When Murphy Comes A Knocking …
Babysitting lessons come to the rescue
With quick thinking and remembrance of her Babysitter Training a young teen found herself in the center of the effects of Murphy’s law. See how she was able to control the situation, calm things down and kick Murphy to the curb …
Murphy’s law states that anything that can go wrong, will go wrong, at the worst possible moment. Our job as parents is to prepare for things to go wrong, so that our kids are better equipped to make good decisions. This is even more critical when our children start to gain more independence.
Recently, my husband and I went for a quick run in our neighbourhood, leaving our three children (aged 9, 11 & 13 years old) on their own for a short while.
The boys were playing a friendly game of mini-sticks, a small-scale version of the real thing played on the floor of my hallway. At one point, my oldest son took a shot that missed the ball and accidently connected my youngest son’s bottom lip. His lip split open and began to bleed… a lot! Both boys started to panic – the younger one began to freak out because his brother said he would need stitches. My older son immediately felt queasy at the sight of the blood. Things were going wrong, fast!
Luckily, my daughter came to the rescue. Hearing the commotion, she went upstairs to see how she could help. She wasn’t entirely sure what to do, but had the presence of mind to grab her Red Cross Babysitters manual to find the answer. Using the manual for reference, she systematically calmed both boys and provided first aid treatment for her younger brother.
This is what we saw when we walked through the door at the end of our run:
- one 13-year old who was still a wee bit green around the edges
- the nine-year old on the couch applying direct pressure to the wound, and
- our 11-year old sitting next to him with her Babysitters training manual open, checking to see if there was any more she could do.
Upon closer inspection, we assured my son that he didn’t need stitches and continued to provide reassurance.
Afterwards, I asked my daughter what she felt throughout the whole ordeal. She said, “Well, at first, I was nervous. I wasn’t sure what to do. But then I remembered my Babysitter training. The instructor told us to keep our manual in a safe spot for reference. I read the part about keeping the child calm and then reviewed my first aid for cuts.”
As her mom, I couldn’t be more proud of her! We had unknowingly prepared her for this moment by putting her through Home Alone Safety and Babysitter training courses. While she didn’t know exactly what to do, she kept a level head and used problem-solving skills that she learned in her training programs to do the right thing.
SOS 4 Kids offers children’s safety training courses including the Home Alone Safety for Kids program and the Red Cross Babysitters course. Visit our website for course dates and locations in Southwestern Ontario at www.safetycoursesforkids.com.
