babysitters, as well as babysitters
seeking work.
Helpfully, the Bermuda Red
Cross offers a babysitting course
for boys and girls ages 12-16,
teaching the skills required to
be an effective babysitter. The
16-hour course also qualifies the
person in adult, infant and child
CPR and basic first aid. The CPR/
first aid qualification is valid for
two years.
As a precaution, potential
babysitters on jobber.bm must
provide at least one (and preferably two) references before
they are allowed to bid on a job. Jobber.bm allows its users to
become “verified” which means that they must provide some
form of identification - a driver’s license or the photo page
from a passport. Potential babysitters are strongly advised to
provide this identification and parents posting babysitting
jobs are strongly advised to request that a bidder gets verified
by the website during the pre-vetting process.
When someone posts a babysitting job on the website,
they receive a message that includes a checklist of recom-
mendations compiled by jobber.bm with the assistance of
SCARS and the Red Cross.
Posters are advised to check all references and if pos-
sible arrange to meet the potential babysitter to check their
photo ID and certificates. They are advised to ask the “jobber”
to become ‘verified’ on the website, and to ask if they have
taken the aforementioned courses offered by the Red Cross
and SCARS – and can produce the certificates issued by those
organisations upon completion of the courses. They are also
advised that they can ask questions of potential ‘jobbers’ while
retaining their anonymity through the website.
“By listing those recommendations, we help the baby-
sitter to know how to give themselves the best chance of
getting the job – and, for parents, we teach them how to vet
people who are new to them by saying ‘here are the certifi-
cations and accreditations to look out for’,” Lowe says.
“The website also allows people to rate those who have
done work for them so if you are looking for a babysitter
you will be able to see what other parents have written. But
even if all of those things check out, we strongly recom-
mend meeting with
a potential babysit-
ter before you leave
your children in
their care. If you are
planning on going out on a Friday, post the job on Monday
or Tuesday. The bids will come in very quickly, so that gives
you the time to actually decide which bids to take a look at,
time to check out their references and time to meet people
beforehand.”
Trusted globally | Focused locally | Responding impartially
Would you be ready for an
Emergency or crisis in your
community?
Do you have a family plan?
Do you have a fully stocked first aid kit?
Are you CPR/First Aid trained?
Are you interested in learning more about
preparedness and response?
Would you consider being a preparedness
or response volunteer?
Call or email us if you want more information on the
above or more….
BERMUDA RED CROSS
Charleswood, 9 Berry Hill Road
Paget, DV 03
T 236-8253, F 441 236 8267
[email protected]
www.bermudaredcross.com
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