Real Sit-uation: Teenage baby sitters gain experience, cash during the summer months

Kimberley McGee

Monday, July 2, 2001 | 8:23 a.m.

For some teens, the freedom of long summer days means it's time to be innovative and make some money. For a responsible teenager who doesn't mind the pitter-patter of little feet, baby-sitting can be a cash cow.

But today's teens have become more savvy about baby-sitting, said Liz Carlton, a youth director at the Southern Nevada Chapter of the American Red Cross.

Carlton said teens tend to enter the field of baby-sitting armed with certified cardiopulmonary resuscitation training and a professional attitude.

Many local community centers, such as the Red Cross, YMCA, Clark County and the City of Las Vegas, offer classes to prepare sitters for any bumps, bruises or bawling that may occur while in charge of someone else's children.

"They are afraid, mostly with infants, of doing something wrong," Carlton said. "We try to cover anything they might encounter."

Of the hundreds of girls and handful of boys who the Red Cross trains in baby-sitting techniques each year, Carlton said safety is the primary concern. But that is closely followed by the primary motivation money.

The going rate for local teenage baby sitters is anywhere from $2 to $5 per hour. That rate can vary based on the number of children and the situation.

The classes teach teens, mostly ages 11 to 15, the basics of first aid and food preparation to get through a few hours of baby-sitting. But they also teach the teens how to interview for a baby-sitting job and how to write a resume, as well as how to quell a child's fears when parents leave the house.

"They need to know how to take care of any situation that comes up," Carlton said. "We teach them how to stay calm and have fun."

Taking care of someone's children is a big responsibility, one which most baby sitters come to realize after sitting in a stranger's home as their charges look to them for entertainment, food and safety.

That's what motivated 11-year-old Jamie Necita to become a professionally trained baby sitter.

The first time she baby-sat was on a whim earlier this year. A friend of the family was in desperate need of someone to watch her children for a few hours.

The children under Necita's care fell asleep during her debut as a baby sitter.

She knew she got lucky.

"I was afraid," Necita said. "What if they choke? What should I do?"

But $35 and two hours later, she was willing to give it another try. She promised herself that the next time she was called to babysit she would be more prepared.

Necita recently completed a baby-sitting class sponsored by the city of Las Vegas to boost her confidence -- and her rates.

She has charged upwards of $2 per child. She's considering a $5 per hour flat fee for future gigs.

"If I'm a better baby sitter, maybe they'll ask me back," Necita said.

Although Necita said competition is tough, local parents said baby sitters are summer treasures, and the good ones are difficult to discover.

Sean Patrick, regional director of public affairs for Del Webb, has a hectic work schedule but makes sure to take time with his wife, Paulette, and three boys, Danny, 12, Aaron, 9, and Tommy, 6.

Occasionally Patrick would like to spend time on the town with his wife of 16 years.

That's when the baby-sitter dance begins. They use three baby sitters on a regular basis and rotate to make sure they don't overwhelm any one sitter.

"We don't want to wear one out," he said. "We fear that if we go to one kid too much, she'll say, 'No,' to us."

Increasing the stable of known baby sitters also increases their chances of finding someone at the last minute on a Friday night.

"It's difficult to find someone you can trust, who is reliable and available," Patrick said. "Usually it's somebody we know. It's a trust factor."

In Las Vegas, he said, it's hard for parents to establish a baby-sitter connection.

"We have no family in town, so that makes it especially tough," Patrick said. "We have friends' daughters we know are responsible."

Corie Condon, a Las Vegas mother of four, hasn't had a problem finding someone to baby-sit.

The bigger issue, she said, is keeping the good ones.

She's had some who come in and make themselves at home, but don't clean up after themselves or the children.

Others have cleaned up any messes the evening's sitting festivities have created and also instilled a sense of calm in the worried parent.

"Those I tip an extra $5," Condon said. "We want them back."

Rates have gone up a few dollars in recent years, she said, but so has the baby sitter's work ethic.

Condon's oldest daughter, Brandy, 15, is a baby sitter and recently received $50 for four hours of work. She kept the children entertained, cleaned the kitchen and picked up the children's toys.

"People will pay for a good baby sitter," Condon said.

This has not escaped teenagers' attention.

They have come to realize their skills as a professional baby sitter in Las Vegas can net them hundreds of dollars during the summer months, Tiffany Yanke, a local baby sitter, said.

Yanke, 14, is a seasoned sitter. This year, her fourth as a sitter, she has made more than $300 in two months of baby-sitting and hopes to extend her list of clients (parents, to the layperson) to make more money.

"It's mall money," Yanke said. "But I'm saving some for a car. And college. But it is usually mall money."

She has learned to soothe overprotective parents, silence siblings and calm fussy infants. The skills did not come naturally. She entered the field as a novice.

"I just wanted some money," Yanke said. "So I walked over and baby-sat (for a family friend)."

She soon learned she didn't know much about children -- some of whom are less than half her age. Yanke took a class through the city of Las Vegas and learned how to burp babies and entertain bored toddlers. Now she teaches up-and-coming baby sitters the ropes in a summer class for the city.

"It's important to know what you are doing," Yanke said. "For you and the parents, too."

Renee Feddersen, 13, had read about the benefits of baby-sitting in a teen guidebook.

"I want to be a teacher when I grow up, so I thought this would be good," Feddersen said. "It's training."

Earlier this year she took an eight-hour baby-sitting class at the YMCA and recently completed CPR certification.

She blanketed her neighborhood with brightly colored flyers and gave some to her father to pass around at work as well. She followed the YMCA's guidelines to advertise in areas she trusts.

"The classes made me more professional," Feddersen said. "I'm ready to make some money."

Her fee is a $5 flat rate. "I don't want to charge too much, or too little," Feddersen said. "I think that's what parents want."

And she is a certified expert in that field.

archive