13 yo babysitting 4 young children?

amother

Wed, Aug 17 2011, 9:52 pm

I have 4 kids, aged 5 1/2 to 3 months, and I'm looking for a sitter for 2-3 hours int he afternoons while I go to work. There are a few babysitters in town who are 11-13 years old who charge $5/hour, while older girls charge double or more than that.
My dilemma is I don't know if a young teen is really capable of taking proper care of so many young children.
What age do you think is old enough to have this type of responsibility?

obagys

Wed, Aug 17 2011, 9:58 pm

There is no right age or answer. A 13 year old can be the youngest in her family and may have very limited interaction with children, so she may not be the best possible sitter for multiple young children. Her 13 year old friend may be the oldest of 10 children who has been "taking care" of her younger siblings since she was 6 years old, and is therefore much more responsible and mature when it comes to babysitting. And there is of course a whole range of situations, personalities and levels of maturity which are unique to each girl. I would seek references and try to find out how much babysitting the girl has done until this point before making my decision.

honeygold

Wed, Aug 17 2011, 9:59 pm

Some 13 yr olds are mature and responsible enough to babysit while others are not. Try to get recommendations from other people who have used these girls as babysitters. I for example was in charge of cooking supper and watching my 5 younger siblings at the age of 13. However, I was very mature and responsible.

MaBelleVie

Wed, Aug 17 2011, 10:19 pm

Unless the girl is a sister of the ones she is watching (and has proven herself capable besides) I would not do it. I don't think I would allow my own daughter to care for someone else's four children ages five and under either.

zaq

Wed, Aug 17 2011, 10:33 pm

Such a situation is unfair and unsafe for both the sitter and her charges. I wouldn't consider it for a minute. $10 an hour is not a lot of money to take care of 4 young children. When it comes to your children's safety and well-being, don't look for cheap. MaBelleVie, I'm with you--I wouldn't allow my 13-y/o dd to care for so many children all by herself, either, and I'd question the sechel of any mother who would. matter of fact, there are some adults I wouldn't trust to be able to look after 4 kids under 6.

Jewishmofm

Thu, Aug 18 2011, 12:13 am

it depends on the girl and the neighborhood. I had a steady babysitter who was 11 in lakewood. she was a very capable young lady, and her mother was on call two blocks away. Find out what the law is in your state too!

FranticFrummie

Thu, Aug 18 2011, 3:40 am

Watching 4 little ones for $5 an hour is slave labor! shock

The guy who mows my lawn gets paid twice that much.

I would pay the extra money and have a sem girl do it, and if I couldn't afford it then I wouldn't go. So many things can go haywire very quickly with toddlers running loose. Even the most mature 13 year old is going to have a hard time keeping up with them. You only have so many hands and so much patience, and you need eyes in the back of your head every second.

Believe me, I watch my friend's 5 kids sometimes, and I have NO idea how she does this 24/7. After a few hours with those kids I need a nap!

Simple1

Thu, Aug 18 2011, 9:09 am

If you are doing it on a daily basis - you said for work - than it seems like a lot of responsibility for a girl that young. If it was a one time thing, I'd say it depends on how easy your kids are, and how mature the sitter is.

ora_43

Thu, Aug 18 2011, 9:24 am

I wouldn't do it. It's not just maturity (although that's an issue too - how many 13-year-olds are really so mature that they can handle such a big job?), it's also experience, which a 13-year-old can only have so much of by definition.

ModaMama

Thu, Aug 18 2011, 9:32 am

I'd be nervous to leave most 13 yo with a 3 mo. There may be mature 13 but 4 little ones can be a bit much even for a mother sometimes.

MrsDash

Thu, Aug 18 2011, 9:34 am

zaq wrote:

Agreed!

Simple1

Thu, Aug 18 2011, 9:36 am

Simple1 wrote:

Thinking about this again and thinking about my own dd, it does seem a bit much even for one time, considering that the kids won't be sleeping. My biggest issue is balancing watching the small infant at the same time as watching the older kids.

Last edited by Simple1 on Thu, Aug 18 2011, 9:38 am; edited 1 time in total

MrsDash

Thu, Aug 18 2011, 9:38 am

I'd like to add that as a 13 year old, I was taken advantage a lot because of my age. Both as a babysitter and camp junior counselor. Better to get an 18 year old who is more mature, experienced, perhaps knows cpr and charges $10 an hour.

morah

Thu, Aug 18 2011, 9:53 am

I wouldn't do it. First of all, you're talking about 4 kids, not 1 or 2; second of all, there's a small infant involved. Even if she's the oldest of 8 and helps her mother out a lot, I don't think that's enough to totally leave 3 kids and a small baby in her complete care (it would be different if you were going to be home and hiring her as a mother's helper). I wouldn't do it even if said 13 y/o was my OWN kid.
Also, $5/hr for FOUR kids? That's not right. When I babysat, I got $10/hr for 1 kid. I charged $2/hr more for each extra kid. There was a mother of these crazy twins I often sat for, and she paid me $20/hr- not because I asked for that much but because she knew her kids were difficult and felt I deserved that much for putting up with them. Spend the extra money and get someone seminary/college aged. There are plenty of other things you can skimp on, childcare should not be one of them.

skymile

Thu, Aug 18 2011, 11:18 am

when I was 10, my parents left me to look after my 2 brothers and sister (9, 5, and 3). I'm still mad about it. they totally took advantage of me to go out and have a good time. not to mention the fact that if they came home to a house that looked upside down- I got the petch!

please wait at least 2 more years. imagine if CH"V something were to happen, you would never forgive yourself...

FranticFrummie

Sun, Aug 21 2011, 6:56 pm

luv2cook4eva wrote:

imagine if CH"V something were to happen, you would never forgive yourself...

Exactly. Never mind that the kids are a handful, if there was a real emergency, how would a 13 year old handle it? Fire in the kitchen, one of the kids chokes on a toy, one of them runs out of the house? Scary stuff!

sarahd

Mon, Aug 22 2011, 5:12 pm

I have a hard enough time looking after my own four kids when they're all awake, and my oldest is seven. I can't imagine how a 13 year old would do it and IMO it would be extremely neglectful of me as a parent to leave my children in a situation like that.

amother

Mon, Aug 22 2011, 9:49 pm

4 is a lot especially with an infant. I have a 13 yr old son who is very mature, responsible& capable. I have no problem leaving him with my 6 yr old with a disability & my 2 1/2 yr old grandson. And I still think 4 is too many. I think it is a lot even for a sem girl on a daily basis. For the same money as an older girl , would you consider 2 younger girls?