Anonymous wrote:Do homework while watching the 5-year-old and go to bed earlier. You are so tired in the afternoon because you're going to bed late. If you went to bed earlier, you'd be more able to do homework earlier in the afternoon.

You might not be able to get it all done with the 5-year-old there, but you should be able to get a good chunk done so that you don't have as much to do in the evening.

My freshman had 2 AP classes plus and the rest honors and didn’t have more than 1-2 hrs of homework per night, tops. Some nights none. I don’t believe homework is preventing OP from getting to bed before midnight. This is likely a troll

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Anonymous wrote:100% NO you are being paid to watch a child. What if the child left the house or lit a piece of paper on fire.

I’m not getting paid—she’s my niece, which I should’ve mentioned. I asked other parents what they do with their 5-year-olds and was wondering if she’s old enough.

Even if it's free - you are NOT a parent. Parents have way, way more information about the temperament of the child, the risks in the household, are way more attuned to the child, and in general have way more information and essentially resources that might make napping while their kid is playing a safe choice.

You are NOT a parent. What parents do is NOT relevant. A babysitter (paid or unpaid) does not nap on the job. Period.

I think what parents do matters here—I'm her aunt, so I’m close enough to have some insight into her situation.

If you already know the answer, why did you feel the need to ask?

Clearly you were hoping people would tell you it's okay, but it isn't. Because you are not the parent. If anything bad happened it would ruin your family relationships.

I asked because I didnt know whether parents of 5 year olds sleep while their child is awake. What age is that okay?

Never. If you are the babysitter, you don’t sleep while you are watching her. I don’t do this as a parent. You would be better served doing your homework while watching her, so you can get to bed earlier. But I have a hard time believing you get so much homework as a freshman that you can’t complete it in a reasonable time after 6pm, even if you don’t work on it babysitting. Why are you only getting 5 hrs of sleep?

Of course not. Is this a serious question? If you actually are contemplating this, why are you not asking her parents?

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Anonymous wrote:How old are you?

14, but I turn 15 in a couple months.

So a 9th grader struggling with sleep and health issues, forced to babysit for a sibling 6 hours a week for free?

Yeah, absolutely none of this is okay. You need to talk to your school nurse or counselor or someone.

Do homework while watching the 5-year-old and go to bed earlier. You are so tired in the afternoon because you're going to bed late. If you went to bed earlier, you'd be more able to do homework earlier in the afternoon.

You might not be able to get it all done with the 5-year-old there, but you should be able to get a good chunk done so that you don't have as much to do in the evening.

Anonymous wrote:How old are you?

14, but I turn 15 in a couple months.

How old are you?

Forget the napping. You shouldn’t be forced to be babysitting.

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Anonymous wrote:I would think you could use your time babysitting to do your homework. Your neice could draw or do stickers. Win-win.

+1 or quit.

I’m not able to do homework between 3–6 pm because I struggle to stay awake, have very low energy, and often get bad headaches, so I can’t concentrate well. I’m required to babysit during that time—my sister expects me to watch her—so it’s not something I can’t quit.

You need to see your pediatrician. Something isn't right here. If could just be lack of sleep, but you can't sustain this. You're almost an adult, but it's still on your family to be watching out for this and the fact that no one's taking this seriously is a problem.

I'm a mom and I'm concerned.

Do you have anyone, a parent's friend, a nurse at school a trusted teacher, a coach etc who you can talk to?

I never slept when my child was awake.
There’s no way.
She’s a teen now and I’m sometimes asleep before she is at night but I know she’s in her room reading or drawing or something.

In your situation you need to figure out how to get more sleep at night

Talk to your sister. Tell her how exhausted you are. Ask her for help, see what she says.

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Anonymous wrote:I would think you could use your time babysitting to do your homework. Your neice could draw or do stickers. Win-win.

+1 or quit.

I’m not able to do homework between 3–6 pm because I struggle to stay awake, have very low energy, and often get bad headaches, so I can’t concentrate well. I’m required to babysit during that time—my sister expects me to watch her—so it’s not something I can’t quit.

What do you owe your sister? Do you live with her?

She’s my half-sister (33), and we don’t live together. She goes to our dad, and asks him to make me babysit, so I end up having to do it. She works from home on Tuesdays/Thursdays, and sometimes does other things, like goes to events, so she doesn’t work at her office.

Where's your mom in this?

Your sister and Dad suck. This is not a reasonable ask.

My mom travels frequently and believes that if I don’t want to babysit, I shouldn’t have to. However, she also thinks that three hours isn’t a significant amount of time and expects me to follow what my Dad says.

The adults in your life suck. Do you have a trusted adult you can talk to who can get through to your parents? Can you stay more permanently at your mom's? You're nearly an adult.

I’m a mom and my DD had a paid college aged babysitter during the pandemic who was doing schoolwork virtually in a different time zone. She was tired. I had zero problem with her napping in the sun in our fenced backyard while my daughter read outside by her or falling asleep on the bedroom floor while my daughter played. It was always just a 15-20 minute power nap and when she was awake she was engaged at an appropriate level.

One-time or infrequent babysitters I’d like to see really engaged but someone who is like part of the family or literally family should be allowed to drift off near a child who is school-aged.

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Anonymous wrote:You need more sleep. Why are you getting so little sleep at night?

If you have too much on your plate already to the point it is interfering with sleep, then you shouldn't be babysitting

I have to wake up at 6:00, and I go to bed at 12 or 1 due to school, practices, etc.

School and practices aren’t until 12 or 1. Turn off all the screens by 9pm and watch yourself magically be able to get your butt to sleep by 11.

11 still feels too late. Some nights, practices run until 9, and then I still have 2–3 hours of homework to do. I do usually take a nap after school on the other weekdays—about an hour or two—which helps a bit, when I don’t I have body aches, headaches, and chest pain.

Bruh you shouldn’t be living like that if you have aches and pains!

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Anonymous wrote:Only acceptable if you are watching them for free. Otherwise a big no no.

It is not acceptable for a sitter to sleep if a five year old is awake!

I mean I’d nap with my own child if he was on the iPad.
OP says it’s her niece, she isn’t paid. She can give her an iPad or any device and nap. If the mom isn’t happy she should pay her