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Would you hire a 11 1/2 year old to babysit if she was really responsible and knows first aid?

I'm 11 &1/2 and was thinking about starting to babysit would you hire me I am very responsible have taken the red cross first aid course and am in our schools highly gifted program so i am very intelligent so how old of kids would you leave me with and/or how much time also how much money
-Thank you!!!

Public Comments

1. no, i believe in my state you have to be 13 to even be allowed home alone.

2. no, sorry i wouldnt.

3. No, I would never ever. I would take off of work or miss an appointment before I hired an 11 year old babysitter. I use family members aged 17+.

4. No, you legally have to be 13.

you actually can't even be left home alone until you are 13, baby girl you still need a babysitter yourself!

5. No, I would not.

6. I was shocked when I found out that the red cross babysitting course is for ages 11-15 yr olds only. Personally I wouldn't want a sitter younger than 15-16 in most cases. However DS's first babysitter was 13. She had a younger brother and was a "latch key" kid from the time she was 6 or 7. She had also been around DS almost every day of his life.


As for the above answer saying that one has to be 13 to be left alone. If you are in the US, that is 100% false. No state in the US has such a high requirement. The highest I have have actually been about to find is age 8. Most do not even have a legal min age. They just have a set of gudelines that are not legally binding.


ETA: the American red Cross offers a home alone course for children in grade 2-5. If it were illegal for children that young to be left alone, the ARC would not be offering a course to children that young.

ETA: to the below answer that said it is against the law to leave a child under the age of 13 alone in IL. Wrong...Read the law, it is against the law to leave them alone for a period longer than 24 hours.
http://www.illinoislegalaid.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=home.dsp_content&contentID=5701
Would people please stop making stuff up.


ETA: and the legal babysitting age in IL for periods over 24 hours is 14+. The laws does not address an age for periods shorter than 24 hours.


READ THE LAW IN THE LINK THAT I PROVIDED ABOVE INSTEAD OF MAKING STUFF UP

7. No.
I have left my 11 year old sister with my 8 and 5 year old for 1/2 an hour or so, but no way would I allow a child I wasn't related to to babysit for my kids at 11 yrs.

My regular sitter (who usually only watches my 6 month old) is 13 and I've known/taught her for a number of years, but even a 13 year old I wouldn't be comfortable with had I not known her for quite a long time.

If I know them... the youngest I'd let babysit is 13.
If I don't know them, at least 16 and need references.

I pay pretty well; $8/hr and I'll pay her more as my baby ages and she gets more experienced and stays for longer times.

8. no, sorry. In my opinion an 11 1/2 or even 12 year old just does not know everything that a child needs

9. um no.

10. I have babysat at that age, but always for family members. Most parents would not go for it because if something happened, it would be hard for you to get help or take them somewhere. You could try to "assist" a parent to get a start in it and build a reputation. Moms need time to clean, or take a shower, garden, or what not and having someone to distract your little ones and keep them happy is a big help. I have my sisters who are almost 10 and 11 babysit for me in this way a lot, and I'm always thankful for the help. (I never leave the house) After doing this people will be more willing to trust that you are responsible, and at least its a start.

11. No I would not hire an 11 1/2 year old ever to watch my son regardless of the trainings they have taken or not. In my state it is the law that you must be 14 to be alone with other children.. and I plan on abiding by that law. IF the child was 14 and a child I knew personally and had all the trainings I would consider it.. and it would probably be only for 2 hours max.. and I would pay you 10 dollars.

12. It all depends on the family. My brother will let anyone babysit my niece just to get out of the house. He has had an 11 year old before and he was satisfied with her. I believe the younger the better because they are more ambitious in playing with the children. The older they get, the more they take it as a job not as a fun playtime. Although i only hire at an age of 17 since my oldest son is 12 and would be utterly embarrassed if an 11 year old came to watch him. I am sure you could get jobs! You sound like a sweet and caring young girl that has a passion for children =]
best of luck

13. i would because i remeber when i was 11 and i was already cooking and knew a lot about babies
maybe i would let 11 year old me babysit lolz

14. it depends on how old the kid is we are talking about watching. If it is any kid 3 years or under I would say hell no.

4 and over, ok for a short period of time, maybe a couple of hours.

I'd pay $6 per hour

15. No I would absolutely not leave my children in the care of an 11 1/2 year old. Just the fact that you need to mention the 1/2 means you are too young. I might hire you to help me plant a garden or rake leaves. I don't want to be harsh but I might consider hiring a sitter for you.

16. I think that, if the kids are not infants, and there are only one or two, you might be able to handle it. Your parents should be home and available at all times while you're babysitting in case you need help.

17. I wouldn't hire you as a babysitter, since in IL (where I live) if you leave a child or children under 13 alone in the house, they can be taken away from you for child endangerment. But I would consider hiring you as a mother's helper to come and play with the kids while I am in the house getting housework done, or whatever. That way I am still there if there is an emergency, but you can get some practice time in and still get paid for it.

ETA: Illinois law defines a neglected minor, in part, as “any minor under the age of 14 years whose parent or other person responsible for the minor’s welfare leaves the minor without supervision for an unreasonable period of time without regard for the mental or physical health, safety or welfare of that minor.”
Juvenile Court Act, 705 ILCS 405/2-3(1)(d)

So depending on what is considered an unreasonable period of time, I still wouldn't leave an 11.5 year old alone with my kids. Check your own sources before yelling at other people.

18. Wait til you are 13. That is great that you learned first aid. Also look into other babysitting courses that are available.

19. I wouldn't hire an 11 year old to babysit alone just yet, but I would hire you to be a "mother's helper" and you could watch the kids while I was doing housework or just relaxing. I'd pay 5-7 dollars for this, maybe $10 if it was going to be for a whole afternoon. That way if you got experience with watching my kids, I would hire you as a "real" babysitter in a year or two.

EDIT: btw, Legal babysitting age here in Illinois is 13.

20. No, sorry I never would. No matter how qualified they were in first aid or anything else, I wouldn't leave my children with another child. Wait a few years and I'm sure some parents will be happy to hire you. :-)

21. I would. I most often try to use 12-year-old girls (from my church) because they are more available and eager to baby-sit than the older girls. But when I use girls that young, I often hire two (sisters or friends) to do it together and they have to split the $5/hr that I pay. That's because my children are quite young.