Legal age for babysitting

[mooshy]

Recently i have left dd1 (14 ) at home while ds1 (3 ) is asleep.
I am talking 20 mins max to nip to shop ect. and only when he is fast asleep.
Just wondered what the legal age is as we never go out and sometime in the not to distant future thought dh and i might pay her to sit one evening ?

14 is the legal age for babysitting - some fe colleges offer an evening course for baby sitters... gives them extra confidence if anything does occur (like restlessness or minor bumps and knocks) and reassuring for parents to be able to see certificate.

My dd babysits for me and friends too (it's a really good source of income for her) - she'll be 15 next month

HTH

there is no legal age really.

it is generally considered that anything between 13-15 is acceptable (amongst proffesionals) but this does vary and depends very much on the child.

If you feel your DD is mature enough to be left then it would be fine. make sure she knows where you are and there is an adult locally that she could call in an emergancy and i can't see there being a problem.

oops maybe im wrong.

though maybe im thinking of leaving children un supervised rather than babysitting, i guess technically they are different things. though as it is a sibling watching another it would be classed as unsupervised rather than babysitting?

Thanks.
I would only leave her when hes tucked up fast asleep.
Thought it might be nice to go out for a meal sometime on our own.
The babysitting course sounds fab.

There is no legal age although 13 is recommended by the RSPCC. My 13 year old now babysits for his younger siblings (7 and 3) for a few hours in the evening as long as we are local (can be back in 10 minutes). This works fine for us - the younger ones are always in bed and they all get on well. I know a lot of people where it doesn't work because of the dynamics between the kids.

i baby sat from the age of 14 and i felt more than capable of doing so, although under scottish law there is no legal age for babysitting.

According to the children's law centre here

"

Baby Sitting

The whole issue of babysitting is a very complicated one and therefore it would be advisable to check with either the children's law centre or your local advice centre for more information. The following are just general guidelines which may be of help.

The law does not state an age at which young people can babysit.

• You have to be at least old enough to work part-time (13 Yrs) before you can babysit (refer to section on part-time work).
• The law does not state the youngest age at which a child should be left with a babysitter.
• If children are left with a babysitter it is important for parents to remember that no one under the age of 16 can be charged with neglect or ill treatment of a child left in their care. Therefore parents remain responsible and can be charged themselves should any harm come to their child.
• We recommend being over the age of 16 to babysit. "