Is My Teen Old Enough to Babysit Her Younger Siblings?

There's nothing better than raising a teen to be mature enough to watch her younger siblings while mom and dad spend a little time alone without children in tow. With four children, four dogs and a small business, my husband and I needed alone time to stay sane, but we'd spent more than 14 years with small children in tow; how were we going to know when the time was right to loosen the reigns and trust our teenager with her younger siblings?

Look at your teen from all angles before judging her. My teen is a smart, intellectual powerhouse with a sharp tongue and an even sharper mind, but she tends to be forgetful and lax when it comes to taking care of her room, laundry and chores. In basic life skills she was lacking, but we understood that she would never develop those life skills if we didn't allow her to step outside of her comfort zone. She was completely capable of babysitting her siblings, but she needed to work up to it with small bouts of in-charge time.

Take it slow and let the rope out over time. We started with a trip to the grocery store. The first trip out of the home without our children was just as hard on us as parents as it was on our teen. She fumbled and managed to make it just 20 minutes before calling to ask for support. That call was the best choice she could have made. We instantly knew that she would ask for help when she needed it. Instead of giving her the answer to talking to her younger siblings to put the fear of mom and dad in their hearts, we gave her advice on how to keep her siblings occupied while we were gone.

Talk about the babysitting experience with your teen alone. When we returned home from that first trip, which lasted a whopping 35 minutes, our teen daughter was in tears. She felt out of control and didn't know how to handle the stress of being responsible for someone else. I pulled her aside and talked about what happened while we were gone - the good and the bad. I explained that the experience was new for both her and her siblings and that they may not understand how to give her the control she needed because they weren't used to answering to anyone but their parents and teachers.

After a few short trips, our teen and her siblings managed to find common ground and work together. Now we have the freedom to run to the grocery store or drop off one of our children at a friend's house without fearing our own home will burn to the ground while we're gone. Our teen has grown into quite the mature little babysitter, but she's still learning how to care for others without feeling like she's losing a bit of her own freedom.

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