Is Your Child Old Enough to Babysit?

Is Your Child Old Enough to Babysit? - There are traits to look for that will indicate to you when your teen or tween is ready to take on the responsibility of babysitting. While these traits are general guidelines and measures of readiness, each parent should consider other factors when deciding if it is time for an older child to start babysitting. Does your state have laws regarding the age a caretaker must be? Are there time restrictions as to how long they can watch younger children, and if they can be overnight or if it is to be strictly during the course of one day? While some states have no legal restrictions, parents should use common sense when making important decisions about who is caring for their children and whether or not their child is responsible enough to be caring for someone else's children.

Being responsible tops our list. Your teen or tween has to be able to make moral and rational decisions on their own. While help may only be a phone call away, they will largely be acting alone.

Mentally Mature. Do they have the knowledge they need to assess dangers and situations?

Quick Thinking. In the face of a crisis, emergency or other dilemma; will they be able to react quickly and appropriately to the situation?

Calm. Can they remain calm when there is a problem? Can the deal with fighting children without losing their temper? A certain amount of relaxed control must be evident.

Generous Attitude. I know that we felt our teen was ready to babysit when it was apparent that he had a generous attitude as far as wanting to be helpful and take some level of responsibility in his role as the oldest child. Do they want to help out and babysit, or are they doing so grudgingly? This is going to vary from child to child how willing they are to do for the family or for others.

Playfulness. I think a very important trait that determines the readiness to babysit is whether or not they are willing to interact with other children who are not of the same development levels and ages as they are. Will they get down and make clay animals with younger children? Will they read or play games with them? Will they do what it takes to keep the occupied and happy?

As a parent, you know your child and it is fairly easy to gauge when they are ready to take on the role of caregiver for other children. Keep in mind that readiness to baby sit children of different ages may not come at the same time. Keeping an infant requires far more skills than keeping a six year old.

Resources

I, the author, am the mother of four children of various ages. It is through years of observance and parenting that I have gained the insight and expertise to write on the issue of readiness to babysit. I was apprehensive when it first came up and continue to gain confidence in my sons skills, though I still call a hundred times a night when he is baby sitting just to see if they haven't burned the house down!