What age is ok for babysitting a 1 yr old????? I have a Dr's appointment and it won't take longer than maybe an hour. I want to leave my 1 yr old with my 12 yr old and I wanted to know what you all thought of that... Is that crazy????? I have done it to run to Walgreens and things like that but not for something like a DR's visit... We live in Litchfield Park and the Dr is in North Phx...
Elizabeth is a discussion leader for arizonamoms she writes about everything from her needing mommy advice to crazy and silly stuff that happens. She lives in the West Valley with her husband and 3 children.
I think it depends if you
I think it depends if you think your 12 year old can handle watching your 1 year old for that long.
I would be nervous to have a
I would be nervous to have a 12 yr old watch my daughter when she was 1 year old. But i know i am one of those people thats a little more cautious. Ok, fine.....i admit it....i am overly cautious. ;0)
just~me
Does the 12 yo feel
Does the 12 yo feel comfortable doing it? Does (s)he know what to do in an emergency? Is there a back-up plan in place? A neighbor to call if help is needed? With travel time, it may be more than 1 hour. Is it the baby's normal nap time? Option: take both kids with you, and have the 12 yo watch baby in waiting area while you are in the exam room.
Lots of us babysat at age 12 for other people's children. Long time ago and a different world but ...
The real answer is is THIS 12 yo ready for this responsibility and in what circumstances will they be in.
Couldn't have said that
Couldn't have said that better my self...that is what I am thinking.....
That's a lot of
That's a lot of responsibility for a 12 year old boy....only you know him and what he's ready to handle, but if it were me - I wouldn't feel comfortable with it.
I am very cautious, though. When my son was a baby, I took him along on whatever errands I needed to run or appointments I had, and I never had any issues. The only time I left him with my in-laws was during the day when I worked, and for the occasional date night with my husband...other than that I had him all the time.
I have a 12 year old and an
I have a 12 year old and an 8 year old and this summer was the first time I let him watch her for an extended period of time. HOWEVER, my 12 year old is super responsible, can prepare lunches on his own and and will complete a list of chores if I give him one without me having to call or receive a 100 calls about it. With talks of the baby out there, his first response was, will I have to babysit the baby and I flat out said no. An infant care is very extreme and if there is a wet, pooppie diaper or a feeding time that's a lot for a 12 year old. Not to mention if his 8 year sister gets hurts her she can follow directions while he makes a call to me an infant will cry and need immediate care while a phone call is trying to be made. Wow when I wrote that just now I started to think this in my head, 1/2 the time when my babies were babies, I didn't want to be the only ones caring for them lol. Those are just some extras to think about.
"It's not to late to become who you've always wanted to be..."
Personally, I was watching
Personally, I was watching my niece who was few months old when I was only 10. I was able to keep my niece safe at that young age.
If you think your 12 yo child is mature enough to do that, I don't see any problem with it.
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I think it just depends on
I think it just depends on the child. My older girl (14) I would have had no problem leaving her in charge of a one year old. She's sooo responsible.
But I couldn't imagine my ten year old being ready to watch a toddler in a couple of years. She very immature, and will probably need a sitter for herself until she's 20!
It really depends on the 12
It really depends on the 12 year old as well as the support system in place. When my daughter was 12, I would only let her babysit if I was available in case of a problem and I made sure she knew she could contact me at any time and I would come over to assist. If the 12 year old is experienced with younger siblings has taken babysitting courses and has a good support system in place all should be fine, but it really depends on the situation.
JuneSlager is a discussion leader for arizonamoms.com, raising three children (ages 15, 14, & 11) in Northeast Phoenix.
By the time our oldest was
By the time our oldest was 12, our baby was 4, so I was never in this situation. Do I think that our oldest could have handled a 1 year old?? Maybe when the baby was sleeping but I'd be too nervous being far from home. Running to pick up an prescription is one thing - an hour trip is another.
You know your son best...so I'd go with my gut.
BTW, when in the same situation, our oldest is not allowed to sit on the computer or play games..they are too much of distraction.
Good luck.
Mouse_tales is a discussion leader in the East Valley for arizonamoms.com. She spends most of her days juggling her duties as a mom, wife, and business owner. Her three little kittens range in age from 4 to 13.