Male babysitter?

[speckledfrog]

Yes, I know this is terribly sexist. What do you think about a male babysitter? He is 17 and CPR certified and his family is well known by friends of mine. There is no reason for me to be more nervous than if he were a girl (which I thought he was) but I am and now I feel a bit douchey about it. WDYT?

[TrickyBob]

Does he have experience around children already that he has the CPR stuff?

[eb777888]

I've had this same issue. I have a friend who has a son who has offered to babysit but I just feel weird about it. Yes, I know this is flameful.

[mkesweetie]

When I was 17 I was a lifeguard and swim instructor. I worked with a bunch of 17 year old boys who loved teaching swim lessons to little kids. They were great guys, who just genuinely liked kids.

I think I can understand your hesitation, but I don't think I'd rule out a great potential sitter because he's a he.

[speckledfrog]

Yes he does have experience with kids

[pedanticwench]

I might be a little hesitant, but I think I would definitely give him a try.

[TrickyBob]

I would give him a fair shot then. Do just as you would with a female sitter and interview him/see how he does/how they interact.

[liveintheville]

We have a 25 year old male nanny and he's fantastic. Prior to him we had a female nanny who was, also, fantastic. We had each come over for an interview and see how they interacted with the kids.

Anyway, he's been a great fit for us and has been with us for 2 years now.

[flex]

I can understand the concern with molestation, but girls are just as capable of molesting the kids they watch as boys. And I think there's even a greater chance that a child will be molested by a family member than a babysitter.

My two older boys both took Red Cross training and babysat a great deal--they both loved kids and they still do. And #3 regularly baby-sits one of my ex-h's friend's daughter. He's really good with her.

[speckledfrog]

Aug 8, 2012 16:47:43 GMT -5 @cse1960 said:

My kids are both lifeguards, CPR trained on children/infants, and worked in latchkey programs at school for a couple of years. They'd love to babysit for cash.

I definitely thought of your boys when I realized this sitter was a young man. I wondered what HS boy would want to babysit and then I thought, "I bet Sue sue's kids would." And from what you post I know they are good boys and it gave me some food for thought.

[sarahbear]

As a parent, I now understand the hesitation. But DH babysat a ton as a teenager. He had several families that would request him, or his sister, and he was great at it.

[birdistheword]

I'm not a mom, so I really don't know what I'm talking about. And I don't know how I will feel if I ever do become a mom. But, my brother and I both babysat a lot growing up, and my brother is much better with kids than I am. For some reason, in our society we tend to think it's weird for men to enjoy taking care of children, and I'm not sure why that is. I would bring him in for a working interview and just kind of feel him out. If you don't feel comfortable, then that's fine. But I wouldn't immediately discount him because he's male.

[HiC]

Nope. E would be mortified if she needed help getting dressed or in the bathroom or whatever and had to ask a boy for help. Maybe if I had a ds, then I'd consider it.