Anonymous wrote:I started babysitting at age 11. But I have a 3.5 year old now and no way would I leave her w an 11 year old. Most likely everything would be fine but IMO even the most responsible 11 year olds just don’t have the judgment/experience to know how to judge/handle certain situations that could arise (an emergency: choking, fire, a bad fall/accident, getting into the medicine cabinet, a break in, etc) yes those are all highly unlikely but what would an 11 year old do in those instances? I think I wouldn’t really trust a babysitter to handle situations like that unless they’re an older teen or adult.
For reference: I was one room away from my 3 year old one afternoon a few months ago when she ran smack into the door frame and busted her head open (lots of blood, a cut that required an ER visit and stitches, a concussion that caused her to vomit and act weird) I took her to the ER right away. If there had been no adult or no person w a drivers license present, the situation would’ve been much scarier and would’ve obviously taken longer to get her medical care.