Oldest babysitting siblings --what age?

[my4kids]

It IS hard to let go. If you think she is resposible than I would let her. All 13 year olds are different, so only you can be the judge. I have a 13 year old that watches my 4 kids (another mom w/4 here) ages 3-11 and does an awesome job. She is extremely resposible. I leave my DS11 alone to run errands all the time (actually, my pediatrician recommended it to start a little independence on his part) ( I alway have my cell phone, am not gone for hours, and check in on him) and honestly he doesn't mind at all being alone. I do not leave him to babysit the younger ones (even though I think he could handle it) because the law is 13 to babysit younger siblings. However, my next door neighbor is 13 and I would not leave her alone with my dog! She is a sweet girl and nice, but extrememly immature, and not interested at all in babys or young kids. I honestly don't think I would leave kids with her at any age.
So only you can be the judge, but if you think she is responsible then it is more than time to start letting her do it. The hardest time is the first time, so one night take the cell phone and go to the hotel pool bar with DH for just a half hour or so and brake yourself in slowly, if it goes well and you don't feel too worried, then do a dinner out next time.

Make sure you go through the whole "DO not open the door for ANYONE routine with her - even if they say your parents sent them" and go over what to do in an emergency like a hotel fire - unlikely, but she needs to know- I always tell my DS, Mom has a key to get in, so you don't even have to let me in - don't let ANYONE in"

 

[mom2my3kids]

It's very hard to decide because every child is different. If you feel your oldest is mature enough then go for it. My daughter will be 13 in september, my middle will be 9 and my youngest 3.

 

[freckles and boo]

Just my opinion...

If your daughter is new at babysitting and commanding authority, I would hire the Disney babysitter and assign her (and pay her) as an "assistant". I was required by circumstances to be responsible for my four younger siblings when I was a very young teen and it can be very, very stressful when the other kids are bouncing off the walls. Unless you feel your other children are completely reliable angels who will absolutely obey her, WDW is not the place to put her in charge. Also, there may be local laws about the age in which children can be left unattended. At the very least I would check that out. Have a great trip, whatever you decide.

my4kids... my 17 year old niece is completely unreliable! I agree completely that each kid is different.

 

[zurgswife]

I have 4 kids currently 15, 13, 12 and 9 they have been babysitting for each other since the oldest was about 10 or so at WDW. QUOTE]

You left kids ages 10, 8, 7 and 4 year olds alone to babysit each other at WDW? Or did I read that wrong?

Nope you read correctly. We were at the Boardwalk Villas and were at dinner at the Flying fish. We had walkie talkies and cell phones and were in constant contact pretty much the entire dinner.

Where we live my dd had begun babysitting other families kids(babies and toddlers) during that year. She also was in charge at home for short periods of time. She is very mature and we had no problem letting her be in charge of the other kids while we were just a few hundred feet away.

 

[Deb & Bill]

Hate to be the wet blanket, but doesn't FL have some rules about leaving children under the age of whatever alone in a hotel room? I thought someone brought that up once on thread a while back.

 

[barkley]

i would suggest anyone considering leaving minor children alone in any hotel room check what the hotel policy is (and perhaps local laws). the hotel i worked at had a strict policy that children under a certain age (i think it was 16) could not be left unattended by an adult. it was due to safety concerns in the event of an evacuation or should an issue come up and an adult staff member had to be dispatched to the room (no sane staff member wants to be put into the position of having to respond to a room request where there are only children present and no other adults to witness the interaction). also-some regions have laws about at what age children may be left unattended (and go so far as to have different rules for different times of day/night)-there were a significant number of cases i handled in social services wherein children left alone at resort hotels encountered a problem or issue (sometimes it was based on noise complaints by other guests) resulting in a staff member discovering they were alone in a room-in some because the local laws were strongly enforced, while the staff would make every effort to contact/locate the parents the local law mandated police or cps notification. we had one very sad case in which a children were left in a hotel room and a fire broke out in an adjacent room-the older kids were badly injured trying to get the younger ones out of the room (even the most level headed mature person will panic when faced with trying to get multiple little ones who are panic stricken out of a buring building-i can't imagine being in this situation as a child).

i think resorts are getting more hard line on this issue-some will not rent rooms to people under age 21 at all (they've had issues with 18 year olds renting out spaces for underage drinking/party spaces). and i think disney is cracking down on it to some extent-when we were on a disney cruise last year we witnessed a heated argument between a parent and the staff-they had a 15 year old and apparantly he was causing some problems in and out of the room. the staff was instructing the parent that according to disney policy minors are expected to be appropriately supervised at all times. the parent started arguing that the wdw resort they'de stayed in had'nt had any problem with the kid and letting him stay alone in a room-but the staff member pointed out that likely an issue had'nt come up to make the resort staff aware of it-but had they, the parents would have been told the same policy.

on a personal note-i don't think i'll ever enlist dd to baby sit for her younger brother. the sibling dynamic is very different from what i would want for a sitter-child dynamic (but then i'm an over protective mom who tends to think most people put more time and consideration into chooseing who they have do their hair than they do with who they will entrust their little ones to).

 

[grlpwrd]

Both my 15yo and 11yo are certified as babysitters and sometimes they are co-babysitters for their 3 siblings.

My twin sister and I had a babysitting company when we were teens and we did quite well doing this and was hired by a lawyer and his professor wife, a famous island chef and her realtor husband, and other high profile clientele. I have taught my kids to be responsible and handle it as a business, too.

I would make sure of the laws, too, both state laws and hotel regulations.

 

[taximomfor4]

OK, I have searched and searched. yesterday and today. I cannot find any laws about what age kids can be left unattended in a hotel room. I emailed guest services at WDW, but they won't quote me law, will they? I mean, they might say it's ok but it might be against FLorida law.

Anyone know where I can find the law?

 

[barkley]

no offense intended, but i cannot fathom enlisting any 11 year old to babysit or 'co-babysit' a child-and i would seriously question any agency or organization that would fathom certifying a child of that age. (esp. since they are 'certifying' an illegal activity for a child under the age of 13 per u.s. labor laws).

as far as florida's laws go-you could check with their state department of health and social services. i just did a quick google search and found a child advocacy site that talked spec. about hiring sitters in the state of florida-and it pointed out that their child welfare laws are written such that all minors living or visiting the state must either be under adult supervision or have supervision appropriate to meet their physical, mental and emotional needs-and that if their child welfare staff does'nt believe the individual left with the children is capable of doing so they are able to take the children into protective custody.

another site (national children's law center) brought up some interesting points on liability (not that it would be my concern if my child was injured) but since a child cannot 'legaly' work for wages until the age of 13-technicaly it's illegal to employ one as a baby sitter, and since no-one under the age of 16 can be held responsible for neglect or ill treatment of a child-the parent of the child left with that less than 16 year old is legaly responsible for anything that occurs with regard to their child (so if the babysitter does/does'nt do something-the parents of the child may be the ones facing prosecution).

 

[taximomfor4]

So everything I am finding is that there isn't a specific age, but rather that, just like latchkey kids here in Ohio, it is parental discretion and parental liability. DD is 13, and got First Aid certified today, and is getting CPR certified and Babysitter Certified next Sunday. I am VERY on the fence, to be honest. I think that we will really end up with a couple of short test runs here at home, and then perhaps play it by ear in WDW. I don't really imagine I will be comfortable leaving the premises, but DH and I may settle the kids in, and catch some couples time at our resort.

If anyone else wants to weigh in, I am still all ears!!

 

[powellrj]

The kids that are still at home now are 15 and 10. They stay alone at home all the time, but home is different. At home we have neighbors that they know and trust. Its not the same as a hotel.

I travel for my job several days a month and some of the situations I have had during hotel stays include fire alarms and evacuations, front desk assigning my room to someone and that person entering my room (this has happened twice), the ceiling above my bathroom falling through, phone ringing nonstop, unknown people knocking on door. The scariest thing to happen was this winter at a Marriott when my 15 DS was approched by a man and given a card with his room number on it with instuctions to meet him later. DS didn't tell me about it until later because he knew I would freak and make a big deal about it (which I did).

I trust my kids, but there is no way I would ever leave them alone in a hotel room. Like I said, its a hotel room, not home. You have no idea who is next to you and what can happen when you aren't there.

 

[java]

Hmm Hard to say. My ds (12) was sick this trip so one night he stayed in the room while we went to dinner at the hotel(we have 4 children) He was tired and just wanted to sleep. So when he fell asleep we left him with a cell phone and we went down to dinner- we put the Do Not Disturb on the door just in case a maid came by or something. And when we came back about an hour later he was still asleep. I was a little nervous leaving just my 12 year old in the room alone- I don't know if I would have left the younger ones with him? Not so much that I don't think he could handle it more that I think the younger ones might try to take advantage of him. But you know your kids and do what you are comfortable with. I think I would stay at the hotel the first time vs. heading over to Epcot but that is me. Maybe do a hotel pool bar early in the trip and then if that goes well.... another night at Epcot.

 

[english rose 47]

DGS 5 is a handful and his sister age 11 and he are like oil & water. The other sister also 11 is much better withhim So it definately depends on how they get along. We do leave the girls alone at home but not with DGS. I would be leery at a hotel.

 

[DisneyRockStarMommy]

My daughter is turning 13 this Sunday. I would not let her babysit her brother in a Disney hotel room. My DD babysits at home but not in disney world hotel room. I mean she is a young teen...when she is 15 yes maybe 14 but not 13. I do not think that is over protective.

 

[kitn]

Mabey if you are just going to dinner at your resort, but not if you are going to leave your resort. The main reason I say this is because It usually takes so long to get from point A to point B at Disney. If something went wrong it would just take too long to get back. I am a bit over protective, but there are just too many strange people out there. I dont think I would do it.

 

[grlpwrd]

My oldest is 16yo and we also have a 12yo that is a co babysitter. We won't have them babysit their 3 younger siblings on vacation at a hotel even if my older dd is First Aid/CPR and both are babysitter certified and even if the younger 3 listen to them.

I had an experience at a hotel on Long Island that changed my mind. The fire alarm went off and I led them to safety. I cringe at the thought of what might have happened if I was not there. I know I could probably teach them about fire plans and all that (we practice regularly anyway), but I am not willing to take any chances, especially in a foreign environment and even if our 2 older dd's have cell phones. Being around strangers is also a big part of my decision.

GL in your decision...