Your tips for a teen starting out as a babysitter

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My 12 (very nearly 13) yo is desperate to earn some money to support her expensive horse habit. We live in a small town and I have plenty of people in my extended network who have small children/babies and might like a babysitter for a few hours in the evening.

Please could you share your tips - from a babysitting / parents' point of view?

What do you look for in a babysitter? Would you even consider a teen this young?
What are your expectations?
How much do you pay/charge?
How do you advertise / find a babysitter?
Assume COVID a consideration at the moment?

DD is very sensible, confident and she has experience of playing with / looking out for her nephew who's now 7. When he stays for sleepovers she reads him bedtime stories. She knows rudimentary first aid. She's good with cats and dogs. We could transport her to and from jobs.

Thanks

I might leave my primary school age children if I knew the children, my children were in bed asleep and her parents were no more than 5 mins away and would be on call.

But to be honest, I could get a 15/16 year old and would always go with them. So it depends what her competition is.

I agree with everyone else, that she is too young yet.

However, she could build up experience, and references by helping out / looking after or playing with small children / babies when their parents are there. No, she won't get paid for that, but she will gain experience, and, by word of mouth, people will know she is good with little ones (if she is).
dd did this a lot, simply because she loves being with babies and small children. After a couple of years, people knew her, the dc knew here and everyone was confident they could leave their dc with her.

She also was a young Leader at cubs, and then was asked to sit for a couple of the cubs, by parents who saw how good she was with 20+ 8 - 10 yr olds, so figured she could probably then handle just one or two.

The first time she 'sat' for her cousins, we did a sort of compromise. I drove her there, and said I would be busy all evening and she had to look after them / put them to bed etc, but - for my SiL, I was still there if needed. For my dd, she was getting practice and working out how to resolve any issues she hadn't thought of. For my SiL, it meant that she'd done it a couple of times before actually having to be on her own in the house with the boys.

Like most things - it is a step by step thing.

Once she’s a bit older walking younger kids to and from activities can be a big money spinner. That was one of DD’s early money makers - collecting kids from Rainbows or Beavers to walk them home when the parent had a younger sibling who needed to be put to bed right at pick up time.

Too young for babysitting. What about utilising her horsey interest-she could offer poo picking, mucking out, tack cleaning etc on a local horsey FB group?

I'd be looking for a 16/17/18 year old. Isn't it illegal to leave a kid with a 13yo??

What about a paper round? I worked in a restaurant at that age but jobs like that are being fought over at the minute

@CorianderLord

I'd be looking for a 16/17/18 year old. Isn't it illegal to leave a kid with a 13yo??

What about a paper round? I worked in a restaurant at that age but jobs like that are being fought over at the minute

No, it's not illegal