Shreveport teens gain vital safety skills at CPSO babysitting class

SHREVEPORT, La. (KTAL/KMSS) – It is common for older teens and young adults to have babysitting jobs, most often during the summer months when school is not in session.

The Caddo Parish Sheriff’s Office (CPSO) has begun hosting free babysitting classes for ages 10 to 18. Teaching participants valuable safety skills like stranger danger, fire safety, weather preparedness, and home safety.

The skills were taught in the form of a scavenger hunt. Participants were tasked with walking through a staged home setting at Sheriff’s Safety Town and finding things that could be dangerous. Examples are small toys that could be choking hazards, sharp objects left unattended, and lit candles that could potentially start a fire.

“Anything that could possibly go wrong, we are trying to give them the tools to know how to take care of those issues,” said Corporal Brenda Wadsworth with CPSO.

Wadsworth also shares that CPSO chose the particular age group because it is a common age for kids to begin watching their younger siblings.

“We want those kids to be prepared as well and have a little knowledge on how to keep them safe,” she shares.

CPSO hopes to hold more classes through the end of July and into August.