Babysitter

[Loren1234]

How old do you think its ok to do babysitting?

[laura_lou7]

do you mean how old do you need to be? Legally, 14

[zipadeedodah]

I didn't think there was a legal age for babysitting, it is the responsibility of the parents to assess whether a person is responsible enough to look after their children (and they have to remember that if they leave their children with someone under the age of 16, they can still be prosecuted if anything happens).

Personally I think it totally depends on the person. You can get very mature, sensible 14 year olds, and immature, incapable 18 year olds. Would say no younger than 14 though.

[ummmm]

It also depends on the age of the children that need looking after. Over the age of 5 I would say 14 is old enough.

[saxy_jag]

Zipadee's right - there is no legal age. The onus is on the child's parents to ensure that the child is left with a 'responsible adult'. Under 16 is still a child in the eyes of the law. Parents leaving a child in the care of a 14 year old are still responsible in the eyes of the law.

Accepting all the above, I would say 14 or 15 is a suitable minimum age for a babysitter, but it would depend very much on his or her level of maturity, that of the charges, and also on the relationship between the two. I frequently babysat my two cousins when I was 14, but then I spent lots of time with them anyway and we all got on really well together.