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Babysitter skills: what to learn first, and what can wait

Parents don't book the sitter with the longest list of skills. They book the one who can keep a child safe, follow the house routine and hand the evening back without surprises. Learn those first, then add the specialist skills that let you take on babies, bigger families and better-paying nights.

69 open jobs

Step one

Gets you the interview

Pediatric first aid and CPRIt's the first filter on most sitter profiles. You should know choking response for infants and children, how to treat a burn or a nosebleed, and when to call emergency services.

Age-matched basic careParents search by age. Show you can warm a bottle, change a diaper, spot a tired toddler before the meltdown, or keep a grade schooler on track with a reading log.

A complete, quick-reply profileOn Care.com, Sittercity or UrbanSitter, families book whoever answers first with a clear photo, a filled-out availability grid and a passed background check.

Reliable transportation or a planLate-night jobs need a way home. Say whether you drive, whether you can do school pickup, and whether you know how to install a car seat.

Step two

Gets you the offer

Running the family's bedtime routineBath, pajamas, teeth, books, lights out, in their order and with their words. Parents judge the trial sit mostly on whether bedtime happened on time.

Allergy and medication awarenessReading labels, knowing where the EpiPen or inhaler lives and how to use it, and only giving medicine the parents approved in writing.

Calm limit-settingRedirecting a sibling fight, holding the screen-time rule and saying no to dessert without a standoff. Families want their discipline approach used, not yours.

A short handoff reportWhen parents walk in, tell them what the kids ate, when they fell asleep and anything odd, in a minute or less. It's what makes them trust the next booking.

Step three

Gets you promoted

Newborn and infant careSafe sleep practices, paced bottle feeding, burping and soothing a colicky baby. Newborn sitting pays more and fewer sitters are comfortable with it.

Care for children with special needsExperience with autism, ADHD or feeding tubes, plus comfort following a visual schedule or a therapist's plan, opens up steady families who struggle to find sitters.

Homework and tutoring supportWalking a kid through long division or a spelling list turns a pickup job into a regular after-school slot, and parents rebook it every week.

Running sitting as a small businessA shared calendar, a written rate sheet with late-return and cancellation fees, and payment through Venmo or Zelle keep families coming back and stop awkward conversations. It's also the path to nanny work or to running a sitting service.

Certificates worth your time

Certificate	Best for	Effort	Worth it?
American Red Cross Babysitting Basics	Teens and first-time sitters with no references yet	an afternoon online	Worth it if you're new. It covers the basics parents care about and gives you something to list on your profile.
American Red Cross Adult and Pediatric First Aid/CPR/AED	Any sitter who wants to show hands-on emergency training	a day, often with an in-person skills session	The one to get. Parents recognise the name, and it needs renewing, so keep your card current.
American Heart Association Heartsaver Pediatric First Aid CPR AED	Sitters who may move into daycare or preschool work later	a day of classroom and practice time	Equally respected. Pick this one if a childcare centre near you asks for it.

Course names, formats and renewal periods change, so check the Red Cross or American Heart Association site before you sign up.

Put it on your resume like this

Weak

Watched kids for families in my neighborhood.

Strong

Regular sitter for 5 families with children from 6 months to 10 years; ran bedtime for 3 kids at once, handled daily school pickup, and hold current Red Cross Pediatric First Aid/CPR.

Questions people ask

What's the first skill a new babysitter should learn?

Pediatric first aid and CPR. Everything else you can pick up on the job, but you can't learn choking response in the moment you need it.

Do I need a certificate to babysit?

Usually not. Most families and apps treat a first aid and CPR card as a strong plus rather than a requirement, though some parents won't consider sitters without one. If you start watching several families' kids in your own home, that can fall under childcare licensing, and those rules vary by state.

How do I get experience with babies if nobody will hire me for one?

Sit for a family with a baby while a parent is home, help in a church or gym nursery, or take an infant care class at a local hospital. Then say so plainly on your profile.

Which skills let me charge more?

Newborn care, special needs experience, driving with car seats, tutoring and watching several kids at once. Each one narrows the list of sitters a family can choose from.

Got step one? Start applying. HeroApply matches you to roles that fit.

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