.lullabytrust.org.uk, or phone the information and advice line on 0808 802 6869.

Happy nannying!

Babysitting Jobs: What to Expect

If you are new to babysitting jobs, you may be nervous about what to expect when you turn up at the home of a new family. Even if you have had childcare experience before, you could be worried about bonding with the children, trying to carry out the parents’ wishes and keeping the children happy at the same time.

If you’re about to start venturing into the world of babysitting jobs, this article may be able to help you. Following are some of the challenges that babysitters face, and tips on how to deal with them.

Unhappy Children
It’s very possible that the children in your care may become upset when the parents leave, or they may begin to miss them later on. The best way to deal with this is to allow them to express their feelings and empathise with them – telling them that you understand their upset, and that you promise to keep them safe, will go a long way. Resist the urge to distract them out of their upset. Offer activities to do, by all means, but trying to ‘cheer them up’ constantly will only make them feel as though their feelings don’t matter.

Unruly Children
Some children deal with their difficult feelings by behaving in an unruly manner. They might refuse to eat the food their parents have left, insist that their mum said they could stay up late, or refuse point blank to go to bed. Some babysitters can feel that the children are ‘ganging up’ on them, and testing their authority. This may well be the case.

The most important thing to do is to stay calm and light-hearted. If the children see that they are rattling you, their behaviour may well continue. Make sure you are absolutely clear on the rules before the parents leave – for example, what time the children should be in bed, or how much TV they are allowed to watch – so that if they try to tell you otherwise, you won’t be swayed. The parents will much prefer you ask them the same thing three times before they leave than to deal with a call from you at 9pm, asking you to clarify bedtime. Write down the information so you have it to hand.

Emergency Situations
Thankfully, emergency situations are not common situations to have to deal with at babysitting jobs, but you should still be prepared:
Have a list of emergency contact numbers available – the parents mobile numbers, the numbers of the children’s grandparents, and one other contact number of someone close to the children, just in case
Be sure to have enough spare change on you to pay for a taxi should you need to use one in an emergency
Take your mobile phone with you, and make sure you have credit (and a fully charged battery)
Be prepared to use first aid. Attend a paediatric first aid course prior to your first babysitting job if you can – if not, seek first aid tutorial videos from a reputable source online on common problems such as choking and resuscitation, and take a real first aid course as soon as possible.

Babysitting

We all remember having a babysitter at some point in our childhoods. Usually a babysitter was a trusted family friend, or a familiar and responsible neighbourhood teen.

Babysitting can be undertaken by anybody, qualified or not. There is no legal lower age limit for babysitting, however the NSPCC recommend that any babysitter should be over the age of 16.

Babysitting is somewhat of a hybrid job, somewhere between nannying and childminding. The babysitting usually occurs in the child’s home, but babysitters aren’t generally required for the same long hours as a nanny would be. Babysitting usually entails just a few hours at a time, often in the evening when the children are already in bed.

Babysitting is usually thought of as an odd job for a teenager or older sibling, but it can be a great way to make extra money on top of your normal job. Many childminders and nursery nurses offer babysitting services for evenings and weekends. Babysitting is a good way to top up your earnings, as the money is normally rather good.

So, what do you need to do in order to make good money as a babysitter?

Babysitting Courses

There are many courses available nowadays that will give you the basic skills you need to be a good babysitter. These courses usually teach basic first aid, child development, early childhood education and the importance of play. Of course, these things can be learnt elsewhere – and many babysitters don’t have any formal qualifications – but it is reassuring to parents if you can show them proof of your skills.

First Aid

It is very wise for anybody to have up-to-date, basic first aid knowledge – especially those of us who spend any amount of time looking after children. However, to ensure that the children in your care are as safe as possible – and to give you the edge over other babysitters – it is advisable to undertake an in-depth first aid course, with a focus on first aid for babies and young children (assuming that’s the age group you’ll be working with).

Own Transport

This isn’t essential for all babysitting jobs, but it may come in very useful. You can’t always rely on the parents to drop you home when you are finished, and you may finish too late in the evening for public transport (depending on where you live, of course). Make sure you always have spare change for a taxi, should you need one.

Set Rates

When applying for babysitting jobs, you should be able to give the family a quote for your services. It is perfectly acceptable to charge more for evening, weekend and bank holiday babysitting, as they are considered to be unsociable hours. It is also worth considering working ‘special’ nights such as New Years Eve, when babysitters are traditionally paid a lot more than usual.

A Contract

If you regular babysit for a family and it is more of a job as they expect you to cook a meal, do homework or bath and put the children to be it may be wise to have a contract in place.

Also, don’t forget that you may need to complete a tax return if you are babysitting regularly and earning a certain amount of money. You should seek further advice from HMRC if you are unsure.