At what age should kids start babysitting their siblings?

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Permalink Reply by NC Mom on September 29, 2008 at 2:09pm

I think 8 yrs old is way to young to be looking after any child let alone a 4 month old and the 1 yr old! I don't know the circumstances but this is terrible that a Mom has no other choice! Let's face it childcare is so expensive, maybe she didn't have any other means to pay for 4 children in daycare.
I have 3 children and did not let the oldest start watching them until she was 14. She also would go to other homes and babysit once and awhile.
It's sad that things like this happen every day that no one knows about.

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Permalink Reply by Tonya on September 29, 2008 at 3:27pm

8 is absolutely too young to be left in charge of so many other children.

My son is 12 (13 in a couple of months) and I'm only just now leaving him for short periods of time (to run to the grocery store etc) with our 2 year old twins. Not because I don't trust him, but let's be honest, kids can be a handful. They will break the rules if given half an opportunity and little ones I think tend to rebel against authority that is not a parent or a more mature babysitter.

I let him look after them on Friday night for a couple of hours while I had a girls night out BUT I hired a babysitter to stay at the house and help him with the twins until they went to bed and fell asleep, then he sat up and watched TV so he could listen out for them until I got home.

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Permalink Reply by T. Suzanne Eller on September 29, 2008 at 4:03pm

An eight-year-old is not equipped with the reasoning skills to protect, care for, deal with emergencies, or be responsibile for children, especially an infant and toddler. Scary stuff. My guess is that mom was desperate, but so many bad things could happen so fast.

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Permalink Reply by Hurt_mom on September 29, 2008 at 11:29pm

I think 8 is a young age for any child to be watching younger children. I think the appropriate age is 12 and above. Everyone grows up and has their own instincts about how they handle things as well. I myself was watching children (babies) at the age of 9 because there was no one else around that wanted to watch them and well I was a very responsible 9 year old thanks to a very strict mother. I was put under strict watch and was very controlled while my little sister got to do what ever it was she wanted. Anyways. I just think it depends on how comfortable on how you also feel about letting your children alone together. Use your judgment is the best thing I can say you know your children better than anyone.

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Permalink Reply by marie on September 30, 2008 at 6:13am

no, i was 15 years old, and for a time only!

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Permalink Reply by Barbi on September 30, 2008 at 8:00am

It is certainly not okay to leave an eight year old in charge of the other children. I have an eight year old niece that is definitely not equipped to handle the load that a newborn and/or a toddler can throw at you. Most adults have trouble handling more than one child at a time, how can we put that responisbility on such a young CHILD?

I only have one child as of right now, and he is only two, so I am not sure what age I would start letting him watch the younger children (we plan to have more), but it would certainly be based on his maturity and the ages of the other children and for how long. Certainly not before 12, I don't think. But don't quote me in ten years :o) haha

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Permalink Reply by Gloria on September 30, 2008 at 9:03pm

No, I wouldn't risk it, there are too many "what if's" to the scenario. Kids are freaky, one minute they act mature, another something unexpected could occur that your 8 year old could be completely unprepared for. There are also neighbors who might not know that your child is home alone none the less and watching a sibling. You are asking for a problem, rethink how you might be able to ask a friend to help out, or for a neighbor to watch over your children while you are out doing what ever needs to be done, or be prepared to pay a local teen who will be happy to have a couple of bucks, and the kids love being around young people.

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Permalink Reply by Pamela Kramer on October 1, 2008 at 11:08am

I believe here in TX the state law is 8 yo. that they can stay alone. Each state may have their own age and it would be interesting to find out! Personally I would not leave any child under 12 to care for a baby. Even at 12 it wouldn't be for work day. That's crazy.

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Permalink Reply by Autumn on October 1, 2008 at 3:10pm

I would say no younger than 12 staying home alone and 13 for watching younger siblings

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Permalink Reply by simone on October 7, 2008 at 10:12am

i think 8 is to young to baby sit i am 13 and some times ma mum goes out or something
and ma big sister looks after me or ma big brother they are 21

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Permalink Reply by simone on October 7, 2008 at 10:14am

i agree with you

NC Mom said:

I think 8 yrs old is way to young to be looking after any child let alone a 4 month old and the 1 yr old! I don't know the circumstances but this is terrible that a Mom has no other choice! Let's face it childcare is so expensive, maybe she didn't have any other means to pay for 4 children in daycare.
I have 3 children and did not let the oldest start watching them until she was 14. She also would go to other homes and babysit once and awhile.
It's sad that things like this happen every day that no one knows about.

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Permalink Reply by Marika on October 8, 2008 at 4:48pm

12 always seemed like the "magical" age for babysitting. However, I think it depends upon the circumstances. How mature is the 12 year old? How many kids would he/she be watching? What are the ages of the kids that he/she would be watching? I think each parent has to decide for themselves when their child is ready for babysitting. There is no hard and fast rule because every child is different. One might not be ready for babysitting until they are 15, others would be ready earlier.

It is always a good idea to start off babysitting with short stints. Test them out first while you are gone for only 1/2 hour. Try leaving them with only one sibling for a while, or at least not leaving them with the baby. Do a trial run--lock yourself in the bedroom while pretend babysitting goes on. Another time, try going to a friends house or pay phone and test your child's phone behaviour--did he/she abide by the rules you taught them about the phone?

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