To all moms

[Irulan]

I think there's a tendecny to underestimate what kids are capable of... Red Cross will certify baby sitters starting at age 12. It's a good age to start lettintg them be independent.

irulan

[RoadRaven]

Kids have to be 14 here (NZ) to be able to baby sit legally another family's children

But if parent/s have arranged a neighbour to be about and aware, and children know who to call and how long parent is out for, then children can be left "home alone"

I agree, Irulan, people grossly UNDERestimate what children are capable of. They are very competent creatures, and safety issues and PC-ification have trained us to forget that in much of the western world.

[Crankin]

My children are grown up now, but I encourage anyone who has guilt to let it go! Maybe I am weird, but I always took tinme for myself to exercise. I would go right after work when they were little and let them stay in child care an extra hour. Or, i got up very early and went then. I am not divorced, but I spent many years working as a middle school teacher, teaching anywhere from 3-7 fitness classes a week, volunteering on the board of my kid's preschool, and teaching Hebrew school. My husband travelled and I used a combination of my regular child care and wonderful teenage babysiters who would come to my house at 4:45 AM so I could take an hour to exercise! My husband and I always went out without the kids at least 3-4 times a month. And guess what? Both my kids took babysitting courses at age 10-11 (both boys) and started sitting when they were in grade 6 or 7. The younger one worked for a family of 3 kids under the age of 5 when he was 13 and changed diapers on an infant. He used the money to buy his first good bike and to start racing. He is now 20 and in the Marines and is not ashamed at all of this experience. They are like his second family! Both my boys are normal, responsible young adults who weren't "scarred" because their parents took time for themselves and to be together as a couple. Yes, we did a lot of stuff as a family, but they grow up pretty quickly and you still have to have a life then.