Sibling babysitter

I really dont know, because when I was younger, my mother was always paranoid with stuff like this, and I hate to think like that, even though I know I do. My daughters are both really young so I dont really know how mature they will be, but I think they might have to be at least 12-13 before Id let them do it. I might sound nuts, but anything can happen these days, and yes I am paranoid LOL

I"m not sure what the rules are exactly other than to be 12 to be left alone for a substantial amount of time, like a few hours. I was wondering this myself like what's the difference between a latchkey kid (under 12) and a 12yo+ left alone ? I need to go back to work 3/4 time or full time when my youngest is in 5k but my oldest will be 11 and I have no sitter either... so we will either continue for me to make minimum wage working a handfull of hours opposite of hubby or ??? I've heard of kids calling on their parents but not for babysitting. A boy I grew up with called CPS on his mother for not buying him clothes, at the time ZCavarichi was popular and they ran $65 his mom didn't have $65 for ONE pair of pants nor the many he demanded so he called CPS. Nice huh?

Hi, I dont know what its like in america, but in England, children can be left on their own at 12, and can babysit for others at 14. Having said that, when me and my brother were young, both our parents worked fulltime and we were latch key kids from about 7 years old. We let ourselves in after school and ate sandwiches and watched tv until they came home, so from 3.30 to 9pm at night, we were alone...but nobody really fussed in those days. We were also left on our own all day throughout the summer holidays and when we were ill, and we came to no harm! They were good parents, but they had my brother when my mum was 15, so I think they were trying to prove something to the world by saying look at all this money we have, and we had 2 kids as well...I think as long as you are sensible about it and dont stay out too long if your kids are under 12, have you asked the neighbours if they could babysit..in return for something like mowing or tidying their gardens or taking their rubbish out? It might be worthwhile trying to be sweet to them and they may shine through for you as good neighbours! Good luck!

I think that once a child reaches the age of 12 or 13, they are responsible enough to watch over younger siblings for short periods of time with no prblems, as long as they have been informed on what to do in emergency situations, and there would be a trusted adult nearby (such as a neighbor) who they could run to if something serious came up and they didn't know how to handle it. This is also assuming that the child is not being left responsible for a small baby or infant, as i think that is too much responsibility and leaving the door open for too many things tto go wrong. Once the child get a little older, like 14 or 15, the hours they are left in charge can be increased, though i don't know how i would feel leaving them for very long, overnight periods. A lot of it also has to do with th maturity level of the older child. My brother is five years my junior, and when i was 11 or 12 my parents had no problems with leaving me in charge of my little brother for a few hours after school befor they got home from work, or even during the summer for full days while they were working. We would get up and have breakfast with mom before she left, she would go over what was availiable for lunch and snacks through the day and any household chores she expected to see done. I would have my brother help me with the chores first thing, then have lunch, and then we could play outdoors with friends or indoors by ourselves for the day (we were not allowed to have other people in the house when our parents were not home..a very smart thing i beleive) And we never had any issues. There was an older, retired neighor across the street who my mom let know that we were home alone, and if anything ever came up that we coudln't handle, we knew we were to go to her. I don't ever remember a time when we had to do this, but it was nice knowing that there was a responsible adult near by who would help if need be. As for the other part of your discussion, having to do with the frequency of calling child services, I too agree that this has gotten out of hand. Yes, if someone is leaving very small children locked up at home for long periods of time, or there is abuse going on, i understnd it. But i also know of cases where people have done it just because they don't like the other people, or the kids are being noisy.....they are kids! or course they are going to make noise! As for kids calling child services on their parents, once agin, i can understand there are cases where a child has a right to do so, such as abuse or utter neglect, but when i was with my ex, he had a younger brother who would call up the cops and CLAIM abuse, just because his parents were trying to punish him (non-violently) for something he did rwrong, or trying to force him to do something he didn't want to do (such as cleaning or helping with yard work) This i don't understand. I personaly think the child should get in trouble, or at least get a little scare from the authorities, maybe by telling him how it is illegal to make false accusations and how he could get in trouble.