Minimum Age for Babysitting:
Age for Babysitting:
Various ages of children can babysit. Many children begin babysitting around age 12 and continue babysitting through their teen and college years.
Children too young to babysit independently can work as a mother's helper (the parent remains at home during the babysitting job).
Factors in Age for Babysitting:
Safety: The Red Cross babysitting course is recommended for 11 to 15 year olds to start babysitting. It's a good guideline to use, since the course is recognized nationally.
Maturity: The age when children can start babysitting often depends on how responsible the child is. The best judge of your child's maturity is you. If your child is not ready to babysit, encourage her to look for mother's helper jobs until she is ready.
Age of Children: The age of the babysitter will be dependent on the needs of the child. Specifically, infants may require a teenager to babysit.
Parents of Child: Ultimately, the parents of the child will determine if they are ready to let your child babysit.
