Is 16 old enough to babysit?

[SaunteringDownwards]

DH and I have been having a rough time recently and we quite fancy an evening out for a meal or a drink at the pub five minutes away. Dd is 16 and has offered to babysit her younger sister (9) and responsible DS (13). Is this OK do you think? It is the first time we will have left them alone so I'm just not sure. We could be back in ten minutes max if anything were to happen.

Definitely unless they have form for fighting and the younger one pushes boundaries.

I would say of course she is, 16 is perfectly reasonable.... but no doubt some obsessive MNer will be along shortly to say no way and she must be at least 21 before you can even consider it 🙄

Yes I think that is fine.
How lovely of her to offer. ☺️

My 16 yr old has been babysitting his younger sister (12) for at least a year.

16yo is fine took after 9yo.
13yo is fine e to be responsible for themselves.

Surely the teens look after themselves occasionally anyway? After school etc?

I think that's OK, as long as you aren't far away and you obviously aren't if you can be back in ten mins. We left our 15 year old with our ten year old for a couple of hours recently in the day time, while we went to an event 10 mins away. 16 is old enough to babysit for the evening, as long as they are fairly responsible.

Of course it's fine. I'd even say the 13 year old should be fine to watch the 9 year old for a few hours as well.

Don't be daft - they must be at least 45, Norland trained, and have had 4 children, all of whom have been Oxbridge educated.

I thought people might think I was being a bit precious but it's just the first time I've done it so be gentle! 😅

It's fine with kids of that age.

16 is fine, especially for siblings, unless they have form for fighting.

My DBros couldn't be left together, but by the time days and I were 13 and 16, our parents just left us alone.

It's fine, but I would set rules to the younger ones before you go (eg bedtime at 9pm) and stress that the oldest is in charge when you aren't there.

I used to babysit neighbours' children at 16.

At 16 she could be working full time living on her own so I think it's fine

I babysat 3 kids age 6, 4 and 2 at age 15 and it was fine.

Otoh I was "in charge" of my 16 year old brother when I was 22 and it was a nightmare stopping him from doing illegal stuff.

So it depends on the younger kids and how sensible they are.

You're not being precious.

Yes, it's surprising they haven't been left before.

But I also think being left for an evening and later in the night is different from during day.

I was left at 12yo during the day with my 9 and 5yo siblings!

I also took a 3 and 5yo out for the day on buses and trains and babysat until late at night for the same kids from 15.

Before mobile phones.

But everyone has so many different influencing factors in their personal lives that would or wouldn't influence a choice.

But I say - go for it and enjoy your evening out

Yes, it's fine. Go and have a lovely night out!