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.
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.
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.
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.
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