Would you let a sensible 6 year old stay one with a 13 year old, while you popped out 20 mins ?

[Lardlizard]

?

Yes

Of course

Probably

Yes, if the teen was up for it and responsible. Not if they were dodgy and didn't want to do it.

Absolutely

Yes. My 6 yr old has recently discovered the grown-up joys of CBBC so would be sat in the exact same position in the sofa when I got back, no problems at all.

Yes.

Of course

I’ve done exactly that plenty of times.

Yes.

Of course tbh I've left my sensible 7 year old for five minutes while I pop and buy milk (I timed it, was literally 5 mins). I've left her with a sensible 13 year old for 2 hours before watching a film.

Some children babysit at that age.

Yes

Yes, although I always find it a bit puzzling when people on here declare their young children 'sensible'. Young children (up to about 8/9, I guess) aren't 'sensible' per definitionem, and it's always wise to expect the unexpected. That said, a typical 13yo should be able to deal with most scenarios potentially presented by a typical 6yo, so it's fine. I've left my 4yo with my ('sensible') 14yo for a similar amount of time.

So long as the 13 year old is sensible, yes.
Not if the 6 year old is the more sensible of the pair!

I have dc 5 +13 next month and yes I would.

Yes.
Leave a mobile phone or home phone in close reach, snacks and a drink.
I just make sure I don't have the hob, oven or anything cooking in the kitchen when leaving teenager in charge of younger ones.

Yes I would.

Yes as long as the teenager was capable and the 6 year old would do what the teenager told them if necessary.

Yes

Yes of course. I used to baby sit babies at that age for 3 & 4 hours at a time.

Yes definitely. I was a regular babysitter aged 13.

I’m always struck by how incredibly cautious and over protective mothers seem nowadays compared to my generation.
My DC were born 30 years ago. They came home from school by themselves and were alone at home for a couple of hours every day until I got home from work. Starting from when they were aged 8 and 9.
They were very competent at fixing themselves a cold drink and snack, and knew which neighbour to contact in an emergency. They had my work phone number (I had no mobile phone then!)
When DD was 4, she had to go to the village shop for milk by herself as I was floored with flu. She came back indignant that the lady tried to give her full fat instead of semi skimmed!
I was widowed when the DC were babies and had no relatives within 250 miles. They had to learn to be independent asap. I think it’s helped to make them resilient adults.

My almost 13 year old Dd has asd and my 7 year old ds has adhd so probably not 😬. It’s probably fine for most though.

Yes

Yes