OLEAN - There will always be a need for skilled baby-sitters, and the American Red Cross is trying to make sure that adolescents entering the field are adequately trained.

Recently, the Red Cross offered baby-sitting training to girls and boys at its Olean office.

Anna Bush, workplace health and safety services director for the Red Cross, said the class was offered to 12 girls and two boys from communities that included Olean, Allegany, Ellicottville, Little Valley, Cuba and Hinsdale.

Ms. Bush said two of the young girls hoped to baby-sit as a team by watching infants or young children while the parents are home and just need some help.

“When asked what they liked best about the class, most of the students agreed that learning rescue breathing on the baby mannequins was their favorite,” Ms. Bush said.

She said the students also learned a number of skills that included how to start the business, acting like a professional, child care and first aid.

One of the students, Cary Flanders of Allegany, said she felt it was important to know how to do the abdominal thrusts and back blows in case the child you are caring for starts to choke.

Another student, Katie Paque, added that the “mannequins look real except for the tube in the neck, but you need that to learn the rescue breathing.”

The two young men taking the course were Nate Burgett, 12, of Olean, and Derrick Robinson, 12, of Cuba.

Nate, a student at Olean Middle School, said he wanted to become certified as he has two twin sisters who often need a baby-sitter.

“He wants to baby-sit his sisters but I thought he needed more training,” said Nate’s stepfather, Paul Jones. “We had been planning to get an outside sitter but he (Nate) said that it wasn’t fair” because he wanted to watch his sisters.

Nate’s mother, Charmaine Jones, said she believes the course is also helping her son be a better big brother.

“He (Nate) takes them to the park now, which he didn’t want to do before, and he also has informed us of how much he charges an hour.”

For his part, Derrick, a student at the Cuba-Rushford Middle School, said he wants to use his skills to watch his younger brother.

“I also want to watch kids in the neighborhood and I have been talking to people in the neighborhood” to line up jobs, Derrick said.

“I also learned how to change a diaper - I didn’t know how to do that,” Derrick admitted. “They also teach you about cleanliness and washing, so it was a very good experience.”

Derrick’s mother, Mary Derx Robinson, said she was pleased that Derrick took the course.

“He would like to make money baby-sitting but I was not comfortable with him doing it without the course,” Ms. Derx Robinson said. “And I would like him to be a successful father someday.”

The next course will be offered from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. May 31 at the Red Cross in Olean. Students who complete the course receive a certificate and first aid kit. There is a fee for the course. For more information, call the Red Cross at 372-5800.

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