Registered nurse Erin Olmstead from Stephens Memorial Hospital in Norway instructs students Wednesday in how to perform CPR as part of a babysitting class at Mexico Public Library. From left are Haylee Jamison, Chloe Lill, Mariya Folsom and Tamara Morgan. Bruce Farrin/Rumford Falls Times
MEXICO — Eight middle school students spent Wednesday training to be babysitters, learning how to perform CPR on infants and how to help infants and small children who are choking.
The six-and-a-half-hour Safe Sitter course was taught through Stephens Memorial Hospital in Norway and hosted by the Mexico Public Library.
“I know my aunt is looking for a babysitter,” Chloe Lill, 12, said, “so when I get more mature, I might babysit my cousins. It’s been really fun and I’ve learned a lot. I’ve made some friends, too.”
Haylee Jamison, 13, said she is taking the course because “I love babysitting in general. I want to do babysitting as a career. I want to be a foster mom when I grow up.”
She said she signed up for the training with Lill, and the two of them want to start a small day care business in the future. Learning how to do CPR was “really cool,” she said.
Mariya Folsom, 15, said she signed up for training to be a better and more confident babysitter “because I never knew how to do CPR.”
Erin Olmstead, a registered nurse at Stephens Memorial Hospital, is teaching the course.
“We do these classes for sixth- through eighth-graders, typically ages 11-14,” she said. “Within this program, we teach a lot about safety skills, how to be safe at home, as well indoors, outdoors and online. Also, how to provide child care, first aid and CPR.”
She added, “At this age, they’re starting to stay home alone for short stints, starting to take care of their siblings or maybe their cousins.”
Olmstead said she hopes students can build on their Safe Sitter skills to benefit their neighbors and friends.
The CPR and first aid courses were taught via a video through the American Heart Association.
The students paired up and role-played accessing 911 and what information they would need readily available to help the operator assist them in getting advanced care at their location.
“I think these are great skills for them to learn, and am just super excited that they decided to come during February vacation,” Olmstead said. “It just shows that kids are really excited to learn new skills.”
Safe Sitter is taught all over the country, she said. Graduates receive a certificate of completion, a bag of emergency items, a form to get parent information and who to call in case of an emergency. They also get a student manual that includes information taught in the course.
The students will also be listed as Safe Sitters on the national website.
Olmstead said the Norway hospital offers the program five times a year.
Library Director Marilla Couch said Safe Sitter training will be offered from 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Thursday, April 21, at the library for up to eight students in grades six to eight. For more information, call the library at 364-3281.
Couch said she selected the course, funded through a grant by the American Library Association, to provide an activity for middle school students.
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