Age to babysit siblings at night

[Anonymous]

I have a 12, 10, and 5...and no for me. Perhaps when youngest is 7 and oldest is 14 I would be ok with it. The 12 and 10 yr old would be fine together now, but youngest is more work and the dynamic is usually older 2 go off together for a game and youngest gets ignored.

[Anonymous]

I am contemplating this as well with a 13 and 9 year old. It all hinges on how well the siblings get along. Mine can fight and I don’t want that to go on without us here.

I will pay my 13 year old. I think that will help with the fighting as he tends to control that dynamic and overall tone of how they’re getting along. So he’ll be motivated.

[Anonymous]

The fact that they are siblings changes everything. Op, only you know their relationship. However having said that, Best Practices may not be necessary. Certainly not always necessary.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Never, they are not the 13 year olds responsibility. Your kids. Use the sitter.

+1

This is ridiculous. I have a 13 year old boy, you want me to hire my 13 and 14 girl neighbors that he goes to school to babysit his younger siblings instead of him? He’d be mortified. These girls regularly babysit little kids in the neighborhood. He can handle his siblings.

[Anonymous]

I have a 13 year old and have hired a 14 year old to watch his sister and it's made 100 percent clear the sitter is watching one child. My son stays in his room and minds his own business. But this is because my kids fight and I have bad memories from my own childhood as the younger sibling of being left alone with siblings and having horrible evenings.

If your kids get along, totally fine to have a 13 year old babysit.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Never, they are not the 13 year olds responsibility. Your kids. Use the sitter.

+1

This is ridiculous. I have a 13 year old boy, you want me to hire my 13 and 14 girl neighbors that he goes to school to babysit his younger siblings instead of him? He’d be mortified. These girls regularly babysit little kids in the neighborhood. He can handle his siblings.

+1. Fwiw -I was a mother’s helper at 11 and babysat solo for toddlers on my own at 13 (who are far more work than OP’s kids). I leave my 10 yo with my 6 yo occasionally for an hour or two here and there and it’s been fine

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Never, they are not the 13 year olds responsibility. Your kids. Use the sitter.

+1

Nope.

Ok, bad parent.

Couldn’t disagree with you more. Part of being in a family involves helping out, it’s no different than vacuuming or helping clean out the garage. I might cut the teen some slack in terms of his other chores that week if he/she is babysitting, but I am not going to feel obligated to pay. The teen is getting babysitting experience that can be used for a paying job, and knows that the help is appreciated. And it’s not like it’s every Saturday night. But the idea that a teen should be paid for helping out the parents from time to time to me is just ridiculous.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Never, they are not the 13 year olds responsibility. Your kids. Use the sitter.

+1

Nope.

NP here - at what age then? Bring a sitter until the youngest is…..how old?

My 12 year old babysat for two younger siblings if we weren’t too far away. Ordered a pizza and a movie. Easy.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OMG- you guys are all crazy.

We started leaving my kids at home with their eldest sibling in charge shortly after their 13th birthday. They were 7 and 10 at the time. We know all of our neighbors really well and if there was an emergency the kids knew to run over and ask for help.

We pay her $10 an hour but I don't think that is necessary.

I was watching my baby sister and putting her to bed by the time I was 12.

You’re underpaying her.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I have a 12, 10, and 5...and no for me. Perhaps when youngest is 7 and oldest is 14 I would be ok with it. The 12 and 10 yr old would be fine together now, but youngest is more work and the dynamic is usually older 2 go off together for a game and youngest gets ignored.

No one asked you. The OP asked for their kids of different ages. Jesus, reading comprehension is hard for some

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I have a 13 year old and have hired a 14 year old to watch his sister and it's made 100 percent clear the sitter is watching one child. My son stays in his room and minds his own business. But this is because my kids fight and I have bad memories from my own childhood as the younger sibling of being left alone with siblings and having horrible evenings.

If your kids get along, totally fine to have a 13 year old babysit.

Your kids wouldn’t fight if there were consequences.

Right now their “consequence” is 13yr old got his way and gets to do nothing all night in his room. Younger one gets doted on by a paying babysitter. Furthering the divide of these siblings.

That is just absolutely clueless parenting.

[Anonymous]

My kids LOVE when we go out. Dominoes, movie snacks, and screen time?

OP, do it. You won’t regret it. Make sure their night is special too. The oldest gets to stay up and extra screen time and get to sleep in and favorite brunch in morning.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My kids LOVE when we go out. Dominoes, movie snacks, and screen time?
.

This.

Oldest is 12, younger one is 7. I pay her $5/hour and the younger one $1/hour to behave for her and go to bed on time. She goes to bed at her normal time, though we’ve only stayed out past her bedtime once. Usually we just go for a daytime lunch dat or a very early dinner if she’s sitting.

I pay because my parents never paid me and they would force me to sit even if I had plans or another paid sitting job up until I left for college. They wonder why I almost never came home after I left and the real reason was I did not want to watch my siblings at their beck and call.

[Anonymous]

Am I the only one who doesn’t pay my child to do this? Lol.

They watch TV and go to bed. NBD.

For those who do pay, at what age do you stop? When the youngest is 12 or 13? Or you just pay forever?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Never, they are not the 13 year olds responsibility. Your kids. Use the sitter.

+1

Nope.

Ok, bad parent.

Couldn’t disagree with you more. Part of being in a family involves helping out, it’s no different than vacuuming or helping clean out the garage. I might cut the teen some slack in terms of his other chores that week if he/she is babysitting, but I am not going to feel obligated to pay. The teen is getting babysitting experience that can be used for a paying job, and knows that the help is appreciated. And it’s not like it’s every Saturday night. But the idea that a teen should be paid for helping out the parents from time to time to me is just ridiculous.

I completely agree with you. As the oldest child in the family I watched my younger siblings pretty often. I never even used this experience to get other babysitting jobs but it was still a good lesson in responsibility.