13 and 9 home alone together - two hours away for about 7 hours? (All day time hours)

[Anonymous]

No I would not do it- unless I am in the neighborhood.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'd get a sitter.

+1

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I would 100% incentivize the 13yo to be with the 9yo.

That means:

- watching a movie together that the 9yo picks
- craft making together (obviously something simple, like a bead bracelet)
- board game together
- video games together

All will be good if the 13yo understands their responsibility here.

And I would not make it public to the 9yo that the 13yo is getting paid or getting a reward.

⬆️ Troll trying to trigger grown older siblings.

[Anonymous]

2 hours away? For 7 hours? Hell no. What if you got into a car accident and couldn’t make it home? Traffic? This sounds like an awful idea.

[Anonymous]

Nope.

[Anonymous]

I have kids this many years apart but they are 14 and 10.

No, I would not have at 13 and 9 and not sure about now. Maybe.

My kids don't get along well enough. And the real deal breaker is that you're 2 hours away and not close enough to come back if there is an issue.

[Anonymous]

Definitely no- mostly because you will be so far away.

[Anonymous]

No, too far and too long. Maybe have a sitter go over before lunchtime and take them out for a bit/stay at the house until you get home.

[Anonymous]

Really depends on the kids. Even if the kids are ok and you're ok, I wouldn't do it without a neighbor they could call in an emergency.

[Anonymous]

The 13 year old I would be okay with. For the 9 year old I would see if they could go to a friend's house for at least part of the time. Do you have someone close by, like a neighbor, who they can call in an emergency?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I would 100% incentivize the 13yo to be with the 9yo.

That means:

- watching a movie together that the 9yo picks
- craft making together (obviously something simple, like a bead bracelet)
- board game together
- video games together

All will be good if the 13yo understands their responsibility here.

And I would not make it public to the 9yo that the 13yo is getting paid or getting a reward.

HAHAHA. You don't have boys, that one thing is certain.

And no, the 13 year doesn't have to cater to the whims of younger sibling. The 9 year old can learn to share and negotiate what they watch and is equally responsible as appropriate for their age level.

But I would be fine with it if there were neighbors or friends close by that they could call if needed.

I do have a boy. Almost the exact same age. 14yo boy. 10yo girl.

And my boy is a wonderful older brother who would happily spend time with his little sister. And we would thank him for be responsible and caring to his younger sister with a small reward afterwards

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Would you feel comfortable with this?

Yes! Do you have a family friend, neighbor, or relative they could call in case of an emergency. You could also call periodically during that time.

I'm a child of the 80s, and my sibling and I were left alone all summer starting 11 & 8 when our parents were at work.

[Anonymous]

Yes, I would. 13 is when kids started babysitting decades ago. We did this and everything was fine. Just go over safety rules, exits, have FaceTime ready. Etc.

[Anonymous]

This is basically having the 13 year old babysit the 9 year old. If 13 is good with that (and paid) then sure, as long as there is some adult backup.

[Anonymous]

where do people find all these sitters that 1) are going to supervise children for a few hours for a one-off in the middle of the day 2) are reliable/known quantity?