Author: Alexandria Bryant
Planning Unit: Breckinridge County CES
Major Program: 4-H Family and Consumer Science Core Curriculum
Plan of Work: Keys to maintaining a successful workforce
Outcome: Long-Term Outcome
Babysitting businesses provide a unique entrepreneurship opportunity for middle and high school teens. Babysitting is often the first job experience for teens. The 4-H Babysitting program prepares youth to initiate a babysitting business and create safe, educational, and quality babysitting experiences. In order to prepare local teens, the Breckinridge County 4-H program provided 2 babysitting programs in 2019. A 6-week Afterschool Babysitting Club was held at Breckinridge County Middle School with 7 enrolled members and a 6-hour Cloverport Babysitting Program (short term / special interest program) was held in the summer for 7 youth at Cloverport Middle and High Schools. The programs were led by the 4-H Agent, 4-H Intern, and 4-H Assistant with hands-on lessons including the characteristics of a babysitter, ages and stages of development, babysitting forms and emergency safety sheets, infant care, kitchen safety, MyPlate and nutrition, healthy snack recipes, basic first aid, and marketing a business. Teaching resources included the KY 4-H Babysitting curriculum. At the conclusion of the program, youth were tested on their knowledge and skills. All youth (100%) successfully demonstrated safe kitchen practices, understanding of general babysitting safety practices, basic first aid, infant care (e.g. handling, feeding, burping, dressing, basic first aid, etc.), ages and stages of development, age appropriate play, and safe marketing techniques. Following completion of the program, a graduation ceremony was held and youth received babysitting bags with helpful supplies to start a safe and healthy babysitting business. Parent comments included, “I would highly recommend this program,” “I hope my child will be able to go through this program again,” and “our child has been practicing what she learned at the babysitting program on us (parents) at home.” Five (5) of the babysitting program graduates have shared that they have already started babysitting businesses for youth in the community and using what they learned in 4-H.
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