OT: Babysitter Non-family member.

[PatsGirl]

Like another poster mentioned, 13 can be a better age than 15/16/17 I always preferred my sitters to be 13 or 14, or young adults. The few times I had middle teen kids babysit there were phone issues, visitor issues, that sort of thing. At 13 the sitter will most likely be trying to impress you and will actually enjoy the children, IMHO.

OT, DD12 1/2 had her first babysitting job today and it went well. It was the 4 year old of a young single mother who I've known since her birth. I spent quite a bit of time with them, took DD and the child to the beach for a bit and out for ice cream then dropped them at the apartment to be fed, cleaned up, and put down for her nap. My baby is babysitting

 

[golfgal]

Eh......I have no kids myself.....but I do work with kids daily. Honestly Red cross certified or not, I wouldn't let a 13 year old watch my kids if she was not family...

At that age they're still babies themselves, and in a true emergency, you never know what could happen.....if panic overwhelms her- all her CPR training goes right out the window.

I wouldn't let anyone under the age of 15/16 watch my children.......JMHO

Good luck finding an available one. I honestly think that is the reason my daughter gets all the jobs she does.

I agree. Around here once the kids get into high school they are too busy to babysit or have real jobs and don't want to babysit any longer. Our kids all were babysitting by age 12, 11 actually for neighbors. If the 13 year old has experience and has been through the Red Cross training then I don't see an issue. One thing about the younger babysitters is they actually play with the kids vs having them parked in front of the TV while they chat on the phone.

 

[raysnkaysmom]

Ok I have never had to do this before. My DH and I have somewhere to go and our regular family babysitters are unavailable. So my DH was talking about it at work and a woman mentioned her daughter, I have never met this woman but my DH works with her everyday. I guess I'm just nervous cause I have never left them with anyone besides family. They are 3 and almost 2.

My one issue is that the daughter is 13. She is certified through the red cross. My neighbors will be home and are nurses so I let them know that we will be having a babysitter. Also the boys will be asleep by the time we leave. so basically I am paying her to listen to them sleep!

Would you feel comfortable w/ a 13 year old? To me that just seems young. Also her mom, the woman DH works with is only 5 mins away!

Please calm my nerves or tell me i'm crazy to be doing this LOL

Thanks

HOnestly, I couldn't let a 13 yr old... just too much can go wrong. My oldest DD will be 14 in November, and although she could handle it, I'm not comfortable with anyone under 16 (and thats pushing it)...
I did have a dilemma last week, and, fwiw, I did consider my co=workers daughter. She is 18, and just graduated HS. She is a camp counseler and I have met her briefly a couple times... but the trust of the co=worker does help. But, again, not at 13...IMHO

 

[ryanshana]

Just wanted to say.....

We did end up going out....the 13 yo was very mature for her age... Luckily my kids didn't even wake up while we were out. I am sooo glad we got to go out. And once meeting her, I felt more comfortable, because she was very mature for her age, throughly listened to EVERYTHING I said. Hopefully this is the first of many babysitting jobs for her for us!!!


Thanks for everyone calming my nerves!!!

 

[DVCLiz]

Just wanted to say.....

We did end up going out....the 13 yo was very mature for her age... Luckily my kids didn't even wake up while we were out. I am sooo glad we got to go out. And once meeting her, I felt more comfortable, because she was very mature for her age, throughly listened to EVERYTHING I said. Hopefully this is the first of many babysitting jobs for her for us!!!


Thanks for everyone calming my nerves!!!

I'm so glad to hear this worked out for you, OP!!! And congratulations for taking a big parenting step!!! As another poster mentioned, it is hard to let go of that control for the first time - but it is so necessary, if you want to ultimately have kids who can be in different situations and be happy even though they are away from the comfort of their parents.

Now see if she is free next weekend and plan a dinner date with your husband!!!!

 

[barkley]

i always thought it was wierd when i was 12/13 how many of the friends i had who were allowed to babysit until late into the night or around the time the bars closed had parents of their own who would'nt consider leaving them alone in their own homes for the same period of time. i've encountered this same dynamic as an adult-coworkers who would never dream of going out for the evening and leaving their 12/13 year old without an older sibling or an actual sitter yet they let that same kid go off and babysit someone elses kids for the same time frame, and relish the time the kids are gone. they might live 5 minutes away but in my experience they are often using their kid's sitter nites as their opportunity to go out as well.

go with what you are comfortable with, but for me i'de never be comfortable leaving my child in the care of someone where part of my concerns for their wellbeing was being satiated by the fact i had neighbors across the street or someone 5 minutes away just in case. i'm not entrusting my children to the neighbors or the mom 5 minutes away so they should'nt enter the equation.

 

[mjkacmom]

I love 13 year old babysitters (and own one - LOL). They're so into the kids, and take their responsibilities very seriously. I actually prefer to pay a teen than ask family - no guilt. You can usually get at least 3 years out of a sitter if you start at 13. I've always paid $10 an hour, and find it worth the money.

 

[huey duey & luey]

I know that this was already resolved but just wanted to add that we have a set of 3 babysitters who live 2 doors away. The youngest started when she was 13 and we would use her for more local and shorter times. If we were going into the city and would be gone much later than it was usually her and her older sister. I wanted to say if you asked my kids the 13 year old was their favorite. She would sit and play with them rather than maybe just watch a movie. I am glad she worked out and hopefully you can use her again

 

[Took]

Many of us don't/didn't have family mearby to help. We often used teenage babysitters. And when I was a teen, I baby sat a lot.

Invite the girl over to be a mother's helper one day so you can get to know her and she can get to know the kids. I think with all the other people in place she will do fine.

And I know that in Maryland the minimum age for a child to be left caring for other kids is 12 so she is over that age.

I have NEVER lived near family and have always had to rely on sitters. Most have been 18 and up, but a responsible 13 y.o. with Red Cross certification seems fine to me. Glad your situation worked well, too, OP.

I confess, I don't really understand the mentality tha a responsible girl (13 y.o. or so) is not an appropriate child sitter, but that's just me, I guess.

 

[bethy]

13 is too young for my comfort level. But take this with a grain of salt b/c we have never hired a sitter and my kids are 8 and 4!

 

[C.Ann]

So glad it worked out well and you and your DH had the chance to spend an evening out..