How Old Do You Have to Be to Babysit?
How old do you have to be to babysit?
Babysitting is a great part-time work choice for young teenagers — most states won’t allow kids to work until they are a certain age, usually between 14 and 16 depending on the state. However, if you want your child to make a little extra money while learning work ethic and probably having a good time to boot, babysitting is a viable and legal career option.
There is a consensus among people hiring babysitters that the minimum age is about 12. That’s the age at which a child seems able to handle emergencies by calling the proper authorities and to maintain some sense of authority. Every person hiring a babysitter will have different opinions on this. Let’s take a closer look at specific babysitting situations and determine what a good minimum age might be.
Older Children
If you are looking to babysit for older children, say from age 10 and up, you will want to be much older than the child. Depending on the length of the sitting, you should be about 4 years older than the older child you’re sitting for. For instance, if the parents of a 10 year old are going out for a movie and want someone to watch the child, a good minimum age for a sitter would be 14. This age changes greatly if you’re talking about a long-term sitting. If the parents of an older child are looking for a live-in babysitter (to watch their child while they’re on vacation for instance), the babysitter should have a driver’s license — meaning that in most cases the sitter should be at least 16 years old.
Babies
Good news for those of you wanting to start babysitting right away — if you’re actually looking to take care of babies (under the age of 2 or 3) you can get away with being a bit younger. Girls around the age of 10 or 11 are sometimes capable of taking care of a baby especially if they are mature or have some experience looking after babies. Because babies of this age are simpler to watch — not running around or getting in trouble outside of the house — a younger babysitter is capable of handling the sitting job.
Be careful when agreeing to sit for an actual baby. Sometimes babies have more difficult health issues that need taking care of, so make sure you know the emergency numbers, the baby’s doctor’s number, and have someone nearby like a parent or older sibling in case you need use of a car. Remember that sitting for an infant often means changing diapers and doing other tasks that may not be so appealing.
In general, before a child can begin babysitting, they should be mature enough to take care of their own needs, be able to put together simple snacks, pay attention to parental demands like bed times and any housekeeping that is required, and have the blessing of their parents.
Babysitting can be a great way to teach a child about the responsibility of having and keeping a job. If you’re interested in babysitting, make sure you can perform all the duties required before you take on something that’s too big to swallow.
This is part of a series of posts we’re publishing about how old you have to be to do certain things. Other posts in this series include:
- How Old Do You Have to Be to Get Married?
- How Old Do You Have to Be to Buy Condoms?
- How Old Do You Have to Be to Rent a Hotel Room?
- How Old Do You Have to Be to Get a Job?
You might also be interested in this other page about how old do you have to be to babysit in general.
can i babysit at 11
i thought u could be 10 or 11 to start why cant u be 10 or 11
So this is saying i can be 10 to start babysitting babies? That’s actually really good for me because im GREAT with babies. Now where would i find someone that wants me to babysit their child?
this is great because i have a nexdoor neighboor who has a baby o.. AWESOME!
i thought you had to be 13-14ish to baby sit. i’m 13 and i’m gonna start with friends kids and siblings and stuff first
how much do u think u shoudl charge an hour for babysitting.
It depends on the childs age and also on how long You have been babysitting and most important how many kids. Say you are willing to babysit a 1-3 year old and you have been babysitting for 0-1 year and you are 10-14 you should get paid about $12.75 an hour.
im 13 and i watch 1-3 kids when i do babysit and know matter how amny kids there are i get paid 5 dollers per hour should i say something or what?
You’ve got to be kidding me? A child at the age of 10-11 is allowed to care for a child?? That’s insane! I know they may have a strong love for children, as I did at that age. But the should be having a babysitter themselves at that age!
In New Zealand, children aren’t allowed to be left alone till they are 13! And are not allowed to babysit till they’re 14. 11 is certainly too young as they do not have the level of maturity needed to care for a child, especially a toddler! People complain about babies having babies (teen pregnancy), but where are the complaints about babies caring for babies?!?
what if that person is very mature, they took a CPR course and have experiance with little kids? then what? What if their teacher wrote a recomenation? then what?
where and how would you find a job in baby sittitng??
I’m ll, can i babysit??
I love babies and kids. I’m only 11 Ish and people let me babysit for short periods of time. wat would it take to babysit strangers? wat classes should I take? any recommendations ?!?!
i am 12 am i babysit all the time