Babysitting age

[shootingstar]

My brother was adopted (4 months old) when I was 11 and I began babysitting right away.
Both of my kids took the Red Cross babysitting course when they were 10 (minimum age) and started sitting when they were 12 or so. As boys, they were very much in demand by parents of boys. They both started with the son of a friend (sometimes they went together) who was quite a bit younger.
My younger son made tons of money and was so popular as a sitter, I had to "field" his calls from parents. He bought his first bike with babysitting money in 8th grade. So, in a way, babysitting is responsible for me cycling!
Seriously, I think many parents don't give their kids enough credit or give them much responsibility; obviously there are some kids I would trust at that age, but it was such a positive experience for my boys. They will both be great parents. And they saw an eyeful of different parenting styles...

Very interesting about your sons, Crankin. My dearie started looking after his baby brother by himself when he was 11. (There is a 10 yr. gap between the 2 guys.) Changing his diaper, etc. Again no outside babysitter since his family couldn't afford one.

I wasn't allowed to change diapers. My mother used cloth diapers. So she was probably afraid I might poke the baby accidentally with safety pins.

I was so used to being delegated to look after my younger siblings that when we occasionally (only twice in my life) were looked after by an adult woman friend, I felt very lost, bereft. I lost my "role". My world felt turned upside down. I felt sad. I yearned my parents to return so that things would fall back into my "order" of the world.

I think my mother trusted me..because often I did have to have an eye on little ones even when she was around at home. She had to do housework and couldn't look after children/keep them occupied. So it was me in conjunction with 1-2 sisters younger than I. So trusting a child is slowly built up for the parent.

I was never expected to do housework, while a parent was away from home while I was babysitting younger siblings. Good thing and a safety tactic.

But think of all the photos we see of children in the developing countries, looking after baby siblings, etc.

While true I don't have children, there are some real practical life experiences that some childless folks did have so that they aren't totally helpless.