Male babysitter......ok or not?

[mieowcat]

We are looking to find a casual babysitter, and placed an advert locally. we had a 22 year old guy call who works at a local nursery and says he is an experienced babysitter. he said he has references and CRB checked. hes visiting tommorow.
I don't know why but is it ok for a male babysitter to sit for our 7mo baby girl. am i being silly or would anyone else worry?
i realise im being a bit sexist here.

wouldn't worry me in the slightest

Gut instict - NO!!!!!!!!!!! Sorry.

TBH I'd rather have someone with those credential than a 14 year old from next door who would spend the night running up a huge phone bill and shagging her boyfriend on my sofa.

Could you call the nursery and ask for a reference?

I honestly can't see why it would be a problem, especially if you check his refs.

I wouldn't - even though it is sexist of me.

I would be perfectly happy to have a male nursery worker, but I think its a whole different thing to leave your child alone all night with someone.

I'm not saying he is a oddball but I wouldn't risk it.

Then again I wouldn't leave my baby with a female babysitter I didn't know either. Friends and family only here.

With refs, crb and working in a nursery I would bite his hand off

He sounds great, meet him and see what you think

You are of course being sexist. But, if you are not comfotable with the sitter then you will not enjoy your time out, so what would be the point? Might as well stay home.

However, I would be perfectly happy with someone who was CRB checked and worked in a nursery. I mean sitters don't really come much more qualified than that.

i wouldn't worry about him being male.

but you can't decide whether you would be comfortable with him caring for your child until you and your child meet him.

same as with a woman.

i always pay a new babysitter to come round for a couple of hours in the day, in order to see how they get on with the children.

Im sorry but VRB checked doesn't mean anything.

It just means they haven't got CAUGHT doing anyhting.

Im not talking about this particular man but I do know that my gran ran a childrens club for 15 years and over that time she used a childrens entertainer, ke was CRB checked, a good history of working with children, had done so all his life, a well respected man.

And he was a pedophile, hundreds of images founds and several abuse reports finally came out. My gran spent years making sure he never worked in our area again.

Im not saying every man is like this, there are some WONDERFUL males that work with children but please don't just see 'CRB checked' and see it as a guarantee this person is 'OK'

Its a hard thing to decide.

Meet him and see how you feel about him.

I'm a bloke as many on here know and have been working with children for over 18 years. Attitudes towards men working with children has changed over the past 10 years, though some parents will still feel uncomfortable with having a male carer for their child. When working in pre-school and nursery settings, some parents even then objected to the nursery having a male member of staff. The nursery however has to operate an equal opportunities policy, and felt that children need both male and female role models.

The guy you have been in touch with has been checked by the CRB and by his employer. He is providing you with references, which you can check.

As with anyone who you have care for your children, you need to be happy to leave your child in their care. You should meet them and ask them questions, see how they respond to your child, and see their paperwork such as CRB check, qualification/training certificates, references.

You would be doing that regardless of the persons gender. Remember that women abuse children... as well as men.

I have to know someone as a friend or relative before I ask them to babysit, their sex isn't the issue. I chose my children's preschool because the leader is a trusted neighbour - it's not the nearest one.

My most trusted babysitter is male by the way - dh's best friend and he's so calm unlike my friends!

wouldnt be concerned at all, if you like him when you meet him and crb check is ok, and refernences check out then no need to be worried.

females can harm babies/children too!!

inteesting thread for me as I have had several friends ask if my 15 year old DS can babysit for them....

no-one? Is your DD that much of a nightmare? If special needs, then your child's regular carers may be willing to babysit on occasion.

I've had male babysitters for DS, one was the boyfriend of our regular babysitter who I didn't know but dh did know quite well and the others have been dh's employees. (Workaholic husband, need I say more. ) TBH ds prefers men and always has done, but he is that bit older (4 yrs old), I don't think we really left him with babysitters at all before he was speaking.

I think if you're worried then wait until you find a babysitter you're happy with, but paedophiles are not as pervasive as the tabloids say they are. Do you think your dd has a preference for men or women?

If you'd be willing to have a female stranger with the same credentials babysit then it's very strange not to allow him to do it because he's male.

I'd rather him than a teenage female with no qualifications.

Assuming you've called the nursery he works at to verify his references then it sounds like your DC would be in very safe hands.