Milford chronicle., 1954-10-08
10 PARENTS
BY DR MARTHA IA. EtloT
Chief child7sn's Rulseu

"What should ] do Il q stranger
comes 10 the door, asked 9 fragile
looking blonde
"HoW hot should a kid be- before
you cali the doctor, &c you can't
get his parents. mean?" Queried
that foot 11 inch center Of Grants
Pass. Oregon, Junior High School
basketball team.
The questions came from an In
tent group Of youngsters They we're
an somewhere between - and ~
years Of age. And they were all
babysitters-or WOuld-be baby
eitters. They we're all also anxious
enough 20 want to do a good job
to attend. of their volition, an OUT
of-school hours babysitting safety
course.
The course Is sponsored by the
Grants Pass Parent Teacher AssO-
citation. The youngsters themselves
helped form the curriculum, since
they chose what subjects they most
wanted discussed. One 0i the unique
things about this neighborhOOd pro-
5ect-aside from the fact that it
exists at all-is who the instructors
are They're volunteers. And they're
professional people from the COM
munity
A police officer from the station
house down the street is one Of the
instructors. ready with a practical
answer for the worried blonde as
well as with other realistic advice
and suggestions on other phases Of
protection that It might be wise
for the young temporary guardian
of q household, and Of its precious
occupants, TO know.
On another afternoon the city
recreation director explains how to
read and tell stories to small chill
dren, including the type Of stories
most apt to appeal to different age
groups. He also passes on a valu-
able repertoire Of suitable games
and entertaining devices geared for
the occasion.
"A pediatrician answers other
questions that puzzle the teenagers,
mostly questions on how to meet
emergencies that feel they might
not know how to handle adequately.
There are searching questions on
such small emergencies, to, as how
fo handle tantrums and stalling
about getting to bed.
a nurse leads a session that GER
tainlV should prepare the students
10 be suDer-sitters: the low down
on how to give an infant a safe
and proper bath and how to change
diaper with such knOW-hOW that
neither baby nor baby tender panics
nor gets stuck with a pin.
The course is such a popular one
so boys and girls completed Il
this first ar-that there IS a sus-
picion it fills a need on the part Of
these young people that is even
greater than proficiency at their
chosen part-time job Of babysitting.
IL may well fit IN quite neatly and
be Of great use in very personal
patterns apt to take shape in a not
too distant future
Other groups around the country
have found other ways to improve
the quality Of babysitting, some
even forming babysitting exchanges
where an attempt is made to check
the health as well as the reliability
Of the sitters- rs-though ultimately
IT Is the employing parent whose
responsibility it is to judge the
competence of a sitter even though
they cannot judge whether or not
the sitter has tuberculosis. This
business Of checking the health Of
any one who is frequently in close
contact with babies or young chill
dren IS a most important one and
.babysitters are no exception.
Still. the youthful babysitter Of
today win be the parent Of to-
morrow almost before we know IL.
IT'S nice to know that many viii
fO a better job at both because
they and the community care.