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

[5lilfish]

Yep....given, of course, that I feel the 12 yr old is ready.

My 12 yr old babysits my 3 yr old twins. We use her for a couple of hours at a time. We usually are going to be fairly close to home (going out for a quick dinner, coffee or to socialize at a close by friend's house). She does quiet, indoor activities with the twins. They will watch a movie, color, play with toys, etc... and my 12 yr old can put them to bed. She is great. She's been helping with the twins from day 1.

Jess

 

[indimom]

Not me, I had a 12 year old when mine where 3 and 6 weeks. When my oldest hit 12, I quit hiring babysitter all together.

Me too. I just realized I never answered that part of the question. I did hire 12/13yo sitters for my two when they were toddlers. Honestly, around here, most teens who drive and want to work get fast food and other jobs, so finding an older sitter would be difficult at best. Also, I knew the girls and had no concerns about their ability to do the job.

 

[indimom]

You know, talking about this subject got me thinking. When I used to be a teen babysitter (started at 12) a couple decades ago. Not only did I watch kids late into the night, far out in the country where neighbors might be miles away; but I don't think a single family ever gave me a contact number and often didn't even mention where they were going for the night???
I cooked on the stove (only a few had microwaves), dealt with puking children until the parents got back, trapped a bat once, had to disarm an overly agressive 3yo with a knife (didn't take another job from that family).
I know I was watching three pre-K kids one evening when we had a tornado go through the area. I got them out of bed and took them to the basement for a "campout," found the flashlights and located batteries for the radio before the power went out. The parents never called and showed up about 2 a.m. My parents were home that night about four miles away, but it didn't even cross my mind to call them. I just did what you always did in a bad storm.
We've changed a lot over the last 20 years. Now, most parents wouldn't leave their children with a sitter without about 15 contact numbers, a couple cell phones and a complete list of allergies and safety precautions.
Not saying this is a bad thing, just amazes how much we've changed...