Sitter for my 16 year old

[Anonymous]

Do you envision your kid going to college? The babysitter won't help move her towards independence.

[Anonymous]

OP I would post on your local Facebook group or listserv. If it’s during the school day you might be able to find a sahm to come over for a couple of hours to hang out for a bit, make lunch etc.
so leave her for a few hours but have someone there for mealtime and maybe supervise some school work.

[Anonymous]

Can you bring her to work with you those 5 days?

[Anonymous]

My 16 year old with ADHD/HFA could be left alone for the entire day at that age, because he he didn't cook for himself. He DID lock himself out of the house and no one was there to open up the door for him for hours! It was at the height of summer and it was sweltering with mosquitoes. Instead of walking to the nearest cafe, or knocking on a neighbor's door, he stayed on our porch and got bitten - because he's very rigid and doesn't troubleshoot very well. He learned an important lesson that day, and has never forgotten his keys since. I don't really care that if he forgets to lock the front door: we're semi-urban, but the most modest house on the block, with beaten-up cars in the driveway... so not the most desirable target.

He has a thing with flushing the toilet and overwashing his hands, so we had to put large signs ONLY FLUSH ONCE. And try to remind him to not injure his hands by washing them excessively (still a work in progress, OCD is a really hard to treat). But these are not things that put him or the house in immediate danger.

I would make a big push to teach your child the rules of the house, and then forgive her for things that aren't life-threatening (like forgetting to lock the door once in a while, unless you're in a dangerous area). If you think she can't be trusted with the stove, will she comply with a rule not to use it? Or will a big sign work: CHECK THAT STOVE IS OFF ?