When you are a mother living in an area where childcare is scarce, you learn to worship at the altar of the teenage babysitter. Mine has saved my sanity, my sense of humor, and then some. But the Connecticut mom who just got arrested for leaving her 13-year-old home alone to watch over her three youngest kids scared the dickens out of me.
Considering I -- and most former babysitters I know -- started watching over kids at 13 or even younger, if this is now criminal behavior, we're all in trouble. This is not like leaving a house full of toddlers! Using the oldest kid to watch the younger kids, especially, is a time-honored tradition.
Young's neighbor apparently called the cops to say the 4-year-old who lived across the street had wandered into her yard. They arrived to find Young's 13-year-old was alone in their house with siblings aged 10 and 1 1/2, plus the wandering 4-year-old, and charged Young -- who'd left to go to church but said a real babysitter was on the way to relieve the young teen -- with risk of injury to a minor.
More from The Stir: 9-Year-Old Girl Forced to Drive Drunk Dad to Store
I get it ... sort of. Just because they're "old enough" to babysit doesn't mean they're necessarily good at it. At least Rebecca Young's teenager wasn't good enough at the gig to handle a handful of kids. That's where a parent has to make some tough decisions: whether it's the parent of the kids being babysat saying, "OK, this teen is great, but not so great with kids" or the mother of a teenager saying, "Sorry, but my child isn't mature enough to handle that many kids."
Not to mention: a teenager needs to know where to draw the line when they take on a babysitting gig, even if it is watching their own siblings. Three kids is a lot!
I love my babysitter in part because she knows her limits. I always ask her if she feels comfortable with a few more kids when my daughter is going to have a playdate, and I trust her to be honest with me. She usually says yes, but she has told me what kids she does NOT think she could handle.
I'm still uneasy about calling this criminal behavior. As CNN's Ashleigh Banfield pointed out in a debate over Young's arrest, even good moms have had a toddler wander out of the house. It happens. But it's certainly a wake-up call for parents.
What's the maximum number of kids you'd put in the hands of one teenage babysitter?
Image via petercastleton/Flickr
This Hot Dad Wants to Do Your Ironing
This Hot Dad Wants to Cook You Dinner
This Hot Dad Cooks AND Does the Dishes
Kanye West is Gay?! 
Comments 154
my neice has been watching my kids since she was 14...i was babysitting at 13.this is silly
It's very sad that in just a century, teenagers went from being trusted to run the family farm or store to not being trusted to look after younger siblings for 45 minutes.
My gdaughter is 13. We frequently leave her in charge on her 3 year old bro and 4 year old sis. No problems at all. I was babysitting at 12 for the worst kid in the neighborhood and his 2 sisters. This is ridiculous.
I started babysitting my two younger siblings at 12, and neighbor kids as well (only two at a time), by the time I was fourteen I was watching up to four kids at a time, at eighteen I was watching a teacher's kids for the weekend. The catch with the babysitting was I had to know who I could call if there were any problems (we always had a list of numbers to call immediately and then secondarily... before the days of cell phones!). When babysitting other children, I knew my parents were always at home in case of an emergency, but the parents of the kids I babysat for also always left a list of numbers for me in case of an emergency. Now, I have the luxury of knowing my babysitters as students (I teach high school) before they watch my child, and when there will be other kids around I ask them to bring a friend (whom I already know) along. I also leave all of my information and which neighbors to go to in the case of an emergency (since my husband is a first-responder we have too much knowledge of 911 mishaps to tell them to just call 911). I think the age of a babysitter all depends on the child, there is a VAST difference between individual kids-- and your level of comfort. Beyond that, some parents are not as adept at others, and though I wish that wasn't the case, it IS the case. So, let's support them when possible and if their children are truly in danger then arrest them.