Teenage babysitters WDYT???

[BrightSparkles]

I babysat right through my teenage years. I only charged like $5 max $10 an hour. $5 if I only had one kid and $10 for 2 or more.
Does she have siblings that she may have had exzperiene with? Has she done babysitting before for anyone else? Does she know your little ones? I had about 5 regular families that i'd look after and still look after a few families kids when they are really desperate.

[Mak]

She has an older brother and hasn't babysat before but she was very open about that. I guess I am a little biased as I did heaps of babysitting when I was her age and younger. I am surprised as one of my friends was quite negative about me even considering it. I guess because we are only going to grab a meal and would be within 15min drive rather than across town for hours and hours then I am more keen. Her parents are next door too. I was thinking about $10 hour whne the kids were in bbed!

[BrightSparkles]

I think it's a great idea.

[PumpkinZulu]

So long as you think she would be able to handle an emergency situation etc etc, I see no issue. I say go for it and enjoy your meal out!

ETA Phwoar, I babysit/nanny and charge $15 an hour, all these younger girls are charging $10...seems like I am a bargain lol

[shazzi]

I too babysat from about 13 or so and now that I am a parent I am amazed that these women left me with their kids when I knew nothing LOL. But I knew the kids and mothers quite well and they had seen me interact with their children from early on. I would visit them and hang out with them after school and on weekends as I lived in small county town and had no friends in close proximity. Maybe if she hasn't already, get her to come over for a couple of afternoon's to get to know your kids well first. Sounds a good idea especially as her parents are close and you would not be far away.

[CrazyCat]

I think at 15 she'd be quite capable for a couple of hours. And I agree with the $10 an hour.

[Ca Plane Pour Moi]

Depends on the teenager and the child. I babysat as a teen and knew the children and parents well beforehand (family friends). My mum lived a 5 min walk away. At first it was when the children were in bed (paid for watching TV and doing homework, bonus!) but age 15 onwards it was for whole days. It was a great summer job!

I think if you know the teen and she's responsible, doesn't matter about experience. A lot of people have no experience about things they do for the first time, a good dollop of common sense is all you need most first times. There are some teens I know I would be OK with them babysitting Liebs (should the need arise) so I don't think it's a bad idea.

[LimeSlice]

Given her parents are right next door, I cannot see an issue.

We all pretty much were babysat by teens or sat as teens, I think it is great experience, and a bit more invested responsibility and trust in teens these days wouldn't go astray.

If you trust her and the kids get along with her well, go for it - and have fun on your night out!!

[didispunk]

Yes I would allow her to mind my kids.. i pay a sitter now that is a qalified child care working 10$ so i would pay the same..

[briggsy's girl]

I think if you know the teen and she's responsible, doesn't matter about experience. A lot of people have no experience about things they do for the first time, a good dollop of common sense is all you need most first times.

this is how i feel - age is nothing but a number - if she is responsible and you trust her to take care of your children as you expect them to be cared for, go for it!
i was babysitting kids by the time i was 12, newborns by 14 (youngest was 5 weeks - brother was unwell and she needed to get him to the doctors, she was a very nervous mummy and just couldn't cope). all were within 5 minues drive for MY mum if things went to hell and i needed her (never did, but knowing she was available helped).

i think looking past the age and looking at the person is the ONLY way to decide who you are comfortable looking after your kids. make sure you are clear about your "rules" re bedtime (routine/drinks etc) and what your expectations are

i used to get $20 for an evening caring for a kidlet, up to 9.30pm, then i went to $10 an hour after that (mum did FDC so she made sure i didn't get ripped lol). during the day it was dependent on who, how many kids etc as to what we negotiated for me to be paid. most of the kids i looked after were FDC kids who became friends of the family, so the parents knew me, had seen me with their kids etc...

[AwesomeFoursome]

I would do it.

[Jennifer13]

I do agree that with a baby or young toddler I'd be hesitant to use our teenaged babysitters. Our DD is now four and capable of getting herself off to bed. It's more about having someone around to make sure she stays there and doesn't get up to mischief!

TBH I didn't use any babysitters at all with DD as a baby. Not even adults. At 13 mths my DD still needed a bf and cuddle before bed. I can't see her settling for anyone else or me relaxing while I was out.

[Traveller]

I was left to babysit a one year old at age 15, and was not phased by it. As long as you know, and trust, this girl, and if her mum is nearby it sounds like a good plan to me.

[Boo Boo]

I babysat a 9 month old when I was 15 - I can still remember to this day - how paranoid I was about SIDS - so I kept going into the baby's room every 5 mins to listen to her breathe, I was on edge the whole time But there are loads of fantastic teenages who are great with kids, I just hadn't had any experience with baby's - it was my piano teachers baby - I think she didn't know anyone else to ask

[Jennifer13]

We use our neighbour's DD (who's 16 now) and our minister's 15 year old DD, who lives down the road. They're both fabulous! The best thing is they play with DD until she gets into bed non-stop. She gets super-excited when we tell her either of them is coming over to play with her. We usually order pizza as well for both of them (can you see why DD is pushing us out the door? LOL).

We pay about $10 an hour, although we often round it up (so $50 when she's been there for 4.5 hrs). I love having the neighbour's DD especially, I too feel like we've got her Mum as back-up if there was ever an emergency. Our minister's daughter would do it for nothing but we would feel too bad about that!

[Inanna]

I would feel fine if her Mum's at home next door. I am a little biased as I have seen 2 incidents in a hospital setting where a teenager was sitting & didn't have first aid experience in a choking incident. Also in Qld it is not considered okay until the child is 16 years old - I know this as a friend of mine was leaving her younger children with her teen whilst she worked and this was not legally allowed.

Having Mum next door though would be fine for me.

[EmilyRose]

I'm a teenage babysitter, so I'm a little biased But I'd like to think I'm as responsible as someone older. I don't think anyone should hire a babysitter who isn't first-aid trained (teenage or not), and obviously experience counts for a lot.

I don't think that having a degree in childcare is something completely necessary for babysitting, though. Mums don't have degrees and most of the mums I know do a pretty great job with their kids.

For a regular nanny, of course, my opinion is different, but for a casual babysitter I think it's okay to have a teenager.

Also, $10/hr is very reasonable, even without the TV, internet and food.

[Miss E]

Hhmmm I think I'm going to go against the grain here... Personally, I wouldn't leave my DS with a 15 year old right now, maybe a 17 or 18 year old though. For me it really comes down to their ability to cope and think fast in an emergency situation.

Not to be alarmist (and this is only my view with my own child) but with a 13 month old something can go wrong very quickly, a fall from the change table, choking, pulling a hot cuppa onto themselves, a serious knock to the head etc. When these things happen it's important for the person in charge to be able to assess the situation fast and act fast. Doing the wrong thing can have serious consequences and the 15 minutes it takes you to get home could be crucial. That's JMO though, but I also think about the teenager who is in charge, if something awful did happen how would they cope down the track having been the person who was responsible and was it fair to charge them with that responsibility.

Hope I haven't offended anyone, like I said, these are just my thoughts related to my own child at his current age. If he was 3 or 4, I'd probably have a different take on the situation.