Who Watches Your Kids When You Go out?
I babysat a three-year-old and 6-year-old when I was 12. They lived around the corner from my house. I would order pizza, do crafts and bathe the kids. I made sure the doors were locked. I was 12. Do you find this odd?
… I do. I would never leave JD with a 12-year-old, no offense to the people who left me with their kids. The only people I trust with JD are my immediate family, close friends, a few neighbors from my building and 2 twenty-something, young women who are post college grads. One is babysitting JD tonight. I’ve known her family since I was 14. I trust her completely. JD loves his babysitters (especially the girls, because face it—babysitters are fun and make forts!) and I always make a point to have cool, new things for them to do, too. Today at Target, I picked up some Crayola products: Model Magic Presto Dots and Color Explosion Metallic. I hand these off just as I leave in my little black dress and heels. This is great because it distracts JD and he also doesn’t watch TV until bedtime, or harass his sitter to make a fort out of my couch cushions.
I always make sure my freezer is stocked with ice cream or fro yo pops and I like to bathe JD prior to the sitter coming. If at all possible I feed him dinner, too. Tonight, I will. Not because I don’t trust the sitter, just because it makes me feel better that he’s clean, fed and in jammies and all the sitter really has to do is art, monitor teeth brushing and read to JD before bedtime.
I also leave my dad’s number on the counter because he’s the closet family member to my condo and I am going to be about forty minutes away this evening eating tapas. The 911 asthma meds and instructions are also left out. By the time my sitter arrives she’ll have 2.5 hours of “JD time” before he gets tucked in (pretty good gig, if you ask me). Even so, I wouldn’t leave JD with a 12-year-old for 2.5 hours. If I was home, I would consider a 12-year-old as a mother’s helper.
Tell me, how old are your sitters? Who do trust with your lil ones? XO
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My son is 3 yr old and he really only stays with family. His grandparents are usually eager to babysit when I call and ask. If I used teens as babysitters then I would want to lean towards 15 ot 16 age group so that they are mature enough to handle the job.
I babysat 4 children under the age of 8 when I was 12 years old, but it was during the day and my mother was just two houses away. I don’t think I did any nighttime sitting till I was 14 or 15. But I sure never saw parents hand over brand new toys – that must make the evening more attractive!
I’m in my late 20s, and I babysat starting at age 12 too (as soon as I completed the YMCA child care class). The moms in the neighborhood (and all their friends) fought over me — apparently it’s always been hard to find a good babysitter.
In nearly all cases, each mom would have me first spend a day with the kids while she was nearby (running minor errands, in and out of the house, gardening, etc.) — just to test me out before leaving me alone with them for several hours at a time. I remember a few moms also asked me for recommendations from other families I’d sat for.
I guess it depends on the maturity of the babysitter. If I knew the 12-year-old’s family, and the 12-year-old had done a child care class, I’d probably leave a toddler with him/her for a few hours.
I was babysitting when I was 9. I was allowed to take two small kids to the park and to the store! I didn’t think anything of it at the time. That family recommended me to their friends and I had a pretty lucrative babysitting business going on.
Now that I’m a mom, I think it’s terrible! I have an abnormal level of anxiety when it comes to people watching my four year old son (like, think hyperventilation and hives). I have allowed three people to watch him- my husband’s mother, my mother, and my grandmother. And of course they are all 40+.
Only ever used family. I would never have trusted teen girls to make smart choices in unexpected situations..
I too babysit a lot when I was 11, 12 and 13 years old. I wouldn’t consider leaving my 2 year old with a teenager, let alone someone in Jr. high! I guess times have changed for sure.
I totally agree…I was 14 and was left with a 5 year old, 3 year old, and newborn. NEVER in my life would I leave my kids with someone that young. The only people we trust is our immediate family…luckily, both sides of the family are within about 10 miles, so we have lots of options. Great idea about the new toy or art project. That would have been really helpful when I was the babysitter!
I babysat really young also, it was before I could drive so I was younger the 15 and still in jr high when I started. Between my husband and I we have 3 niece’s in that age range and none of them are watching our kids without us. I even have trouble trusting our three nieces that 18-19. I think the distraction of their cell phones and the fact my kids are so young is why I feel this way.
I’ve only ever used family. I used my 17 year old cousin but she is the most responsible 17 year old I have ever met (I baby sat her when she was little). Otherwise the youngest person to watch him was in their mid 20′s. Up until recently I wouldn’t even let my SIL babysit because my niece is super agressive and I was worried she would hurt him (she’s finally growing out of the agression). I can’t imagine leaving him with a 12 year old. That just seems super young to me. I know I babysat at 12-13 but as a parent that seems super young to me now. Amazing how things change!
I used to babysit all the time. And I wish I could find a teenager I coud trust with my kids. I just don’t feel they are the same as we were as teenagers. We didn’t have as many “distractions” as they do. We didn’t have cell phones or use the internet. It was just a different time! Makes me sound old but I am only 34!
I’ve been using 12 year olds and teenagers as baby-sitters since my son was 2(7 years ago). The first sitters were 7th and 8th graders from the Jr High my dad taught at. A lot of the teachers with children or grandchildren used these 3 girls as sitters. Currently my regular non-daycare sitters are a 16 year girl and her 13 year old sister(their mom is a friend of mine and their younger brother is my son’s friend). The older one has been watching them since my daughter was a few months old(she’s 19 months now). The younger one started watching them alone when she was 12, however she did watch them at her house a few times when she was 11 when her mom was home too or kept her occupied during Cub Scout meetings. I have never had any problems with any of my young sitters. My daughter just adores both of the girls and they adore her. They change her outfit a lot when they wash her, so I do have more laundry, but that’s no big deal.
When I was in 5th grade (so 10 or 11) I began babysitting for a 9 month old and a 2-3 year old. That was my first ever babysitting job. I have no idea what their parents were thinking. There is no way I would leave my son with someone that young, especially as an infant.
I too babysat from the age of 11 through 15, when I could legally get a part time job. I would have no problem hiring a tween or teen to babysit my daughter, who is 10 months old. I don’t think we give kids and teens enough credit. Why should someone be college educated to take care of a child or baby? The skills needed to keep a child happy, safe, and secure for a few hours are not the same skills learned in a university. When I was in college (5 or 6 years ago) a mom hired me to come over for an hour before school to make sure her two 12 year old twins weren’t alone and that they got to school on time. The elementary school was literally at the end of their block and the kids walked themselves, so all I did was hang out with the kids, pour them a bowl of cereal for breakfast, and get them out the door in time. They were very bright, capable kids who didn’t need me there for anything, and looking back, I’m not sure why the parents felt the need to pay someone to be there at all. This topic relates to the Free Range Kids movement, and I strongly encourage all the moms who are too anxious to trust anyone with their children to check out.
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