So…you’re going out for your first night on the town after your baby is born. Lots of emotions vibrating through your body. Who do you leave your baby with? Is it a family member, a neighborhood teen, a good friend or an elderly woman who comes with recommendations…?

I guess the big question is - will it be a positive or negative experience for you, as a new parent?

A recent survey commissioned by iVillage.com found one out of four mothers questioned had a negative experience with a babysitter. Surprisingly, ten percent of the mothers reported mistreatment of their child by a babysitter.

Perhaps even more surprising to me is how willing many parents are to leave their child with someone who does not know how to deal with potentially life-threatening situations.

• A full one-third of mothers polled said they do not believe their babysitter knows how to help a child who is choking!
• Almost half of those polled do not believe the babysitter knows how to perform CPR.
• Over ten percent of mothers do not believe their babysitter can handle any medical emergency at all!!

With how fast we all know accidents happen and emergencies occur, these stats are shocking!

Babysitter training classes are available at local organizations such as American Heart Association and American Red Cross. Talking first aid devices such as SafetyMate for the New Parent can help teenagers or any caretakers refresh the information they learn in those classes in between annual trainings. www.safetymate.com/home/index.html

We all know if you don’t “use it,” you “lose it.” Unless you are a paramedic who is performing life-saving actions or CPR every day, there is no real way to become expert at dealing with crises.

Information is power. Learn, re-learn, practice, teach others…

Anthony and I attended Super CPR Saturday this weekend. In a very non-scientific poll of the people who attended, the majority of attendees were there getting trained in CPR due to a work requirement. I think in the past the only times I’ve gotten trained were for work, as well. What is it about us that makes us not want to be prepared?

We hear about the need to “be prepared” all the time in ads, on tv, in the news…yet how many people out there in California actually have an earthquake preparedness kit? How many people planned for the never-occurring Y2K scare? How many people after Hurricane Katrina now have supplies to take them through another natural disaster?

I would be interested to hear from people why you do or do not take the steps to plan for emergency. Is there anyone out there who is totally prepared, well-stocked, and ready for an emergency to happen? How about the everyone else? Any comments / thoughts / philosophies on why or why you are not prepared?