Babysitting
PURPOSE
More and more Cadets are becoming involved in babysitting — whether it is for church nursery, neighbors, or just
their younger brothers and sisters, it seems that babysitting
by Cadets is getting to be commonplace. And, babysitting
is a serious business! The sitter is responsible for a precious,
priceless resource — a God-given human life. Babysitting is
an occupation to be learned, practiced, and improved upon.
For this reason the CCC offers the Babysitting merit badge.
LEARNING
1. Traits of a good sitter:
Reliable — Another word for reliable is trustworthy,
something a Cadet is already striving to live up to in
his code. This is especially important in babysitting
because so much is at stake. Parents must be able to
trust someone who is responsible for the care of their
children when they are away.
Punctual — Parents who are going out for the night
usually have a timetable. They have to be at a certain
place at a certain time. Therefore it is imperative that
the sitter be ready to take over care of their children by
the time they must leave.
Neat appearance — A boy might think that this is not
too important. Maybe it’s not as important as the rest,
but his appearance does make an impression for good
or bad — both on the parents and on the children. A
neat appearance is an indication of a person who cares
about himself. And a person who cares about himself
in this way usually cares about other people as well.
Good health — There are two reasons a babysitter should
be in very good health, and both have to do with the
safety of the children. First of all, the seriousness of the
job dictates that the sitter should be in good condition
and alert to provide any immediate help that a child
might need. Secondly, many diseases are contagious,
and many young children can catch the diseases quite
readily. It would be sad for a family to find out several
days after your Cadet was at their house that all their
children had caught his cold!
Love and understand children — Naturally, we don’t
expect every babysitter to be a child psychologist, but
they should be somewhat familiar with the way that
young children think, act, and play. The most important
thing is to love them. As with everything else in life, love
makes the rest fall into place. If the sitter really loves the
children, they will sense it, and usually respond accordingly.
Good example — Whether or not the sitter is aware of
it, he is making an impression on the young child by
the way he acts, talks, and behaves. Children are very
impressionable, and are quick to imitate others, so it
EXPLORING:
WHERE YOU LIVE: BABYSITTING
is important that the sitter not do anything that he
wouldn’t want the children doing.
2. You may want to make up a sheet with blank spaces for
emergency phone numbers, and have copies made of
it. Then the Cadet could take one sheet with him each
time he babysits, and have the parents fill it out before
they leave.
3. Each of the rules, except the last, fall under either the
category of “child safety” or “respect for personal property.” The last rule is there to insure that the child’s best
interest is taken into consideration.
DOING
1. These babysitting activities are good starters. They offer
the Cadet a chance to get used to babysitting in a setting
where he is not the only sitter. He is either with other
sitters in a nursery, or he is helping someone take care of
their children. It is an op­portunity to learn many basic
useful facts about child care.
2. After the Cadet has completed his babysitting assignment, be sure that he turns in his completed Babysitting
Checklist.
3. You might want to have the Cadet demonstrate diaper
changing both with cloth diapers and with disposable
diapers, since sooner or later a babysitter may come into
contact with both.
How to Change a Diaper
Place the baby on a towel or on the changing table, being
very careful never to let go of the baby, because they can roll
off very quickly. Remove the diaper. Using warm water or
a disposable premoistened towelette, wash the genital area
gently from front to back (especially important for girls),
then pat dry with a towel. If the baby has had a bowel movement, fold the soiled portion of the diaper under and wipe
the buttocks with cotton or toilet tissue. The baby’s buttocks
should then be washed with mild soap and water, rinsed and
patted dry or use a premoistened towelette.
Diapers come in two varieties — prefolded cloth and
disposable paper. Cloth diapers are usually a little large and
need to be folded somewhat to fit around the baby’s legs
(illustrations on next page).
Holding baby’s ankles between your thumb and middle
finger (Fig. A) (with your index finger between the ankles),
raise the hips and slide a clean diaper underneath. Then pull
the diaper between baby’s legs and if cloth diaper, fold the
front area in somewhat to make small enough to fit smaller
babies and pin front to back on each side. (Fig. B) Remember
to keep your finger between the pin and the baby to avoid
pricking the baby’s skin. Plastic pants should be put on over
a cloth diaper (be sure to tuck the diaper in at the legs and
waist) to keep outer clothing and bedding dry. If disposable
diaper is used, unfold the sticky tabs and stick them to the
front of the diaper. Try to put the diaper on the baby as tightly
as you can without hurting his tummy so that the diaper
can absorb properly. A poor diapering job does not absorb
as much urine as a tightly fitting diaper does.
7
Baking
PURPOSE
To help your Cadets learn basic baking skills. Many
boys shy away from doing things in a kitchen. This badge
will challenge them to try something new, and through the
experience they may discover and develop God-given abilities in this area.
CLOTH DIAPER
FRONT AREA
FOLDED INSIDE
TO FIT
FIG. A
FIG. B
WRAPPED AROUND LEGS
AND PINNED AT SIDES
8
FOLD CORNERS OF
ONE END TOWARD
CENTER TO FIT BY
BABY’S LEGS
LEARNING
1.a. Blend
d.Fold
b.Whip
e.Cream
c.Knead
f. Sift
2.a.Rolling pin —
used to flatten dough,
i.e. yeast cinnamon rolls
or cutout cookies
b.
Measuring cup —
to measure dry or liquid
ingredients of at least ⅛ cup or
more, i.e. chocolate chip cookies,
apple bread, carrot cake
c. Measuring spoons — to measure dry or liquid ingredients
in small amounts; spoon sizes
range from ⅛ teaspoon to
1 tablespoon, i.e, bran muffins, brownies
d. Pastry blender —
to  cut shortening
or butter into
flour, i.e. apple
pie, pumpkin
pie
e. Mixer — for blending
or beating ingredients together,
i.e. cakes, cookies
3. Explanations for baking questions
a. Salt adds flavor and controls the yeast
so dough does not rise too fast.
b. Creaming cake batter adds air pockets and makes
for smoother batter. Your cake will have a lighter
texture.
c. Dry ingredients such as flour should be spooned
lightly into a measuring spoon or cup and leveled
off with a flat utensil. Don’t shake the cup or spoon
to get it to level.
d. Brown sugar should be packed (pushed down) into
the cup so that when it comes out it will retain the
shape of the cup.
4. A cake or pan of bars is done when the top looks golden
brown and a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake/
bars comes out clean.
EXPLORING: WHERE YOU LIVE: BABYSITTING and BAKING