When Stacie Kellermann, a babysitter of seven years' standing, showed up at a job recently, she rediscovered one of the basics of her trade.
No matter how long you've been at it, they'll test you.
The two parents had headed out to dinner, leaving her the house keys, a few ground rules and authority over their daughter, 8, and son, 7. She entertained and fed them as usual. But when bedtime rolled around, the little girl had a surprise.
"We each get a Hershey bar at night," she said.
Kellerman was too smart to fall for that, mainly due to her own long experience. She'd never been lucky enough to take a class like the one she's helping teach now – Babysitting 101, one of the most popular courses in Anne Arundel Community College's booming summer-ed program, Kids In College.
"In the world we live in, parents feel a lot better and are more willing to hire [a sitter] if they have this kind of training," says Louann Tracy, director of the college's Lifelong Learning department, which oversees Kids In College. "We've offered [babysitting] for four years, and the class has been full every time."
One recent morning, lead teacher Mauri Huck, clad in a tie-dyed t-shirt, served up ideas as though pulling them from her overstuffed crafts bag. Kellermann, a 20-year-old college student, chimed in with encouragement and tales from her own career.
The class – 15 girls between the ages of 12 and 14 (there are usually a few boys, but not this time) – alternates between note-taking, socializing and plunging into drills that test their poise.
"I'd like to start babysitting, and I want to feel like I know what I'm doing," says Emily Follin, 13, of Annapolis.
"It's helpful to learn possible scenarios," adds Elizabeth Swiger, 13, a camper from Millersville who is a relative novice. "We're getting some good pointers."
"Honestly," says Kellermann, "I wish I'd had a class like this before I started out."
Kits for kids
Huck, an Anne Arundel County mom and former parochial school teacher, has an approach that's part cheerleading, part Socratic dialectic.
At 9 a.m. on the second day of class, she already has long lists of topics on the board, multi-colored supplies at the ready, and seemingly endless positive energy.
"I told you I'd share a 'Kid Tip' with you every day," she says, naming today's as she scrawls it in big letters: Put together a Kid Kit.
"What might you want to put in a special kit to take along on every job?" she asks.
The question triggers a deluge of responses. "Books to read aloud," one girl says. "DVDs with movies," another says.
Scrawling on her chalkboard, Huck can barely keep up with the suggestions: coloring books, Star Wars figurines, a cell phone (for emergencies), Band Aids.
"How might parents feel if you show up [this organized]?" she asks.
"More comfortable," someone says.
"And the kids will be thrilled to see you arrive with that bag," the teacher adds, and she and Kellerman hand out blank canvas totes for the girls to decorate with fabric markers, iron-on letters and sparkles.
Without saying so, they've made a point essential to the course: a good babysitter is a serious professional who shows, at the same time, that he or she knows how to have fun.
Their method is very much in keeping with the vibe at Kids in College, a program Anne Arundel Community College has offered for more than 25 years.
This summer, it includes more than 150 classes for children between the ages of 3 and 17, mostly in courses that last a week or two within the eight-week schedule.
More than 2,600 students are enrolled in subjects like Dinosaur Discovery and Backyard Buccaneers for elementary school-aged children, Forensics 101 and Japanese Anime for middle schoolers and Savvy Study Skills for those in grades 7 through 11.
According to Tracy, the program's 80 teachers, try to use the appeal of fun topics like dinosaurs, pirates or crime-solving to draw students into skill areas that might otherwise seem less interesting, like anthropology, physics and history.
"In general, we treat academics the way mothers treat vegetables," she says with a laugh. "We sneak them in when nobody's looking."
On their level
It's only day two, and the girls fall into chatter as they decorate their bags, but Huck's class seems as interested in the serious side of babysitting as they are in having fun.
"You strike me as a very mature group," Huck tells them.
The day before, she asked the class to name the things they most wanted to learn this week. At the top of the list came first aid, a subject Huck will address fully in two days, including emergency techniques such as cardiopulmonary resuscitation.
Then came others you might not think of if you hadn't tried your hand at babysitting: how to calm a crying infant or deal with siblings of different ages; what to do if you're allergic to the family's pet or a child hits you; how to work out details of payment.
"It's great to be able to bounce ideas off each other," said Kellermann
Huck divides them into three groups, handing each a scene she has written up. In one, the "parents" leave home abruptly; the moment they're out the door, their two "children" start screaming inconsolably.
Half an hour later, when the groups act out the scenarios (and do their best to solve the problems), it's clear that some have a knack.
As Rachel Sarkady, 12, impersonates a bawling infant, babysitter Katherine Harrison, 12, kneels on the floor and makes eye contact with both the "baby" and her "sibling," addressing each by name.
In the discussion afterward, several praise the way she "got down on the kids' level." "That was very effective," says Huck, and Kellermann nods.
Later, Huck demonstrates a technique as old as babysitting itself. She takes a favorite book, Shel Silverstein's The Giving Tree, from her bag and reads it aloud.
She pauses periodically to hold up the pages. "Remember to show pictures," she says. "Kids of all ages love pictures."
And indeed, the teens and pre-teens in the class can hardly look away. "Awwww," says one as the poignant tale comes to an end.
A useful credential
Babysitting 101 is a clearinghouse of approaches to a wide array of problems.
Both Huck and Kellerman agree it's impossible to foresee every potential problem, but some themes do emerge.
First, babysitters should clear the basics ahead of time – how many children need care and for how long, what specific duties will be required, who will be present and when. If there are surprises on those fronts, a sitter should reconsider whether to work for that family.
Babysitters should always know the family they're working with, they agree, and feel completely comfortable with a situation. "Take care of yourself first," Huck says.
Then there are the little tidbits that can never hurt. Many children have a tantrum when their parents leave, Huck says, but that tends to last no more than about five minutes, so it's important to have an activity ready to fill that time. The girls keep a running list of possibilities, from hide-and-seek games to making coffee-filter butterflies.
Students and parents say there are several reasons why Babysitting 101 remains a big draw.
For one thing, at a time when the economy is tight, the prospect of getting paid is more alluring than ever.
Emma Peak, 13, of Pasadena, has been a babysitter on several occasions, and says she greatly enjoys the four children she has worked with, but it's not lost on her that a good babysitter earns about $10 an hour, which in her case can mean $30 a night.
"I spend it on clothes," she says with a smile. "I can always use more of those."
Then there's the safety factor. In a day and age in which instances of child abuse are so widely publicized, parents are more careful than ever about whom they'll allow near their kids.
Rachel Sarkady, who lives in Annapolis, says there are lots of kids in her neighborhood, but the parents tend to be "strict" – and that knowing a potential sitter has taken the course can ease their minds.
She's living proof. On hearing Rachel was enrolled, a nearby family offered her a job. She'll begin once she completes Babysitting 101.
"I'm looking forward to it," she says. "I'm a little nervous. But I feel like I'll be ready."