LAUREN BURKHARTSMEIER

Lauren Burkhartsmeier has been involved in the YMCA for as long as she can remember. She started in the Y’s child care program when she was three, then started taking swimming lessons and rock climbing classes. When she was old enough, she started going to Camp Cormorant, the Y’s overnight camp near Lake Park, MN.

Last summer, when Lauren was eleven, she signed up for the Y’s Babysitting Training, which is an eight hour course that teaches participants how to be a safe, professional and reliable babysitter. The course also teaches first aid, CPR, and how to recognize and handle emergency situations. Prior to the class, Lauren had done a handful of babysitting gigs for her younger siblings, but she wanted to expand her knowledge and also start her own business out of it so she could start saving money for college. “My biggest takeaway from the babysitting class was learning CPR. Learning CPR helped me feel much more comfortable around children,” Lauren said. After the training, she got right to work on launching her babysitting career. She worked with her parents to start making some business cards in order to start marketing her new skills. She passed them out to all of her neighbors who had children, and her parents even helped pass them out to other families that they knew. Lauren has had the opportunity to babysit for a few families and has learned so much in the process, including how to change a diaper! She looks forward to more opportunities to gain experience during her babysitting endeavors!