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When I was 12 I babysat my newborn twin nephews and their brother while taking care of my little sister at the same time. I did a great job and continued sitting for them till I was 18 every weekend. Now I am taking care of their twins! ha ha
When I was 12 I babysat a very small baby, probably between 4-6 months old. I remember the parents being very late in coming home that night, and the baby wouldn't stop crying. I didn't know what to do and it was disorienting for me, I thought I had done something wrong. The mother assured me that her son was very colicky and he often cries through the night. It made me feel better about my abilities, but I think that was a turning point in deciding not to have children of my own :P
You should have been warned that he was a very colicky baby and been instructed how to get through that, it's not easy. And the parents should have not stayed out that late. On both counts they were not very good parents but probably needed the time out. It's a shame that colored your view but understandable.
Depends on the 12 year old's maturity, experience, and level of common sense. Her name also counts, too; if it's Anne Shirley, she's definitely in. ;-)
Funny my recently deceased neighbor won a car and drove it to school at age 12 and she was the sole school teacher in Minden Nevada at age 17... she was 104 when she died. She sold the most newspaper subscriptions to win the Model T
As modern as society has become... it seems we really have not gained much in the maturity department... at least not enough to have age the only factor.
Funny my recently deceased neighbor won a car and drove it to school at age 12 and she was the sole school teacher in Minden Nevada at age 17... she was 104 when she died. She sold the most newspaper subscriptions to win the Model T
As modern as society has become... it seems we really have not gained much in the maturity department... at least not enough to have age the only factor.
Yes, I was just reading that NBC introduced a segment on a 23yr old snowboarder touting his "alternative lifestyle..." turns out he's married with a baby I believe the quote was something like "living like an adult at such a young age."
My thoughts are no, just because 12 is so young, but then I realize that I was babysitting at 12 and I was pretty good at it. My friend isn't sure what to do. It's not a family member, it's a teen girl's sister. I referred her to the 16 year old girl but she's too busy with her schoolwork so her sister wanted to help. She was selling herself with babysitting and CPR, lol, kind of cute.
If she has taken the classes and has babysat before, I would give her a chance.
My youngest is almost 15 and she has a "full time" job (working 4 hrs a day 4 days a week) babysitting for an older sister of a classmate. She is Red Cross certified, has excellent references (from previous sitting jobs) and advertises on the Care website. Her current job is for a 3yr old and a 6 mo old, and she does just fine. She gets paid under min wage, but it's at their home, and they provide everything, so she's fine with it.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Jayerdu
No, I wouldn't. My kids are 6, 4 and almost 2. I've taught middle school - 7th grade to be exact and there is no such thing as a mature 12 year old. Just because we did things when we were younger that doesn't make it a good thing. I was a latchkey kid when I was younger -so what? Does that mean my kids should be? Of course not.
The only people I would have watch my children are people who are adults and are people with whom I trust and have an actual relationship with - not a stranger or a kid who him/herself needs supervision.
I disagree. I knew and know plenty of mature 12yr olds. My kiddos being some of them, they are what people would call "old souls". But to each their own.
What people may be forgetting is that a 12 year old or young teen can be responsible for most things but not be prepared for emergencies.
As I posted earlier we generally hired women in their 20s as babysitters, although we did use some 14/15 and older teens at times (for example, while we were home, in the afternoons or for early evenings). We actually had several situations that may or may not have been a problem for a younger person. Once a circuit breaker went off and the lights went off in part of our house. Our sitter, a woman about 25, immediately knew to go to the basement and check the fuse box. Would a 12 year old know that? Another time the toilet started over flowing and the same sitter knew how to turn off the water. Again would a 12 year old know what to do?
One of our teenage sitters didn't know that you couldn't put metal in a microwave and it started sparking (she did know to turn off the microwave). Another teen didn't know how to turn off a smoke detector after she burned something on the stove (she did know to open the windows but not how to stop the beeping) and these were "very responsible" sitters, who had taken Red Cross babysitting classes. And these were the incidents that we knew about Of course, these ended up being fairly minor but think about what kind of emergencies happen every day in the US.
For the posters who would prefer to hire a 12 year old to babysit their children rather than an adult, we will just have to "agree to disagree".
Last edited by germaine2626; 02-20-2014 at 08:25 PM..
I was babysitting newborns when I was 9! By the time I was 12 I was getting paid $50 to babysit a 3 year old for 2 hours. When my daughter was 2 years old I hired a 12 year old girl from our church to babysit her. My daughter loved her and she was super mature and responsible. 12 years old is not too young at all
I was babysitting newborns when I was 9! By the time I was 12 I was getting paid $50 to babysit a 3 year old for 2 hours. When my daughter was 2 years old I hired a 12 year old girl from our church to babysit her. My daughter loved her and she was super mature and responsible. 12 years old is not too young at all
You must have been an amazing 3rd or 4th grader to be trusted caring for newborn infants.
I was an elementary teacher for over thirty years and I have never met even one 9 year old who could handle that much responsibility.
Last edited by germaine2626; 02-20-2014 at 08:55 PM..
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I believe the quote was something like "living like an adult at such a young age."
My friend isn't sure what to do. It's not a family member, it's a teen girl's sister. I referred her to the 16 year old girl but she's too busy with her schoolwork so her sister wanted to help. She was selling herself with babysitting and CPR, lol, kind of cute.
