Preteens and young teens who love children and want to earn some extra money are invited to attend a babysitting training course coming up in February.

The course, offered by the Suffolk chapter of the American Red Cross, trains boys and girls ages 11 to 15 who want to learn how to perform basic childcare skills, said Lisa Harrell, director of health and safety services at the Suffolk chapter.

“We have had a lot of people inquiring about babysitters,” Harrell said.

Nationwide, the American Red Cross trains thousands of teens in babysitting skills every year.

When they complete the course, the students will know how to perform basic first aid and basic child-care skills such as feeding them and changing a diaper, handling poor behavior, choosing safe, age-appropriate games and toys, communicating effectively with parents, finding and interviewing for babysitting jobs, creating a resume and more.

“It’s basically how to care for any type of emergency that you can possibly think of when you’re babysitting,” Harrell said. The teens also are taught how to identify hazards before they cause emergencies.

The resume-writing and interviewing processes also are crucial parts of the workshop, Harrell said. The first step in handling a babysitting job well is getting one.

“There is a resume-writing assignment where we teach them the basics of the components that are included in a resume,” Harrell said.

The next babysitters’ training will be held Feb. 12. There also is a course scheduled for April 18-19 and June 11.

For more information, call Harrell at 539-6645.