Would you be happy to use a 14 year old babysitter?

[Ponka]

What is the youngest babysitter you have ever used?

um, 15 and she's my best friend's daughter, has little brothers, is great with LOs, and is head girl- so v responsible, obviusly

anyway, i wouldnt have anyone under 18 usually. she is exceptional. but mine are still young. 5 and 2.5. age of yours is a factor. i'd say def 18 with a baby.

should add, dont think its age really that matters. more important is exp with chn and how well they know yours.

as noonar said depends on age of your DC's mine is 15 months definitely wouldn;t use anyone under 18 in that case. Too much responsibility in case of an emergency

14 ....but like noonar, i knew her, she was head girl at her school , her mum teaches at DSs school , my DH has met her dad through business stuff, they live on the same street and she is utterly responsible..

she is 17 now, and going out more, so harder and harder to get her to sit for us !

only had DS who was 4 when she started sitting for us, when i had DD she was older, and i didnt ask her to sit until DD was sleeping through ...

We have a 14 year old but ds is fairly easy to look after now. I wouldn't have anyone younger than 16 looking after a baby, myself - well in fact we never left ds with anyone at all when he was tiny.

I wouldn't leave my 2 with anyone who had never had kids, tbh, but totally understand that this IS irrational.

I used to babysit frequently when I was 14 and onwards and was a really (boringly) responsible teenager. Now I have ds though I'm not sure I'd use someone so young.

we have used a 15 year old

for dds - 7, 4 and 10 months

but she is the fourth of six children, incredibly capable and we weren't miles away so could have come home like a shot

also our three sleep like logs (well for the first part of the night anyway in dd2s case )

you do all know that if they're under 18, you're responsib for THEM as well as your own, when in your house.

really? but you can leave your own children alone when they are 15? what if the house burns down its your fault sort of thing? surely that goes without saying?

Would depend entirely on the 14 year old. Some are mature, responsible and experienced, others are hoodies . Seriously, if you aren't comfortable with the individual then don't do it, but if you feel she's (he's?) perfectly capable then do. I've used a 14 year old, a particularly swotty girl whose parents live next door and who are at home because they have a 10 year old too!

dd1 is in love with her which helps

yes it does also depend on how good sleepers they are. My nephew (17) is always offering to babysit but he doesn't understand that if/when DS wakes up he will scream the place down when my nephew appears instead of me. My nephew has little experince of small children and will have no idea what to do (except ring me of course)

your prob right, enid, it is obvious. but suppose they had a piss up at yours, or your dc were neglected in some way. you'd be liable for their actions.

well yes

but I would feel liable if she had a piss up or was negligent at 18 too

DH has found a 14 year old babysitter so that I can go out with him to a meal. I told him no way. I just wouldn't do that. Neither of us even know her. It just got me thinking, I wonder if people do have sitters that young.

I agree that the age of the DC and whether you know the sitter is a huge factor in deciding. Mine are just a toddler and baby and I have to admit, I'm pretty uptight about leaving them!

I think it depends on the sitter, depends on your kids, where you are going and if you are easily contactable.
There is no law on it, but a person under 16 cannot be held legally resposible if something happens to your child in their care - which is fair enough really.

My sitter started with us at 14 and is now 16. She is a young leader at Brownies, is the middle child of 4 with a brother that same age as my middle daughter and regularly minds her 2 yr old nephew.
She is far more responsible than I ever was at her age.
When she first came to us we went out for a meal to the pub at the bottom of the road so we could nip back if she needed us (as much for her peace of mind as ours.)
She has been fantastic, we put our youngest to bed before we go and she reads to the older two and then puts them to bed.

On the other hand I know 14 yr olds I would never dream of leaving in charge of my kids so I guess a lot of it is down to how resonsible the individual is.

I have used a 14 year old, whom I know and who is utterly charming, capable and everything I want the Inferiorettes to grow up to be.

I started baby sitting for the neighbors when I was 11 years old. I had several families which I sat for once or twice a week for years. One family had six children.

Mothers sometimes hired me to watch their children even tho the mother was home. this allowed the mom to get on with task like sewing or balancing the family checkbook that are impossible if kids are underfoot.

It is a question of confidence, and skill. the babysitter must be comfortable setting limits and managing the children. Young babysitter often are more imaginative and willing to play with the children.

oh yes, if the dds grow up like Big Moo (dd1s charming nickname for her that she seems not to mind) I wuold be thrilled.

sigh.

I think I am in love with her

I once babysat for a family with a baby with some heart problem (!) and a 2 year old when I was 14. I was just replacing my older sister who couldn't go. I didn't have a clue. Luckily they were asleep the whole time but if anything at all had gone wrong, no way would I have known what to do. I had no experience of dc or any idea how to handle any kind of emergency. Makes me shudder thinking of it now!

I'm finding this a bit surreal; my eldest is 13.5 so in theory while some of you would employ him in a few months' time, I'm still going to opt for paid 20+ sitters !

Ds3 is 3 and still a bit of a handful...I suppose once he sleeps more reliably I'd go with dh for a meal locally, leaving ds1 in charge..

my son was 13.5 - we were up the street in pub, kids were in bed.

however my youngest son and daughter are 14 now and i wouldnt let them babysit any of your snotty nosed kids incase you accuse them of something. so i wont let them do it for their safety rather than the safety of another persons child.
just making the example more realistic