Moms of young children, would you hire a 12yo to babysit?

[Disney1fan2002]

I started babysitting when I was 11. As did most kids in my generation. We were all babysitting by 12, at the latest. (most of my 6th grade classmates had babysitting jobs.)

It just seems, people are more protective of their kids these days. Hell, they want Ph.D.'s in childcare.

I have mentioned to a few people I know that have kids that my DD is taking a babysitting course and she will be a "certified" babysitter. They look at me like I have two heads. They would never hire a 12 year old to babysit! Personally, I think you have more reliability with a 12/13yo as opposed to the 14/15/16yo's. By the time they hit HS...they just want to hang with their friends, especially on the weekends.

I am planning on sitting down with DD to help her figure out how to market herself as a babysitter. I am thinking she should offer to be a "mother's helper" at first. If she advertises full out babysitting, I think people aren't going to hire her because of her age.

My question, if you could answer the poll, that would be helpful too, would you hire a 12yo who has experience around babies and small children?

 

[marshallandcartersmo]

I'm sorry, I wouldn't. But I'm one of "those" overprotective moms.

I always use high school aged girls, there's a big bonus in them being able to drive to my house and me not having to pick them up/drop them off.

ETA--A mothers helper would be a good option for her. But I think those jobs are hard to come by. If I needed to get things done around the house while my kids were little, I'd just wait until they napped or after DH got home.

good luck!

 

[punkin]

There has to be an "other". I would, but it is not legal in my state. Maryland does not allow babysitters under 13. (nor does it allow children under 8 to be left home alone).

 

[busyshrew]

No, I wouldn't. We need a babysitter for when we go out at night, so the hours required are usually from 8:00pm until around 11:30pm, sometimes even as late as 2:00am. I can't imagine letting a 12 yo stay up until 2am, so we've never even considered it.

 

[golfgal]

Around here if you didn't use the 12-14 year olds you would never get a sitter. Most kids once they hit high school age are too busy to babysit.

 

[emer95]

Great question! My daughter is 11 1/2 and dying to babysit, so I have been wondering the same thing. I too started babysitting at 11, and I made a boatload of money. Plus it kept me really busy, so I'd love for my daughter to start babysitting just as much as she would. I'm having her take the course this October, and she is a very reliable, mature girl with a lot of experience. She works in the infant/toddler nursery with me at church in weekends.
I agree that the older teenagers get, the busier they are. Not to mention, the less likely they are to play with the kids (or at least that's what our kids' babysitters were like). My favorite ones were the younger ones.

 

[happygirl]

No, I think 14/15 is the right age for us.

 

[smb6]

My older kids were younger I remember having and 12 and 13 yr old watch them occasionally. I also had a young college student watch them when they were unavailable. The 12 and 13 yr old spent the whole time playing with my kids and took it very seriously. The college student was not very interested and just wanted to "survive" the night. Now if it came down to an emergency I feel the college student would have responded better to getting them out if there was a fire for example; but I actually preferred the younger girls and my kids liked them better too.
But, as you said people now a days tend to think that is young..... I don't see getting much business as a mother's helper (JMO). I would advertise babysitting services. Do you live in a small/rural community? If so, you are more likely to get responses.... If you advertise well, you might be surprised and get some responses..... It certainly can't hurt to try....

 

[ToTLaugher]

I guess I would say "other"

I had no problem using younger children to babysit my kids. Some started as mother's helpers until they were ready to take the full responsibility while my neighbor started out babysitting right away because I knew her and her mom. When she babysat her mother was home to come help if needed.

All it takes is one family willing to try her out. If she does well the mom will talk and the calls will come! My oldest daughter is 10 years older than her brother, so by the time she was 12 she was very capable to care for little ones. Word quickly got around about her and she has been in demand as a sitter for the past 4 years.

Another thing to consider is the age of the child being cared for. My daughter has been asked to babysit children only 1 or 2 years younger than her and we have always said no because it can be hard for the children to accept the authority of the sitter ("It is time to go to bed."..."I don't have to listen to you - you're just a kid!")

Maybe you know someone who could hire your DD as a mother's helper and let her get some experience to build on. Babysitters that really engage with the children are in high demand, so if she has a desire to do it, go for it! Good luck to her!

 

[MoniqueU]

Well my kids are ollderr now but I would use her as a mothers helper. When my kids were little and 15 months apart I could of used all the hands I could get.

 

[cathyce2]

I voted yes but it really depends on the tween. I have a very mature and responsible 11 year old. She is absolutely capable of babysitting and is red cross certified. I would trust her totally, but some of her friends..... not so much!

 

[acename]

I wish I could vote twice. I would hire her for my 3 year old no problem. My 6 month old maybe for a couple of hours if I felt she was mature enough.

My niece is 12 and does a great job taking care of my 3 year old. She listens to her cousin better than she listens to me! I left her with both kids for a couple of hours last week while I went to the grocery store. Everything was fine, but she called once stressing out a little bit because my little one was crying. She wasn't sure what else to do. (He was just tired, she put him in the swing and he went right to sleep.) Anyway, it's not something I'd do all the time, but she can handle them both every now and then while I run a couple of errands.

It does depend on the kid. My niece has helped me out with my daughter since she was born. She's very good with kids and mature. Some of her friends, heck no.

 

[Mickeypooh99]

I would hire a 12 year old sitter if she was good with kids. Probably not for infants, but for kids age 2 and up. The sitter we use most was 12 when she started. She could be available with little notice on a Saturday night. Now she is 16, and has a boyfriend and a job. There is pretty much no chance of getting her for a Sat. or Sun. anymore.

I also have hired girls as young as 9 to be a mothers helper on occasion. They could keep my boys entertained so I could get the house clean etc. Sometimes I had to run errands, and my DH would be doing yard work so my neighbor girl would come help with the kids. It was a great help. My boys are only 12 months apart. When I had a 1 and 2 year old it was hard to get things done!

 

[Mickeypooh99]

I just remembered, when we first had the 12 year old babysit for us she was calling us 2 or 3 times per night. We would be having a nice dinner and our cell would ring. She just would ask silly questions like could the kids have ice cream after dinner or something. I had to tell her not to call unless it was an emergency.

 

[descovy]

I started babysitting when I was 11. As did most kids in my generation. We were all babysitting by 12, at the latest. (most of my 6th grade classmates had babysitting jobs.)

It just seems, people are more protective of their kids these days. Hell, they want Ph.D.'s in childcare.

I have mentioned to a few people I know that have kids that my DD is taking a babysitting course and she will be a "certified" babysitter. They look at me like I have two heads. They would never hire a 12 year old to babysit! Personally, I think you have more reliability with a 12/13yo as opposed to the 14/15/16yo's. By the time they hit HS...they just want to hang with their friends, especially on the weekends.

I am planning on sitting down with DD to help her figure out how to market herself as a babysitter. I am thinking she should offer to be a "mother's helper" at first. If she advertises full out babysitting, I think people aren't going to hire her because of her age.

My question, if you could answer the poll, that would be helpful too, would you hire a 12yo who has experience around babies and small children?

Depends on the age. Under 3 I would say no. I started hiring my neighbor at age 12. At first it was so we could go out to dinner with her parents!

But my kids were 5, 7, 9. They're old enough to know the rules, talk, etc... I would not expect a 12 year old to deal with babies, bottles, diapers, potty accidents, bedtimes.

But when the kids are old enough (and well behaved) to communicate well, take care of basic needs on their own (toileting) I think it is appropriate for a 12 year old to babysit.

As an aside, I recently needed an afternoon babysitter last minute. Neighbor couldn't do it. I ended up calling a mom I know in the neighborhood. Her girls are 5, 3. She agreed to watch my girls at her house, but instead, the oldest 2 (now 10, 8) spent the time as "mother helpers" for her girls. They entertained the younger ones, kept them happy and busy upstairs. Mom got phone calls, cooking, cleaning, done IN PEACE. Here's the kicker, she wouldn't let me pay... rather she gave my oldest 2 $3/ea for helping her out!

 

[marcyinPA]

I didn't vote, but I totally think it depends on the child. I've known some very mature 12 year olds that I would trust with my kids, and I've known some that I wouldn't let dog-sit my dog!

If your daughter is truly mature enough to babysit children of all ages, I would market her through your friends and aquaintences first, and then let word of mouth work for her.

 

[punkin]

As an aside, I recently needed an afternoon babysitter last minute. Neighbor couldn't do it. I ended up calling a mom I know in the neighborhood. Her girls are 5, 3. She agreed to watch my girls at her house, but instead, the oldest 2 (now 10, 8) spent the time as "mother helpers" for her girls. They entertained the younger ones, kept them happy and busy upstairs. Mom got phone calls, cooking, cleaning, done IN PEACE. Here's the kicker, she wouldn't let me pay... rather she gave my oldest 2 $3/ea for helping her out!

I guess that's an argument for having larger families.

 

[DeniseinNS]

I would not let a 12 year old babysit my kids, but I wouldn't get an older teenager either. I am weird when it comes to babysitters and have only ever had family or close adult friends watch my kids, I don't know any teens that I would trust enough to come into my home and watch my kids.

 

[golfgal]

I would not let a 12 year old babysit my kids, but I wouldn't get an older teenager either. I am weird when it comes to babysitters and have only ever had family or close adult friends watch my kids, I don't know any teens that I would trust enough to come into my home and watch my kids.

That's too bad. My kids LOVED having teenage babysitters. They would play all kinds of fun games and get to do stuff they wouldn't normally get to do, like eating in the living room while watching a movie. Our kids now play a lot of those same games with the kids they babysit for.

 

[java]

My daughter is just turned 13. She started babysitting at 11-(she had taken the babysitting class) She is the in demand one in our neighborhood. Anyone that knows her knows she is responsible. She got thrown into it- we were supposed to go to a 'neighborhood" party and she was going to babysit for one person. A blizzard hit- and all the neighbors asked if she would mind coming to the party and babysitting there-
So her first babysitting job she was watching 15 kids!! Including 2 babies!

She did great and that led to her being the babysitter for the neighborhood. I think it helps that I have young sons as well- so all their friends parents use her as well. They know her so it helps.

Once she gets one job it'll snowball. Trust me. Good luck to her!