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At any rate, 11:30 will probably have a 12 year old getting quite drowsy by then, especially in the habit of getting up for school time. 13-14 year old nephews are still getting up at 6:45 this week, puckered out by 9:30 pm at the latest (school's out next week). Bedtime is normally by 11 on weekends for them.
I think a twelve year old is too young to babysit. In the state of Virginia my daughter said you cannot leave a child under 14 home alone. Anybody know for sure about this? I did babysit when I was 12 waaaay back in the fifties, but my mom was next door, and was not allowed to sit after 9pm
All of those saying that 12 is too young to babysit-not neccessarily true. Age is just a number; it all depends on the person. Just like you can have a 19 year old as mature as a 30 year old, and a 30 year old as mature as a 19 year old...
When I was 12, I was babysitting. I was the babysitter for a set of twins, that were on heart monitors. I was a mature 12 year old.
If it's a mature 12 year old, I would rather have a mature 12 year old, than an immature 16 year old, even though 16 is an acceptable age.
I agree with this person that a mature 12 year old is perfectly able to look after an 8 year old ( was that the age of the child?) Anyway, my 10 year old brother at the time - looked after his 3 siblings - one 7, one 5 and me a baby quite often - my mother trusted him because he was the mature one and the oldest of us. He always exhibited a persona far beyond his years and still does now he is 46 - he has always been almost a father type figure for me!! He is very intelligent anyway and ended up going to one of the top universities in the world - (Cambridge) - so you see, 12 is not that young I feel - sometimes to be given responsibility of this nature is a positive thing and not to be taken lightly by any means. It builds self-esteem. Anyway, some 12 year olds are doing ridiculous things at this age like having sex and therefore to be baby-sitting I feel is a commendable occupation and will build confidence in this particular 12 year old
I agree that maturity is the key to the age for a babysitter. As far as the question of putting your child to bed goes...you know your child best. I have four children 6 yrs and under. Their 15 YO brother has just started babysitting them at night. I allow him to play it by ear. Usually he is quite capable of putting the 2 YO to bed, but then he sets up a movie, pillow, blanket and such for the older 3 and they fall asleep in the living room. They love it, it's like a camp-out.
I think a twelve year old is too young to babysit. In the state of Virginia my daughter said you cannot leave a child under 14 home alone. Anybody know for sure about this? I did babysit when I was 12 waaaay back in the fifties, but my mom was next door, and was not allowed to sit after 9pm
Here in Maryland the law is that you have to be 13 to babysit. You can however leave your 8 year old at home unattended by law. I totally think 8 is too young to be left at home alone, but unfortunately I do know moms that do it.
I think it depends on a lot of things- how capable the 12 year old is, how difficult (or not) the sitee is, the level of familiarity, etc. I used a 12 year old babysitter for my (then 5 year old) son one year- she would come home on the bus with him and stay for the 2 hours or so it took me to get home from work. I was actually surprised to often come home to fresh baked cookies and (the best!) clean dishes. She was a wonderful babysitter, even at 12. It really depends on the situation and the people involved. I have known her since the day she was born, so I think I could judge whether she was responsible enough to babysit, and also took into account others (her parents, my parents, neighbors) who would be able to respond to any questions (or emergency) that might come up.
And for comparison- I once (for one day) had a babysitter who was 18. She was there from 7:30 a.m to 3:00 p.m. When I got home, my son (then around 2, IIRC) was napping, so I paid her (a little extra, even!) and she left. When he got up from his nap, his pants, the couch- everything- soaked and smelling of poo. (Incredibly soaked). I then noticed that the diaper pile had not really gone down during the day. So, being the psycho-parent, I took the trash outside and dumped it on the ground, looking for any evidence that the woman had even once changed my son's diaper. Not to be found. She let him sit in his own poo for a better part of the day, and never changed him once. Needless to say, she never came back.
Age doesn't always equal responsibility.
I think it depends on a lot of things- how capable the 12 year old is, how difficult (or not) the sitee is, the level of familiarity, etc. I used a 12 year old babysitter for my (then 5 year old) son one year- she would come home on the bus with him and stay for the 2 hours or so it took me to get home from work. I was actually surprised to often come home to fresh baked cookies and (the best!) clean dishes. She was a wonderful babysitter, even at 12. It really depends on the situation and the people involved. I have known her since the day she was born, so I think I could judge whether she was responsible enough to babysit, and also took into account others (her parents, my parents, neighbors) who would be able to respond to any questions (or emergency) that might come up.
And for comparison- I once (for one day) had a babysitter who was 18. She was there from 7:30 a.m to 3:00 p.m. When I got home, my son (then around 2, IIRC) was napping, so I paid her (a little extra, even!) and she left. When he got up from his nap, his pants, the couch- everything- soaked and smelling of poo. (Incredibly soaked). I then noticed that the diaper pile had not really gone down during the day. So, being the psycho-parent, I took the trash outside and dumped it on the ground, looking for any evidence that the woman had even once changed my son's diaper. Not to be found. She let him sit in his own poo for a better part of the day, and never changed him once. Needless to say, she never came back.
Age doesn't always equal responsibility.
I think you make a very good point. I was a very mature 12-yr-old. In fact, when I was 11 I babysat 2 children, around the ages of 5-7. I watched them overnight at my own home and had no problems. My mom was working overnight as well so it was only my brother, who was 14, the 2 children and me. It worked out quite well. And before anyone says this sounds ok because my brother was there, I was and still am definitely more mature than him. I think the parent can decide whether a child is mature enough to babysit. The lady who started this post was not asking if a 12-yr-old babysitter was too young, but no one really wanted to help her with her question. They only wanted to criticize her for something they know nothing about. I'm sure this mother knows something about her babysitter. She didn't just go to a school and ask a random child to babysit for her.
I agree that maturity is the key to the age for a babysitter. As far as the question of putting your child to bed goes...you know your child best. I have four children 6 yrs and under. Their 15 YO brother has just started babysitting them at night. I allow him to play it by ear. Usually he is quite capable of putting the 2 YO to bed, but then he sets up a movie, pillow, blanket and such for the older 3 and they fall asleep in the living room. They love it, it's like a camp-out.
Weather....I can't believe you have 4 kids under 6 yo..... that's quite amazing, in my book
And a teenager, too....I might have a few questions for you....lol
Around here if you don't use middle school age babysitters you might as well forget ever going out. I have twins that are 12 that babysit and yes, they do know what to do if a child has a seizure (call 911 and keep him safe), if there is a gas leak--get out of the house, etc. They have had child development classes in school and are Red Cross Certified babysitters. They are also going into 7th grade and while 12 sounds young it really isn't. Heck, they are more responsible then a lot of parents I know.
As for laws and leaving kids alone/babysitting--NO state has a LAW about that--actually Illinois and Maryland do but the laws are very vague and are more guidelines Children Home Alone and Babysitter Age Guidelines (broken link) . Think of the liability issues if a state says a 14 year old can babysit and that 14 year old isn't responsible and a child dies--the state will get sued because they said a 14 year old could babysit.
Obviously there are some areas of the country that are not as safe as others and you have to judge that but most 12 year olds are capable of babysitting and yes, my 12 year old could put your child to bed.
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