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Eleven is not old enough to sit with a baby....who does that, leave a baby with a little kid....?
Eh, my mother left me with my brothers, one born when I was 8, the other when I was almost 11.
She taught me how to make a bottle and heat it properly and to change diapers.
When I was 12, I started babysitting for the neighbors. They had an infant.
In retrospect, because I was already probably 5'7"/8" at 12, they might not have realized I was only 12, but I was, and I knew how to do it and I got paid.
I probably would never have left my own kid with a 12-year-old, though.
All of the possible bad behavioral exposure & excuses aside, an 11 year old is still old enough to know right from wrong.
Yes, I think most of us would agree with this. The point of understanding why this could happen with an 11 year old is what I posted in my previous post.
"some" (changed from they) don't have the maturity or the capability of controlling their own emotions when frustrated, angry, tired, etc. so they act on them and don't think of or realize the consequences. And another reason, some may just not care.
Yes, I think most of us would agree with this. The point of understanding why this could happen with an 11 year old is what I posted in my previous post.
"some" (changed from they) don't have the maturity or the capability of controlling their own emotions when frustrated, angry, tired, etc. so they act on them and don't think of or realize the consequences. And another reason, some may just not care.
Well, this is the thing. I'm sure that mom was shocked to find out what her child was capable of. She probably thought she knew her child, and came home to find out that she had raised a monster. The other possibility is, that she knew her kid had a tendency to misbehave, but thought nothing could go horribly wrong during just a quick run to the grocery store.
I am not going to read the article. How sickeningly awful.
I will say that I was caring for my younger brothers when I was around age 9 or 10. It never would have occurred to me to hit or abuse my youngest brother, who was 2/3. Now, did I fight with my 7/8-year-old brother? Absolutely. But I knew, even at 9, that we were almost matched in size and that it would at least be a fair fight. I had not been groomed to be a compassionate caregiver; my parents hit us and we were somewhat neglected. But I think it's instinct not to hurt small children. I realize that some adults do not have that instinct... and apparently neither did this 11-year-old. How tragic.
.......By the way, the minimum age to babysit another child in Maryland without adults present is 13 years of age........
I remember that law, decades ago.
I don't recall what brought it, then, to notice, but just recall all the parents' outrage that they couldn't use younger children.
I recall a superior laying down the law to them. "It doesn't matter how mature they are; that is the law and you will obey it.".
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