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Looking after children

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Jim Hannon

Christy Mitchell, left, gives a kiss to 2-year-old Haleigh Hyde.

Story by Vicki Pounders

The first time Christy Mitchell baby-sat for Chloe and Kinley Wyatt, their mom knew she’d found a treasure.

“The first time Christy ever kept my girls, she asked me where the first-aid kit was kept,” said Keri Richardson Wyatt, whose twins turned 3 on July 31. “I was shocked because she was the first sitter ever to ask me that, but then I realized how important that is. She just thinks of everything when it comes to children.”

And the children love her.

“My girls adore ‘Miss Christy’ as they call her,” said Wyatt, who lives in Tuscumbia. “They love her to read to them. They get lots of extra attention when Miss Christy is around.”

Wyatt said Mitchell has all the qualities of a top-notch sitter.

“She genuinely loves children,” Wyatt said. “She also has a great balance of playing and having fun with them yet still disciplining them when they need it. They grew to love and respect her and also have a sense of security that comes with the boundaries she sets for them.”

Through the years, Mitchell has sat for countless families.

“I have been baby-sitting since I was 12,” the 22-year-old Muscle Shoals resident said. “I started out baby-sitting for Mom’s friends, and then I would walk around the neighborhood passing out baby-sitting fliers. I also gave people nights of free baby-sitting as gifts.”

She said she also became the “on-call girl” for couples expecting babies.

“You know, the one where there are other kids, and so mom goes into labor in the middle of the night, so I come crash on their couch and keep the kids and make sure the morning routine can be conducted,” Mitchell said.

Mitchell said it’s difficult to count the families she sits for now, because so many of them have become like family.

“A lot of the time, I call asking if I can pick up the kids for a while or spend some time with them,” Mitchell said.

Her love for children doesn’t stop with baby-sitting. She’s also children’s director and teacher at her church, and just began master’s degree-level classes in education.

“Baby-sitting is how it all started,” she said. “I have had a passion for being around children since I was one myself,” Mitchell said. “I have always known that I want to be a teacher, also. So, baby-sitting was the way I could spend time with the children. It has taught me so much. It is so much fun now to be in school and be able to watch the kids actually doing the things I learn about every day.”

Wyatt has no doubt that Mitchell will be an excellent , teacher.

“Christy will be a wonderful teacher,” said Wyatt, who also has a degree in elementary education. “She has all the god-given gifts of a teacher. She is extremely organized, patient with children and can communicate concepts to them on their level. The children in her classroom will grow not only academically, but she will also impact their character. Any child will be blessed to be in her classroom.”