Would you leave a 5yo with 13yo sibling in a hotel?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I've been in a hotel when a fire alarm was pulled. Thankfully it was a false alarm. But even as an adult, it was stressful to get myself out the door, down multiple flights of stairs, and wait outside for the ~30 min (at night, cold weather) it took for the event to be considered a false alarm.

Yes, this happened to me with two young kids and it was very stressful. I flew down 5 flights of stairs with a kid in my arm and another by my side. Very alarming when you hear the alarm because you think the hotel is on fire.

[Anonymous]

Absolutely not!

[Anonymous]

Certainly not, but, having a reasonably responsible 12 year old would give me the confidence to hire a local babysitter recommended by the hotel and go for dinner and a show with my spouse, safe in the knowledge that my 12 year old could call me if anything was amiss.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:So are you paying the 13 year old? It’s no funny being the free babysitter for your parents. If it is free parents but no value on it.

That's the life of an older sibling, sorry you hate your parents and sibling so much.

[Anonymous]

Bring a sitter along

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So are you paying the 13 year old? It’s no funny being the free babysitter for your parents. If it is free parents but no value on it.

That's the life of an older sibling, sorry you hate your parents and sibling so much.

No, its not. Its the role of the parents. Only selfish parents expect the kids to parent each other and if they need the child to parent, they should not have had so many kids.

[Anonymous]

This is 100% dependent on your kids, how mature the 13yo is, how well-behaved the 5yo is, are they besties or not really get along, on and on... but the fact you only do this for 10-20 mins at home to me is an indicator they aren't ready. Put it this way, would you go on a date night to see a movie (or whatever your activity of choice is) and try this out at home? If not, then it's certainly not the time to try it on the road. If so, then give it a try and see how it goes... preferable 2-3 times at least before you'd do the same at a hotel.

[Anonymous]

No. Mainly because I was privy to a lot of stuff that could happen in hotels, since I worked for a top brand hotel Room Ops, HQed in Bethesda. Regardless of how great a hotel is and what security measures they put in place, you are eventually responsible for using good sense and being vigilant. Hotel guests are particularly vulnerable in the lonely corridors, stairwells and even carparks, because hotels cannot patrol these areas.