A babysitting course that has been offered to Beiseker and area residents for years has made the shift online.
The babysitting course, along with a course that instructs local youth how to be at home by themselves, teach valuable life skills and social responsibility, according to Brook Swanson, Family and Community Service Support (FCSS) coordinator with the Village of Beiseker
“With COVID-19 restrictions, we weren’t able to run either one of these programs for quite some time,” Swanson said. “I really thought about how we could do this so the kids could still participate in these programs that are really about developing life skills.”
As a way of keeping the programs active throughout the pandemic, Swanson said she connected with the Safety 4 Kids Calgary and Area program, who was able to help offer Beiseker’s courses in a virtual setting.
“We built a partnership, and I think it’s going to be a really great offering for young people in Beiseker and surrounding areas,” she said
Swanson said Safety 4 Kids' longevity, coupled with its existing virtual services, has made the transition online easier for FCSS.
“They have these programs developed already, and have such a great following,” she said. “They work with school and other entities, so it was a really simple partnership. They have been so easy to work with.”
According to Swanson, pandemic or not, virtual learning is likely to stay relevant in the years to come, due to the convenience factor.
“I am really excited that we can introduce this to the community,” she said. “People have the ability to base it around their schedule. It’s just a great thing to get used to.”
Beiseker’s babysitting and home alone courses are about much more than learning the basics of babysitting and how youth should behave in the house when they are alone, according to Swanson.
“Inside of these courses they talk about leadership, coaching, first aid and social responsibility,” she said. “It’s about the safety component, but it’s also about developing pre-teens and teens.”
She added the programs help support and build on the work parents already put into raising their children.
“It teaches us how to treat other people,” she said. “It’s bigger than leaving a course with a certificate. It’s the whole holistic approach of learning foundational life skills.”
For interested Beiseker and area locals, Swanson said they can sign up and learn more information by visiting babysittingcalgary.com to review the course information. Interested participants can register online.
An incentive for locals is that 50 per cent of the cost is covered for Beiseker residents. The program, offered to youth ages 10 and older, costs $65 before the discount.
“This is a funded service that is 80 per cent provincial and 20 per cent municipal,” Swanson said. “With that, it’s really about allowing community programming that instills life skills. We collectively decided that we would love to provide a refund. Through FCSS, we will pay 50 per cent of the registration fee. We really want kids to attend.”
To learn more information about the program and refund, email Swanson at [email protected].
Jordan Stricker, AirdrieToday.com
Follow me on Twitter @Jay_Strickz
