12 year old baby sitting?

[Anonymous]

I need some help. My daughter was asked to babysit for a family friend. There will be 5 kids and they want her to babysit for at least 12 hours. They only want to pay her 90.00 total. I said it's not worth it but she really wants to earn money for something special she is saving for. What are your opinions? For info friend says kids are going to be sleeping whole time but that is NEVER the case.

[Anonymous]

No way. Just no way.

[Anonymous]

5 kids all sleep the same number of hours a night. Haha yeah right. Please say no to this. It’s a disaster waiting to happen. Why do they need a sitter for 12 hours?

[Anonymous]

Of course not.

1. 12 hours is a long time for an ADULT to be in charge of 5 kids on their own let alone a 12 yr old.
2. If the 5 kids will be sleeping the whole time then DD12 should be sleeping at least MOST of that time too.
3. $90 would be less than $10 an hour for FIVE kids. That's totally unacceptable and I'm not even one of those people who thinks 15 yr olds should earn $20 an hour.
4. A 12 yr old can not adequately care for 5 kids.

[Anonymous]

Nothing about that adds up. Nothing.

[Anonymous]

Forget about the money, there is no way a 12 year old should be in charge of five kids for 12 hours.

[Anonymous]

Whoa is your friend trying to hire your 12 y/o to be solely responsible for that many kids all night??? That's crazy. is there not going to be a parent in the house?

I started babysitting at that age for a few hours at a time, or to be a "mother's helper"- but in retrospect even that was questionable and I was a boring responsible kid.

Also, $90 is laughable.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I need some help. My daughter was asked to babysit for a family friend. There will be 5 kids and they want her to babysit for at least 12 hours. They only want to pay her 90.00 total. I said it's not worth it but she really wants to earn money for something special she is saving for. What are your opinions? For info friend says kids are going to be sleeping whole time but that is NEVER the case.

They are crazy!!!

5 kids
12 hours
+ 90 dollars
_____________

taking advantage of a kid

Let's say they are sleeping the entire time (they never do), and you are OK with her watching them for 12 hours (I would not be). That's AT LEAST a $20 per hour job, so $240 total. But for 5 kids I would charge $25 an hour so $300 minimum. Your friends are out of touch.

[Anonymous]

12 hours as an extremely long time for a 12-year-old to do anything, especially being the responsible “adult “. Is she ready to handle a fire, first aid, choking, CPR? Does she know what to do if a child unexpectedly has a seizure, head injury, smells natural gas in the house?

Also the $90 is insulting. Way to take it vantage of a family friend. $10-$15 per hour minimum and that would be a steal for five kids.

[Anonymous]

Your friend is crazy. And cheap.

[Anonymous]

Wow. A 12yo isn’t capable of babysitting 5 kids for 12 hours. End of story.

This would not have even been considered “back in the day” when I was 12! (And I started babysitting at age 11)

I’m fine with 12yo’s babysitting but this would be a job for an older teen.

The rest of the story doesn’t even matter.

[Anonymous]

I don't know what state this is in, but if it is MD they are asking for an issue if something happens. This scenario would be a big flag for CPS.


Under Maryland law, a child must be at least eight years old to be left alone in a house or car. State law also says a child must be at least 13 years old to baby-sit another child. Generally, it is left up to the parent to decide whether a child who is at least eight is mature enough to be home alone. Any time you leave your child alone, be sure the child knows what to do in case of an emergency.

(cite: https://www.baltimorecountymd.gov/News/childsafety/childsafetyfaqs.html#:~:text=Under%20Maryland%20law%2C%20a%20child,to%20baby%2Dsit%20another%20child.&text=CPS%20may%20also%20become%20involved,care%20for%20him%20or%20her.)

[Anonymous]

No way. I started babysitting at 13, but in the neighborhood/my parents around. 1-2 older kids, sure. 5 kids, NO WAY. That's way to many.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:12 hours as an extremely long time for a 12-year-old to do anything, especially being the responsible “adult “. Is she ready to handle a fire, first aid, choking, CPR? Does she know what to do if a child unexpectedly has a seizure, head injury, smells natural gas in the house?

Also the $90 is insulting. Way to take it vantage of a family friend. $10-$15 per hour minimum and that would be a steal for five kids.

Its not insulting for a 12 year old but extremely inappropriate for 12 hours for 5 kids. Minors are not entitled to minimum wage or above, especially when it isn't taxed.

[Anonymous]

My 12 year old babysits and that is insane. What 12 hour period will include these kids sleeping? The longest I ever remember babysitting at that age was when the parents went to World Series and the home team won. Took them hours to get home and I think i was there until 2am, asleep on the couch.