Teen babysitting

[MartagonLilies]

We have DC1 who is 15yrs, DC2 who is 9yrs and DC3 who is 5yrs.
I really would like to be able to go out for dinner now and again with DH, however we're never really in a position to be able to, with lack of nearby family etc.
Now that we're finally able to afford a sitter on top of a night out, it seems ridiculous to pay for someone to come and sit, what with our teenager being here.

AIBU to ask DC1 to babysit?
If it's OK to do this, is it generally better to just leave some dinner for DC1 to serve, and let them all get themselves sorted for the evening?Or should we be waiting until younger two are in bed asleep?

I know this seems a bit , I'm just really not sure whats reasonable or not here.

Ask your DC1 what she thinks and definitely pay her.
Ask her if she's happy to serve them dinner pr if she'd be miew comfortable if the younger kids were in bed.

You know your children. I babysat for actual babies at that age was fine, they mostly slept. I would say this would be fine.

I used to pay my oldest son for babysitting and pay my 2 younger daughters for being good, obviously not as much as he got! As long as they got their stories straight it didn't matter what really went on!

I would pay your eldest child to babysit and at least it’s family and somebody you trust. It’s the ideal situation. Maybe leave a dinner or a takeaway for all of them as a special treat so they can have a nice night while you are if that makes sense.

I'd probably get the 5yo to bed first then go out. Not unreasonable for 15yo to babysit though.

I used to baby sit at that age. All kids that needed more putting to bed than just a story and 'go to sleep ' were put down by parents. My sister would also be left in charge at that age, I would have been the youngest at age 7. But we were fed, she wasn't expected to do more than take us up to bed at the appropriate time (tho generally waited till she saw the car then rushed us up). They didn't often leave us at night tho but went for lunchtime meals out.

It's fine if the teenager is sensible. My sister lived alone with a baby at 16.

Depends on teenagers maturity and if they are generally responsible. I would have been fine doing it at that age. My eldest is 14 next year and we intend to offer him babysitting then (youngest will be 5) if he is willing. We've used various teenage babysitters in the past and all has been fine.

You should definitely pay something though even if it's a more modest rate than "outside" sitters. My parents world just announce i was needed to babysit - i didn't get a choice or any cash!!

At 14 I was regularly babysitting my own younger siblings and the children of a couple of other families.