n addition to a little rest and relaxation this summer, millions of teens are earning a little extra cash by baby sitting.

While it might sound simple enough, instructors like Paula Evans aren't taking any chances. The two-day long Safe Sitter workshop is designed to teach teens the fundamentals of babysitting.


The concept started nearly 30 years ago in Indianapolis after a toddler choked to death while in a sitter's care.


“Most of us learn by the seat of our pants and trial and error,” admitted Evans. But the instructor said Safe Sitter takes the guess work out of it.

  
"The children will be learning basic child development skills, they'll be learning CPR skills, they'll be learning First Aid skills,” she said.

On Monday, students like 12-year-old Timisha Henley also learned important tips about baby sitting.


“If the child chokes on something I want to know what to do,” she said.


Kristin Bullard, also 12-years old, said she wants to be prepared. "If I end up baby sitting somebody and an accident were to happen, then I'd be well prepared.”


Things like that are lessons Evans hopes the teens will carry with them long after the baby sitting jobs end.


"I hope that they will take away a sense of responsibility that baby sitting is not something to be taken lightly,” she said.


Instructors say your teenager's first baby sitting jobs should be with school age children, not infants. More than 700 students have gone through Forsyth Medical Center's Safe Sitter program.