So I was reading the local free sort of newspaper, and saw a notice by our local fire dept advertising the babysitter qual class. Says for ages 12-15 …
WTF< everybody goes apeshit if you leave a 12 year old home alone, so they are willing to let them be home alone with a small child?! Granted, back in the Dark Ages I did the whole babysitting thing as a 12 year old [til I determined I really really hated babysitting … I really do not get along with kids.]
Do they?
Or, their 10-year-old sibling? Or their 8-year-old neighbor?
Maybe the class is for 12-15 year olds because the 16-year-old+ classes go over more “baby” oriented stuff like diapers, while the 12-15 year old class goes over how to turn off the water at the meter, and when to call 911/when to call the neighbor?
One, I don’t think many people freak out about 12 year olds left alone.
Two, context matters. I’d let a 12-year old babysit my 5-year old son for an hour while I went to the grocery store in the middle of the day. I wouldn’t let a 12 year old baby-sit him from 6-10 while I went out to a movie. I would let a 12 year old stay home alone from 6-10 while I was at a movie. I would get a 12 year old a babysitter if I was going to be at a concert from 6-2 in the morning.
All of our sitters are college age or older.
I babysat when I was 13-14, it was (IIRC) a 2- and 5-year-old. So I was smack in the middle of that age range. This was around 1990. I’m male too if that matters. It was easy money (if a bit boring), the kids were well-behaved and mostly I just fed them and put them to bed at the right time.
My oldest daughter is 10 and I trust her not to set things on fire when I’m not watching her. She’s mature enough that I’d let her watch her younger sister in a couple years.
Also, no questions are asked (factual or otherwise) so I asked if this could go to IMHO (seems like a perfect thread for that).
If I remember correctly my daughter took the babysitting course when she was 11. She never babysat anyone at that age mostly because we didn’t know anyone with younger kids, but she would have been fine for a few hours. My son, on the other hand, never wanted to be left alone even long after he was old enough to be left on his own.
I don’t see a real question here. Let’s move this to IMHO.
Colibri
General Questions Moderator
When I was 12, I was left in charge of my 4 younger sibs on many evenings when our folks went out. We all knew the rules, and there was always a neighbor available just in case. Never had to call our neighbors, never any big problems.
At the same age, I babysat for several neighbors, always when my mom was home so I could call her if needed. I only had to do that once when I was trying to watch several out-of-control kids. Mom read them the riot act, then told their mother I’d never be allowed to watch her kids again. Whew! 
Anyway, if a 12-y/o has been raised to be responsible and accountable, I don’t see what the big deal is. Of course, based on some of the 12-y/o kids my daughter teaches, I can see why some folks consider it to be a bad idea.
There is no law in the UK to specify an age; it is left to parents to decide. This can be a dilemma: for example; in 2011 a mother was given an official police caution for leaving her 14-year-old son in charge of his three-year-old brother, yet many of us would have been happy to leave our toddlers in the care of a responsible 12yo, especially now that we can be on the other end of a phone at all times
There is no detail about the 2011 case, but someone must have called the police and there must have been some factor that made them react, or they were just being overcautious and thinking, as cops sometimes do, that they have to be seen to do something.
Not to mention there are any number of “babysitting” situations where the baby sitter isn’t really alone. For example, a 12 year old sitting for a six year old during Christmas vacation while a parent is working at home. Or a couple of 12 year olds entertaining and watching a few younger kids at a family party. Or a 10 year old watching a 2 year old who lives next door ( or downstairs or in the apartment across the hall), while the 10yr olds mother is home and available.
I started babysitting at eleven.
We used grandma and had only two paid sitters - both were high school or college age.
My experience is that people want college age sitters. My experience as a parent is that finding a high school age kid - much less a college age kid - who is willing to sit rather than hold a much less demanding job doing retail is difficult.
You could also have some enterprising twelve-year-olds taking the class early, to prepare for becoming a babysitter at some older age.
Or, heck, it might be for babysitting themselves: Maybe their parents trust them to be responsible at home on their own, but still want them to be prepared for whatever sorts of emergencies are likely to come up.
I did too, but to be fair, no one asked me how old I was, and I looked older. FWIW, I was extremely responsible, and the parents got their money’s worth.
I had a paper route, so people on my route started asking me if I babysat. I had some serious disposable income when I was 11 & 12.
It was a different time, though. I was 11 in 1978. People let kids run loose. I was allowed to ride my bike pretty much anywhere, and even take the train into Manhattan on Sundays and in the summer, as long as I checked in by phone when my parents specified, and was home on time.
I was the kind of kid who knew better than to look for wiggle room, so I was always home usually well before I was supposed to be, and never got into trouble, say, if the train stopped for a while, and I never lost privileges.