Is this wrong?

[aprilgail2]

At 12 and 13 I was babysitting 4 kids at a time and at one house until 3am on Saturday nights!

 

[cstraub]

I think it is perfectly ok. That being said, the hospitals where I live offer babysitting courses. I think just about every 12 yr old should take them if they can, even if they dont normally babysit. They give some really helpful info. Maybe your mom would feel better about it if she took one of these courses?

The course is geared for 11-15 year olds. Here is the link to find a local chapter that offers this course: Babysitter’s Training Course

 

[Tigger&Belle]

When my oldest was 13yo (the legal babysitting age in MD) my youngest was turning 1yo (the age that I felt comfortable leaving him with her). I didn't leave them for long and she was very responsible. I NEVER would have left a 1yo with my boys at that age. My DD was able to answer the phone, knew to not open the front door, knew how to call 9-1-1, warm up a bottle, feed him, put him down for a nap, etc. There was the one time that Jake got the phone and dialed 9-1-1 and the police came At least she was a legal babysitter and she learned to watch him very closely.


Is there a reason your 18mo wears a monitor for breathing? That part worried me.

 

[nwdisgal]

I don't see a problem with it, if it is a responsible 12 year old. When I was 12 I was watching a newborn, and was actually very responsible and attentive to him.

 

[mamacatnv]

Sounds like Grandma needs to get a grip! Or is there a health issue she is concerned about?

Our kids are 9 years apart and at about age 10 or so I would run to the grocery store and leave DS with DD. As they both got older he got more comfortable and we gave him more responsibility in taking care of his sister. He is more of a momma hen than I am, our poor DD actually has 3 parents, she can't get away with nothing....

I agree with the babysitting classes, we sent DS to one and he has watched every munchkin in our neighborhood over the past 6 years, us parents actually joke that he is more qualified than we are.

I try not to impose on DS, I pay him like I would any other sitter and I always make sure he is not giving up an activity to babysit. If there is a conflict, DS has lots of friends and we call one of them.

I say go for it, that is how most of us made our pocket money starting at about 6th grade.

MamaCatNV

 

[Mom21]

If she is mature I see no problem with it. With that said I have a 13yo stepson. He isn't mature enough to be left by himself, let alone take care of my 9yo dd. She is way more mature than he is. She always has to take care of him... Kinda sad really. But no way are they left alone. Recipe for disaster.

 

[grlpwrd]

We have a moniter that would go off if the baby stops breathing.

This statement tells me that there are health concerns because you have a monitor for her already.

Yes, I would at least enroll her in a babysitting course so she can learn CPR and first aid.

I didn't let my oldest dd babysit her baby sister until she (my youngest) was 6 months old. Your situation is different, though, because it sounds like your 18mo has health concerns. I would be concerned about giving such a huge responsibility to a 12yo if there are health concerns and she isn't properly trained.

 

[Disney Doll]

I babysat at age 12-13.

The only thing that would concern me is why does your 18 month old need an apnea monitor? Is there an issue or are you just being a bit overprotective? If there is an issue, I might think twice about a 12 year old handling it, more because if something did happen, how would that affect the 12 year old? Would she consider herself at fault, even if she wasn't at fault and did all the right things?

As far as your mother...I keep mine on a "need to know" basis. There are some things about my life that she doesn't need to know, so I don't tell her.

 

[mickeyfan2]

I for one would not leave the baby with a 12 year old. I know I was a responsible kid and did watch infants at 12, but I am not sure I would be able to do the right thing in an emergency at that age.

 

[Sleepy]

The only other concern I can think of is what is the laws in your city concerning minor children left alone? Some cities the child has to be 13 and can only be left alone for a few hours a day. Some have rules about certain ages watching even younger children. My worry was even though my son was mature enough to stay home alone at the age younger than legal, what if he had to call 911 and they found him home alone?

 

[sunlver]

Like everybody already said, if you feel is she is mature enough, I dont see the problem .My oldest is a boy and he will be 12 in August. I also have a 6 yr old and a 19 month old. When I drive my 6 yr old to school(We live right down the street)my son will stay with my youngest, and I am back in 5 minutes or less. He also watches her while Im taking a shower. I know hes a good kid and is very PROTECTIVE of his baby sister, I dont want to put too much responsibility on him. But, for short little trips he does AOK with her.

 

[AC7179]

There is no health issue. I just freaked out whent he baby was an infant.......and bought an Angelcare monitor. Now we just leave it on out of habit. I figure now that hse is old it would at least let us know if she climbed out of bed!

 

[sajetto]

I don't see a thing wrong with your 12 year old looking after the baby for short periods of time. Heck I did it all the time and my sis turned out all right.......well, except for that little twitch she has but the doctor said its not life threatning.

JK, lol

 

[sajetto]

You know what....I just thought of something. It's the adults you have to worry about.

My mom used to tell me that up until I turned 2 my dad was clueless. He even tried changing my diaper on top of this huge raised bed, turned away from me to get the diaper out of the bag, and I rolled right off and hit my head on the floor. Of course he starts screaming thinking he had damaged me for life and when my mother asked him what the he*l he was thinking he said "Well, I can't believe she just rolled off what on earth was she thinking!"......I was 8 months old...duh

So, yeah I think the 12 year old will be fine. She's at least got to be smarter than my dear old dad (God bless him)

 

[mom2boys]

I don't see anything wrong with either scenario you described.