what is the legal age for babysitting?

[crispyduck]

14 year old daughter wants baby sitting job in school holidays...anyone pls advice..thx

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There isn't one - if you leave your child (under 18) at home alone or with someone under 18 then you are legally responsible for their actions

I don't either but there would the same proviso re leaving your own kids home alone - if something went wrong & they are under 16 (?) who would be considered legally responsible.

14 plenty old enough for daytime minding I think.

Is it 18, katym? I was thinking it must be 16 since they can legally be married & have their own house & kids by then

do u think social services would know?

I think it is 14 - that's the folklore round here but not sure myself.

Legal responsibility lies with parents if under 16 or 18 (cant remember age cut-off)

Local secondary schools run first aid courses for students looking at doing babysitting.

It is 18 - in law (bizarre)

Here you go, cd - raisingkids.co.uk -

That is bizarre - is it an old law that hasn't been updated???

thx

dont know if theres a legal age, just need to consider the maturity of the sitter and the ages of the children to be cared for. Would the sitter know what to do if the child was choking for example?
I wouldnt leave my toddler with a 14 year old personally. Its down to parental responsibility at the end of the day.

she wants to earn cash to top up her mobile phone lol

she is mature enough but i would not let her do it all day iyswim

i did evening babysitting at that age but the dcs were older, 7 and 9 i think, cant really remember and all i had to was let them watch tv for a bit, give them some milk and toast for supper and read a story to the younger when i put her to bed about an hour after i got there!

though tbh they were always up longer than an hour. so long as it wasnt a school night! staying up late is the best part of being babysat!!!!! or it was to me when i was kid and being allowed to watch basic instinct!! though i suspect that i would not be very happy at all if i found out that my babysitter had let my 11 year old watch that film!!!

actually after what i have just posted re my old babysitters it will depend upon how mature she is. when i was babysitting the dcs were lucky if they got to watch anything other than the cartoon channel and certainly never watched any films rated more than pg. but my babysitters let me watch anything i liked. my sister was horrified after watching steven kings it with our babysitter!! she was only 7!!

My DD started babysitting at 14, but no babies - just friends older kids from church! I also made sure I was in so she could call me if worried. Once she turned 16 she became very popular as had experience!
She also sat for half days in the holidays and took the kids to the park etc whilst their Mum was at work (but only because those children could be trusted crossing roads etc).

It is under 16

oh youve just reminded me of a babysitter that looked after me as a kid and made me watch hammer house of horror! - i was terrified and didnt tell my mum for years as i thought that i would be in trouble!!!

There is no legal age. RSPCC used to recommend 13, not sure if that's still the case.