THE BABYSITTER'S HANDBOOK

Though it's just the sort of all-encompassing reference protective parents will love, this guide for babysitters is so complete that only the most dedicated teen will take it all in. Benton offers sound advice on safety (turn pot handles inward on the stove, beware of harmless-dooking staplers); independence (let a toddler hold a spoon while you use another for feeding, have children help mix and pour while you're cooking--and clean up, too); and child development (newborns cry more than older babies, a toddler's curiosity ""commands"" him, older preschoolers have vivid imaginations). She explains, knowledgeably, how to get started as a sitter, and how to feed, bathe, and play with children of various ages from infancy to kindergarten. Unfortunately, however, the presentation--long paragraphs, ponderous words (""circumstances,"" ""calculated,"" ""resolutely,"" and ""engrossed"" on one page)--makes the valuable insights less than accessible to the typical sitter. In addition, sections on dealing with common emergencies are so tangled with cross-references that in any real emergency time would be lost simply turning pages. (""Blows to the Head,"" for instance, sends the reader to sections on brnises, unconsciousness, difficulty with breathing, vomiting and convulsions; then unconsciousness refers one back to head injury--or the sitter might read on and be told to look up shock. . . .) In conjunction with a course, this might be a good introduction; but it's unlikely to be much help to sitters on their own.