Reply to Reasonable to Ask 19YO to Cover Childcare for 5 Days?

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[quote=Anonymous]We don't have nearly this large a family, but we do have an older teen girl who on occasion has been asked to babysit for the two younger siblings for a single overnight.  We always ask her if she's willing and pay her, and we'd probably never do this over her winter or spring break.  A single weekend day or TWD, or summer, sure, but I feel like winter and spring break are such times of recuperation and catching up for this age group.  Older teens have so much on their plates with school, sports, part-time jobs, etc. and deserve to have downtime/ catchup time and time with friends.  
Given that you said the smaller kids will be in day camp, it seems maybe okay if she is truly willing because she wants to earn the cash.  However, it certainly doesn't seem ideal to me and I'd never do it.  In fact, it gives me anxiety just thinking about the chaos in a house with that many kids of those ages and no adults for a week.  To also consider is the perspective of the other kids-- a teen sibling doesn't replace a parent, and our youngest always is a little out of sorts when we're away, so for me I'd be thinking about the wellbeing of the 4 and 6 year old in this situation as well as the probably the 9 year old.  Those little ones will probably be a little unmoored for the week. [/quote]

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