Is Babysitting Certification Worth It?
It costs $45 and about four hours. Here is the math on whether you get that back.
Most articles about babysitting certification are written by the people selling the course, which makes them hard to read as advice. So here is the arithmetic instead.
What it actually is
The Red Cross runs two versions. Babysitting Basics is online, takes about four hours at your own pace, and costs $45. There is also an in-person Babysitter's Training course, aimed at ages 11 to 16.
Both cover feeding, diapering, holding infants safely, household and personal safety, emergency response, choosing activities by age, and handling behavior. The online one includes a section on running it as a small business. You get a printable certificate valid for two years.
Course content, ages and price: American Red Cross, Babysitting Basics Online
Worth separating: a babysitting course and a CPR and first aid certification are different things. The babysitting course is broad and introductory. CPR and first aid is the one that matters in an emergency and the one families mention back to you. If you only do one, do that one.
The math
Our own rate data puts CPR certification at about a 5 percent uplift on an hourly rate, and coursework in early childhood education at about 8 percent. Those are not enormous numbers until you multiply them out.
At a $22 base rate, 5 percent is $1.10 an hour. A course costing $45 pays for itself in roughly 41 hours of sitting, which for most people is somewhere between six weeks and three months. After that it is money you keep, every hour, for as long as you sit.
| Your base rate | 5% is | Hours to repay $45 |
|---|---|---|
| $18 an hour | $0.90 | 50 |
| $22 an hour | $1.10 | 41 |
| $26 an hour | $1.30 | 35 |
| $30 an hour | $1.50 | 30 |
That is the honest case for it, and it holds only if you actually raise your rate afterwards. A certificate you never mention and never charge for is $45 spent on a feeling.
The free calculator builds your rate from your area, your experience, the ages and how many children. Two minutes, no card.
Work out my rateWhen it is clearly worth it
- You are under about 16. Families hiring a young sitter are looking for something concrete to reassure themselves with, and this is it. It is the single best thing a teenage sitter can do to move from afternoons to evenings.
- You have no references yet. A certificate is the only credential available to somebody who has not worked.
- You want infants. Under-one care pays substantially more and families are far more careful about who they hand a baby to.
- You are using apps. Profiles with a certification listed get chosen more often, because there is nothing else to go on.
When it is not
- You already have three regular families. Their recommendation is worth more than any course and they are not going to ask.
- You are an experienced adult sitter. A course aimed at eleven-year-olds is not what is holding your rate down.
- You are not going to raise your rate. Then it is a cost with no return.
The thing to do instead, if you do nothing else
Get CPR and first aid. It is the single credential that changes what you can actually do, it applies far beyond babysitting, and it is the one that comes up in conversation. Red Cross certification lasts two years.
And then say it out loud when you quote. "I have had my CPR certification since March" in the same breath as your rate is worth more than the certificate sitting in a drawer.
Write it down too, with the month, on whatever you send a family. A date makes it read as true.
Worth saying once more, because the two get confused constantly: a certificate is not a license, and no license exists.
The Script is eighteen chapters of the exact words: quoting a new family, answering in the doorway, chasing what you are owed, and raising your rate on a family you have had for years.
See The Script · $19Common questions
How much does babysitting certification cost?
The Red Cross Babysitting Basics online course is $45 and takes about four hours. In-person Babysitter's Training is also available and is aimed at ages 11 to 16.
Is the Red Cross babysitting course worth it?
For a sitter under about 16 or one without references, yes, because it is the only concrete credential available. For an experienced sitter with regular families it adds little. At a 5 percent rate uplift it pays for itself in roughly 41 hours of sitting at a $22 base rate.
How long is babysitting certification valid?
The Red Cross online babysitting certificate is valid for two years, as is their CPR and first aid certification.
What age can you take a babysitting course?
The Red Cross courses are designed for ages 11 and up, with the in-person training aimed at 11 to 16.