Red Cross Babysitting Course vs The Babysitting Blueprint
Both cost $45. They are built for different things. Here is an honest side by side so you can pick the right one rather than the one that advertises hardest.
Fair warning: we make one of these two courses, so read this with that in mind. We have tried to state the Red Cross course accurately and link to their own page for every figure, so you can check us.
The short version
| Red Cross Babysitting Basics | The Babysitting Blueprint | |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $45 | $45 |
| Format | Online, self-paced, twelve classes | Online, self-paced, six classes |
| Length | A 4-hour course | About 2 hours 20 minutes of video, plus the test |
| Minimum age | 11+ | 13+ for solo work |
| What you get | Printable certificate of completion | Certificate plus a verification page parents can look up |
| Valid for | Two years | Two years |
| Reviewed by | Red Cross scientific advisory process | A registered nurse, an early childhood educator and a licensed therapist |
| Business training | Not included | Separate track, six more classes |
| Name recognition | Very high | New |
Red Cross figures taken from their Babysitting Basics online course page, August 2026.
What the Red Cross course actually is
Babysitting Basics is a $45 online course built around six self-paced modules, described by the Red Cross as a four-hour course and designed for ages 11 and up. Finish it and you get a printable certificate of completion valid for two years. They also run in-person Babysitter’s Training aimed at 11 to 16 year olds, which costs more and runs on a schedule.
It is the best-known babysitting credential in the country, and that matters. If a parent has heard of exactly one babysitting certificate, it is this one.
The one real difference
Both courses hand you a certificate. The difference is what a parent can do with it.
A Red Cross certificate is a printable document. So is almost every other babysitting certificate sold online. A parent who wants to check it has no way to — they take your word for it, or they do not.
Ours puts your credential on a page on this site. A parent types your code and sees your name, that you passed, when, and when it expires. They never see your score. That is the whole point of the thing.
If that sounds like a small distinction, consider it from the other side of the front door. A family is about to leave their children with a teenager they met online.
On length, honestly
The Red Cross calls theirs a four-hour course. Our certification track is around two hours twenty of video plus the test. If raw hours are your measure, theirs is longer, and we are not going to pretend otherwise.
What we would say is that hours are a poor measure of a course. Ours is video-first and cut tight on purpose, because a fourteen-year-old will finish a tight course and abandon a long one. Add our business track and you are past four hours anyway — but that is a separate $79 course, not part of the $45.
What neither of them teaches, except one
Every babysitting course on the market teaches child care. Almost none teach the part that decides what you actually earn:
- What to charge in your area, and how to say it out loud.
- How to write a profile that gets replies on Care.com or in a local group.
- What to send a family in the first message.
- How to use a contract, send an invoice and chase it politely.
- How to ask for a raise from a family you already sit for.
That is our business track, six more classes, sold separately. The Red Cross does not cover it, and neither does anyone else we could find.
Take one class, or the whole track.
Twelve classes across both tracks, from $12 each. Or the full certification for $45 with the verification page included.
See all twelve classesWhich one should you pick?
Pick the Red Cross if
- You are 11 or 12 and want to start now.
- The family you sit for has specifically asked for Red Cross.
- You want the name everyone recognizes and nothing else matters.
- You want an in-person class with an instructor in the room.
Pick us if
- You want parents to be able to verify you, not just take your word.
- You want the emergency material reviewed by a nurse and the behavior material by a therapist.
- You want to earn more, not just be safer — and want the business side too.
- You would rather buy one class at a time than commit to a whole course.
Or take both. They are $45 each and nothing stops you holding two credentials. If you are serious about sitting as a job rather than pocket money, that is not a bad position to be in.
Common questions
Is the Red Cross babysitting certification required by law?
No. No babysitting certification is required anywhere in the US. It is voluntary, and so is ours. See do you need a license to babysit.
Is the Red Cross course worth $45?
If you have nothing else, yes. It is solid child-care training from an organization that has been doing this for a very long time.
Do parents care which certificate I have?
Most parents care that you have one at all, and that they can believe it. Brand recognition helps with the first part; a verification page helps with the second.
Can I do both?
Yes, and some sitters do. There is no conflict and no exclusivity either way.
How old do I need to be?
Red Cross starts at 11. We start at 13 for solo work. The law sets no minimum at all — see how old do you have to be to babysit.
Red Cross price, duration, age range and certificate validity: Babysitting Basics online course, American Red Cross, accessed August 2026.
Course age minimums: Babysitting and child care classes, American Red Cross.
The American Red Cross is not affiliated with The Babysitting Blueprint and has not endorsed this comparison.
A certificate parents can actually check.
$45, six classes, reviewed by a nurse, an educator and a therapist. Applications take two minutes and we reply within 12 hours.
Apply for the certificationKeep reading
Babysitting classes near you — how the main courses compare on price and content.
Classes for kids and caregivers — what we teach and who each one is for.
How to become a babysitter — the full walkthrough from zero to first booking.
Write a babysitting resume — a one-page template you can copy, even with no paid jobs yet.