Would you use a 13-year old babysitter?

[runforrest]

I'm torn on this.  We have a normal sitter (mid-20s, was a teacher in the Ukraine but is now going to school to be a teacher here in Chicago) who is awesome but she is busy on an upcoming Saturday and we need a sitter.

A friend of ours has used two sisters in the past to watch her 3 year old - one is 16 and the other is 13.  They pretty much are "the" sitters for our neighborhood and are usually booked.  The 16-year old is booked for the night we have plans, but the 13-year old isn't.  I am fine using the 13-year old because she would be coming over at 7, and our kids are in bed by 7:30 - so essentially she would just have to take them upstairs (we will have them fed and in PJs already, teeth brushed), read them a story and then sit on our couch the rest of the night.  My H is more concerned because she is only 13.

I babysat at that age and I think if you find a responsible teenager that is certified in CPR, etc., then there is no big deal. Also, her parents will be home and they live like 3 blocks from our house, so in case of anything, they could come over while we are on our way home.

Anyways, I'm curious if I'm the weird one or if my H is being overly cautious/worrisome?  Thoughts?

**We are planning on meeting them this weekend with the kids and meeting their parents as well, so my opinion could change after meeting them.

[ElizabethBennet]

It really depends on the kid. There are a few 13 year olds I would trust to babysit. I started babysitting at 12.

[Tacocat]

I started baby-sitting at 13. You'll get a better idea after you meet her I'm sure.

[lilybug]

It would depend on my (your) kids. My kids are young, and they don't like to stay asleep, especially if they know something's up. So the babysitter would likely be dealing with a fussy toddler and a sleep-resistant preschooler at my house, and I think that's too much for a 13 y.o.

But if you have awesome kids who go to sleep easily and stay asleep, I'd say go for it. Especially having her parents on call, that would be comforting to know.

[Deleted]

If my kids were old enough to require less care, but not too close to the age of the sitter.

Like 4(potty trained 100%) to 9?

[mrsjuleshs]

My daughter is 13 and has been babysitting for awhile. In fact, she and one of her friends babysat 8 kids together for about 3 hours about 6 months ago. It really depends on the kid but there are some that are responsible enough to babysit at 13.

[lizrd7579]

I've used a few 12 and 13 year old sitters when we just had DD#1. They all live by me and mom/dad are around whenever they're babysitting. I know them and their parents well, so neither DH nor I have any qualms about it.

[Deleted]

how old are your kids?

my kid, i think 13 is too young (she's 3). a 5 or 6 year old? sure. no problem. provided, of course, that the 13 year old is of the responsible type and not the bieber fever/never looking up from the phone type.

[snipsnsnails]

I would for daytime/early evening, short sittings if my kid were over 2, but probably not beyond that.

[auberge]

No, we wouldn't but my husband is captain paranoid.

[cc]

I have a 13 year old and, while I haven't had her watch our youngest (2 year old) alone yet, she has given her baths and changed her diapers. I am going to sign her up for a babysitting course that will teach her CPR and the Heimlich.

Anyway, it depends on the situation, kid, etc.

[Deleted]

Since you know that she babysits often for your neighborhood and you haven't heard any concerns, I say go for it.

[janegold]

I started babysitting at 11 (my first "client" was a newborn!) and I look back and wonder what those parents were thinking. I'm not sure I would feel comfortable with a 13 year old but maybe I'd feel better if I had neighbors (or her parents, like you said) that I could give a heads up to in case there was an emergency.

[rex]

If other families in your neighborhood use her, then she must be trustworthy and reliable. I would use her. Can you ask other parents who have used her for their opinions?

I babysat at that age.

[runforrest]

Thanks ladies.

Our twins are 3, and generally go to bed very easily. They don't fight bedtime, and will generally just play for a bit or talk to each other and then go to sleep. Once they are asleep, they stay asleep until the morning.

I agree that it depends on the kid, so I will obviously know more when we meet this weekend.

I will admit that it makes me a bit more nervous than normal, but I think it's more because we haven't met yet and if we do decide to use her, it will be the first time, so that in general will make me more paranoid and likely to send 75 texts to her that night.

[goaskalice]

May 10, 2013 11:13:26 GMT -5 janegold said:

I started babysitting at 11 (my first "client" was a newborn!) and I look back and wonder what those parents were thinking. I'm not sure I would feel comfortable with a 13 year old but maybe I'd feel better if I had neighbors (or her parents, like you said) that I could give a heads up to in case there was an emergency.

Me too! I also babysat 4 sisters at 12, that was hilarious to say the least.

I think if she's a seasoned babysitter I would be fine with her watching them. Definitely meet with her and see if your kids like her or not, but the age does not deter me.

[textbookcase]

Our current babysitters are 13 yo sisters. They've taken the Red Cross babysitting courses, infant CPR, regular CPR, etc. and are very trustworthy. They also live a few blocks away, so if their mom needed to pop over she could get here quickly. It depends on the 13 year old. H's sister is 15 and we just started to ask her to watch the girls occasionally because she's been pretty immature up to this point.

[adhdfashion]

I started babysitting at age 11 as a mommies helper. By 12 I was watching kids on my own. It really depends on the girl. Maybe have her come over to watch the kids for a couple hours will you clean or something first?

[runforrest]

May 10, 2013 11:19:15 GMT -5 adhdfashion said:

I started babysitting at age 11 as a mommies helper. By 12 I was watching kids on my own. It really depends on the girl. Maybe have her come over to watch the kids for a couple hours will you clean or something first?

Oh, that is a good idea.

Maybe she could stop by one afternoon after school or something.

[thedutchgirl]

I think babysitters are older these days than they used to be. I babysat at 11, including a newborn. With colic! I think that's uncommon these days.

[roxysoxy]

I'm torn on this.  I started babysitting when I was 14 and I think I was a very responsible babysitter.  I also took some babysitting classes that provided CPR and first aid training. 

My 4 year old can be really challenging and I'm not sure if someone so young would be able to handle him.  My almost 6 year old doesn't require nearly as much supervision and I think a 13 year old babysitter would be ok for her. 

[Deleted]

I feel like in that situation I would be ok with her sitting.

[snickers]

No way.

[deanlicker78]

My daughter has babysat since she was 12. I think it depends on the kid. In your situation it sounds like she has experience and others in your neighborhood trust her to watch their kids. Her parents live close by, so I would be ok with her babysitting.

[statlerwaldorf]

I would, but it really depends on the age and temperament of the kids. I'd say starting around 3, DD was pretty independent and vocal about her needs which would make me more comfortable with a younger sitter. She's also really well behaved for others.

[dragonfly08]

For me, depends on the 13 yo and the ages of your kids. The girls up the street, whom my girls and I have known for four years, whose parents I know, and one of whom has already worked for me as a mother's helper? Yep, I'd hire them no problem. My kids are 6 and 9, reasonably well behaved, not likely to get into any trouble. An unknown 13 yo, especially with younger kids? I was babysitting at that age, and now that I'm older/a mom it seems so young to me so that I might have second thoughts about it.

[natsnow]

I'm also one of those who started babysitting (a newborn) at 12 years old. I took the babysitting class and CPR, but still, I look back and wonder what they were thinking.

[litebright]

Yes, I have. We started asking the girl next door to sit when she was 13. 

It was pretty similar to the situation you describe. We'd get DD1 to bed or in process, then leave -- it wasn't until she was a little over a year, though. So she was basically there to watch TV, pet the dogs and make sure nothing caught fire. And her mom, who is a kindergarten teacher, was home right next door if she had any issues that required immediate adult help. 

It went perfectly, and now she's a junior in HS and we use her whenever we can for one or both girls.