If you feel that the college girl next door, who makes ends meet by babysitting for you, is relatively competent to handle your 4-year old son, then that's entirely up to you. But given the many cases of preventable emergencies that happen in the home, it's best to have her take CPR classes, too.

Paying for CPR courses for your chosen babysitter is a win-win situation for you, the babysitter, and your baby. She would be able to make use of this important skill not just as a child daycare pro but also in the future, especially if the course she takes provides a certificate.

In fact, CPR courses should be a must for everyone who wishes to provide child daycare services. This is an assurance to the parents that the person they are leaving their child with will be well-prepared in the event of emergencies.

There are child daycare centers, too, where you can alternatively leave your kid while you are away. Make sure that all the adults running that facility are trained in CPR and other important emergency procedures. Some states even require Red Cross certifications from child daycare centers.

Don't look for child daycare services that are too cheap

We've heard of a lot of horror stories about children being maltreated in child daycare centers, and you wouldn't want that to happen to your own child. More often than not, these incidents result from parents looking to scrimp on child daycare services, and thus end up getting child daycare providers who are just not into their jobs.

The thing to remember is that you are the only person who can provide the love and care you would want your child to receive. It is only natural that you should get the people who are most qualified to approximate that kind of affection for your child in your absence, and you can only get that if they feel that they are well-paid for good service.

In addition, you should devote time to choosing the child daycare provider and not just hire the first one that comes along. True, it may be an exhausting process â€" visiting various child daycare centers, sitting in to observe how they run the facility for one whole day, interviewing child daycare professionals â€" but your efforts will pay off in the end because you will feel more secure, knowing that your child is in safe hands.

Kids these days often spend more of their waking hours in child daycare and in school than they do at home. This is why your child daycare professional should be able to not only look after your child's needs but must also be able to stimulate his or her interests to make the hours spent in child daycare wothwhile.

If there are red flags that make you feel uncomfortable with your child daycare provider, don't hesitate to follow your instincts. Taking the time to find a more worthwile place or person to leave your child with is a small price to pay for your peace of mind and for your baby's safety.