Kind of surprised by these answers. I’m in an NYC suburb and when we can find male teen babysitters, they are in big demand for the families especially with elem and older sons, because the babysitters are quite active and will play with them - basketball, catch, walk them to the playground - and sometimes help coach. The problem is they are hard to find (frankly all teen sitters are hard to find, teens are so busy these days).

I don’t have boys, but if I did I wouldn’t have a problem with hiring a male babysitter from the community. I have girls, and the main reason I wouldn’t hire a teenage boy is Bc I know my girls would connect a lot easier with a female babysitter in terms of activities and interests and just in terms of how girls interact with girls vs opposite gender.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It’s a biological fact that teenage boys mature more slowly than teenage girls, and are statistically far more prone to commit violence or sexual abuse. Even most extremely liberal parents are highly unlikely to select a teenage boy over a teenage girl if selecting an anonymous babysitter. If your son truly wants to find babysitting gigs he needs to find a way to forge these connections in advance to prove himself and not rely on replying to random postings.

This. I hate it when we all have to pretend crime statistics aren’t real or that it’s somehow bigoted to be aware of them and let them factor into your decision making. Men commit 99% of sexual violence. It’s not rational to have a male in charge of your children when it’s equally easy to find a female. It blows my mind this isn’t obvious to people.

Plus I’d never trust a teen with a child under age 10, regardless of sex.

Once again you misunderstand the real life impact of statistics. Women are statistically more likely to commit violence against a child yet we don’t judge all women as inherently suspicious.

I don’t think that’s true for unrelated children.

Gives up his teen social life to babysit? No, thank you!

Anonymous wrote:It’s age and gender. I would hire a teenage boy to watch my boys (8 and 5) but 14 is too young for me to feel comfortable leaving from 6pm-midnight, which would be a typical night out.

But an 8 yr old would be in bed by 8:30 and the 5 yr old by 8 at the latest. So a babysitter would only actively be with them for 2.5 hours. Figure one of those hours is used up eating dinner together and getting ready for bed/teeth brushing/reading books so they're only playing for an hour and a half. What's wrong with you that you don't trust a 14 yr old to safely play with two elementary school kids for an hour and a half?

I would not let my 14 year old boy babysit as I'd worry someone would make an accusation against him and ruin his life.

Our son started babysitting after taking the red cross babysitting course in 6th grade. He did much better with toddlers and up (high energy boys, like himself).

Once he turned 15 and got his lifeguarding certificate, he picked up more babysitting jobs from working at our community pool - again, usually high energy boys

No. This area is very conservative in general and also has a high transient population. May be different in other places where the babysitting boy has been known for years.

It’s age and gender. I would hire a teenage boy to watch my boys (8 and 5) but 14 is too young for me to feel comfortable leaving from 6pm-midnight, which would be a typical night out.

I think that some of it is age, some of it is a combination of age and gender, and some of it is not being known by the parents and the kids. As more parents get to know and trust him, this might change. Many parents quite prudently start with younger babysitters by having them watch the kids while the parents are at home.

I’d encourage him to join community activities, and consider working part time in a camp or after school program — so that he can become both known and trusted by more parents. He might also market his skills as someone who can be available during school breaks — if that is, indeed the case. I think parents of older boys might be delighted to find a male babysitter, although is youth will likely continue to be a factor.

Anonymous wrote:This is anonymous so I will be honest. I am not hiring a male to watch my children. My children are males. I don’t want them influenced or encouraged to see this as normal for men.

Yeah, we don’t want men to see caring for children as their job. (If you have ever complained that your DH doesn’t do his share of childcare, look no further for why.)

I'm surprised at this thread. My DS babysits and he is 17. He has several families that call him regularly. He mostly babysits boys, but half of the kids in the US are boys so that is a decent market for him. Just get the word out in your neighborhood. (he doesn't babysit for babies and doesn't have any girl families that use him).

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It’s a biological fact that teenage boys mature more slowly than teenage girls, and are statistically far more prone to commit violence or sexual abuse. Even most extremely liberal parents are highly unlikely to select a teenage boy over a teenage girl if selecting an anonymous babysitter. If your son truly wants to find babysitting gigs he needs to find a way to forge these connections in advance to prove himself and not rely on replying to random postings.

This. I hate it when we all have to pretend crime statistics aren’t real or that it’s somehow bigoted to be aware of them and let them factor into your decision making. Men commit 99% of sexual violence. It’s not rational to have a male in charge of your children when it’s equally easy to find a female. It blows my mind this isn’t obvious to people.

Plus I’d never trust a teen with a child under age 10, regardless of sex.

Once again you misunderstand the real life impact of statistics. Women are statistically more likely to commit violence against a child yet we don’t judge all women as inherently suspicious.

I bet it’s the age more than gender. People barely let 16 year olds walk to the store alone around here.

Anonymous wrote:It’s a biological fact that teenage boys mature more slowly than teenage girls, and are statistically far more prone to commit violence or sexual abuse. Even most extremely liberal parents are highly unlikely to select a teenage boy over a teenage girl if selecting an anonymous babysitter. If your son truly wants to find babysitting gigs he needs to find a way to forge these connections in advance to prove himself and not rely on replying to random postings.

This. I hate it when we all have to pretend crime statistics aren’t real or that it’s somehow bigoted to be aware of them and let them factor into your decision making. Men commit 99% of sexual violence. It’s not rational to have a male in charge of your children when it’s equally easy to find a female. It blows my mind this isn’t obvious to people.

Plus I’d never trust a teen with a child under age 10, regardless of sex.