Wicked Safety Training, a Woburn based company that offers courses on emergency skills, recently partnered with the Peabody Recreation Department for two classes in December that taught sixth- through eighth- graders how to be babysitters.
Chris Masiello, CEO of Wicked Safety Training, said instructors are industry professionals, including EMTs and doctors who are all versed on the Safe Sitter program.
Safe Sitter is a nationally-recognized program developed by an emergency pediatric physician in the 1980s started after a babysitter brought a child into the ER who choked to death.
“She didn’t want that to happen to anyone else and have to deal with that any longer, so she wanted to get the most people trained” said Maseillo. “We’ve been teaching that class since 2021. The kids just seem to love the program.”
Another perk of Wicked Safety that the Peabody babysitters-in-training got to experience was their stock of hands-on equipment that they bring to every session like baby mannequins for practicing changing diapers.
“We have all state of the art, updated equipment. We like our toys. We have all of the extras,” he said. “They’re not just sitting there and watching it. They’re actually doing it.’
Importantly, these young students are able to achieve CPR certification during a 2 1/2-hour section of the class where they learn and practice the proper techniques for administering healthcare that are accredited by the American Health and Safety Institute.
SafeSitter’s program isn’t just about care giving and childcare practices, as Masiello said their instructors teach students how to be ready for what is almost always their first foray into a trade.
“‘What is the business of babysitting?’ which talks about how to market yourself, they talk about when to accept jobs and when to decline jobs,… they talk about the aspect of money and always talking with your parents about how much money you should be asking for,” said Masiello.
All of this crucial information is taught through interactive games and engaging lessons that children actually enjoy.
According to Masiello, they’ve become one of the top providers of Safe Sitter in the country, with over 300 kids being certified a year. For 2025, they’re hoping to continue partnering with organizations like Peabody Recreation while also expanding beyond the North Shore.
“The other thing that I think is important is that we get calls and emails about actual kids that save lives from choking,” said Masiello. “Its really interesting and exciting when you get a call from a parent and they say, ‘you know what my four year old was choking and I was panicking when my eleven year old stepped up and rescued them.’”
