Content Issues


Please explain Safe Sitter's policy restricting the distribution of "non-Safe Sitter®" materials. Is it OK to have expert guests, such as a firefighter or police officer come to class? Is it absolutely necessary to have a toddler/preschool guest? Why does Safe Sitter® have the sitter watch the infant or child for 15 seconds before starting rescue breathing? Why does Safe Sitter® teach students to call EMS immediately after the choking child becomes unconscious? What is the difference between the rescue skills sections on Day One and Day Two? If most children resume breathing on their own after a seizure, why should the sitter call 911 ? Why does Safe Sitter® have the available adult call Poison Center for poisoning without symptoms? Is the available adult supposed to splint the broken bone? Why doesn't Safe Sitter® have sitters take temperatures? Why doesn't Safe Sitter® have sitters rescue a child in deep water?
Q	Please explain Safe Sitter's policy restricting the distribution of "non-Safe Sitter®" materials.
A	When conducting Safe Sitter® classes, Instructors are asked to refrain from distributing educational material, including educational videos, not prepared by Safe Sitter®. There are two reasons for this policy: information overload and the possibility of information in the materials conflicting with information in the curriculum. As Instructors can attest, the curriculum is already extremely fact-dense. The students have an enormous amount of new information to absorb in a short period of time. Adding extra brochures, fliers, articles, videos, etc., even though related to Safe Sitter® content and worthwhile in themselves, may contribute to students feeling overwhelmed and exhausted instead of feeling excited and motivated. Good intentions can backfire, resulting in information overload. Curriculum conflict is another concern. The Safe Sitter® curriculum is specific to the development level of the young adolescent. Most other first aid and child care resources are targeted at an adult audience. For example, most written material or videos about poisoning advise the "rescuer' to call the Poison Center while Safe Sitter® teaches the babysitter to ask an immediately available adult to make the call to the Poison Center. Adolescents are confused by this seemingly conflicting information and are likely to take away the message that there is no right answer. In this case, use of an educational enhancement actually detracts from the educational experience. We ask Safe Sitter® Instructors to demonstrate their commitment to young adolescents and the Safe Sitter® curriculum by preserving the integrity of the curriculum. If you know of information that you consider so essential to the Safe Sitter® curriculum that it should be routinely included in the course content, please forward it to Safe Sitter® National Headquarters. In the unusual situation where an Instructor feels compelled to utilize additional resources (after careful examination of the resources for accuracy and appropriateness), the Instructor is to identify the educational enhancements as "non-Safe Sitter®" and not endorsed by Safe Sitter®.
Q	Is it OK to have expert guests, such as a firefighter or police officer come to class?
A	Safe Sitter® asks that you do not schedule a guest for two reasons – time and content. Keeping the class segments on schedule is always a concern for Instructors. Adding a guest requires adding time to the class or leaving something out. The time taken for the introduction of the guest and the guest’s introductory remarks take time that we simply don’t have. Curriculum content is also a concern. A guest who is an expert and who is not familiar with the Safe Sitter® course material may give information which seems or is inconsistent with Safe Sitter® curriculum. This can be very confusing to the students. The expert’s advice may not be geared to the developmental level of a middle schooler. The expert’s advice might be appropriate for an adult but not appropriate for a 12-year-old babysitter. Handling such inconsistencies or inappropriate advice can put Instructors in a difficult and sometimes embarrassing situation. Remember, you, the Safe Sitter® Instructor, are the expert for Safe Sitter®.
Q	Is it absolutely necessary to have a toddler/preschool guest?
A	There are multiple learning opportunities in the Guest section of the course. The opportunity to practice meeting and greeting a child and parent as well as interviewing a parent for Important Numbers and the four routines are important elements of the Guest section. It is true that children who have been around many toddlers already have a basic knowledge of what to expect; however, they probably have not observed a toddler from the perspective of what it would be like to be responsible for that child.
Q	Why does Safe Sitter® have the sitter watch the infant or child for 15 seconds before starting rescue breathing?
A	The teaching philosophy of Safe Sitter® is based on the medical dictum "First Do No Harm" AND the developmental realities of the young teen sitter. In the case of respiratory rescue or rescue breathing, this philosophy translates to instructing the sitter to observe the infant for 15 seconds before taking any action. Babies, especially young babies in the age range of SIDS, have very irregular and intermittently shallow respirations. It can be very difficult to determine if a baby is breathing without careful observation over a reasonable time. Safe Sitter® sensitizes the students to the possibility that they may face a situation that requires rescue breathing. In some ways we prime the students to expect an emergency. The 15 second observation period is meant to correct for the over zealous sitter and for the irregular and shallow respirations of the young infant. Lastly, you should know that even infants who are being monitored for their risk of sudden infant death by apnea monitoring have a 15 second apnea alarm delay.
Q	Why does Safe Sitter® teach students to call EMS immediately after the choking child becomes unconscious?
A	The American Heart Association teaches adult rescuers to do rescue procedures for one minute and then activate the EMS. The young adolescent is more likely to need backup for this emergency than an adult. Problems of technique, fear, guilt, and paralyzing anxiety may interfere with a successful rescue. The earlier help is summoned, the better. In an emergency situation in which a child chokes and becomes unconscious, the likelihood of intact survival diminishes with each elapsing second. By allowing the young adolescent to call immediately at the point the victim becomes unconscious, expert help is mobilized. Safe Sitter® is not changing the sequence from the recommendations of the American Heart Association (the only change is in the timing of the telephone call).
Q	What is the difference between the rescue skills sections on Day One and Day Two?
A	On the first day, the emphasis should be on the determination of need for rescue breathing/care of the choking infant or child as well as demonstration and explanation of the procedures. The second day provides an opportunity for practice and refinement of technique. Introduce all new concepts on the first day and use the scenarios in the Instructor Manual when practicing. There are scenarios for both the first day when the skills are introduced and for practice on the second day.
Q	If most children resume breathing on their own after a seizure, why should the sitter call 911?
A	Since most Safe Sitters are relatively young, and very few have witnessed epileptic seizures, most sitters in that situation -- and in fact many parents - fear for the child's life during the seizure. The actual risks depend on the cause of the seizure, the length of the seizure, and complications from the seizure, for example aspiration of secretions or vomit. Because Safe Sitters do not have the medical background to assess the actual risk, sitters are directed to contact 911 so that appropriately trained individuals will be immediately available for further assessment and management.
Q	Why does Safe Sitter® have the available adult call Poison Center for poisoning without symptoms?
A	When sitters face the situation of handling a potential poisoning without symptoms occurring "on their watch," they will have many emotions. Their first reaction will (hopefully) be fear for the health of the child. The fear will motivate them to get adult help and support. The sooner an adult is involved the better. When the fear fades, guilt will likely set in along with embarrassment and the desire to cover up the problem. The problem, however, must be dealt with and the Poison Center must be called. The available adult's presence assures the call will be made. Of course, in isolated geographic areas where there is no available adult, the sitter should make the call to the Poison Center.
Q	Is the available adult supposed to splint the broken bone?
A	A broken bone is extremely painful. The pain is so severe the individual may vomit or pass out at the time of the break. Once the initial pain caused by the break subsides, the child (or adult) will do everything possible to prevent movement of the injured part so that the bone pieces will not be disturbed and cause another "rush of pain." The injured individual naturally splints the injured part. This is "nature's way" of preventing further damage. Unless the person providing first aid understands the reason and the importance of not moving the injured part, their attempts at first aid, specifically splints, can do more harm than good. So, if the available adult is knowledgeable and knows how to splint the bone to stabilize the bone fragments without doing harm, the available adult should do just that. The child will then need to be seen for further evaluation and treatment. If the available adult is unsure of the proper technique, the injured area can be stabilized with a pillow and the child made comfortable. These simple measures are frequently all that needs to be done to transport the child for care.
Q	Why doesn't Safe Sitter® have sitters take temperatures?
A	There is no standard method or instrument for taking a temperature. Individual households vary in the thermometer available. Likewise, physicians direct parents to take temperature at different sites, e.g. axillary, oral, rectal. Reading a thermometer is not always easy. The combination of these factors results in the risk of temperature taking by a young sitter being greater than the benefit.
Q	Why doesn't Safe Sitter® have sitters rescue a child in deep water?
A	All Safe Sitter® first aid recommendations take into account the tremendous variation in the physical size and emotional and cognitive maturity we know to be characteristic of this age group. Regardless of swimming skill or water safety training, many 11 and 12 year old sitters would simply not be physically capable of subduing a thrashing, desperate child in deep water.