Pegasus Posted August 17, 2013 Share Posted August 17, 2013 As in actually staying in the house alone while the friend is out of town, taking care of the pets, putting out the trash, bringing in the mail, that sort of thing. DD has a teen friend who I think would love the chance to "live alone" for a few days and get paid for it the next time we leave town. Just wondering what the general consensus is for the age you would let your teen take such a job. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThisIsTheDay Posted August 17, 2013 Share Posted August 17, 2013 It would totally depend on my child, and I would probably have a different answer for both of my kids. It would be important to me that my child had had enough experience staying at our house overnight on their own. Otherwise, I don't believe my kids would be comfortable doing that at someone else's house--too many unfamiliar noises! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pawz4me Posted August 17, 2013 Share Posted August 17, 2013 Depends on the child, the pet(s), the level of care they need and the safety of the neighborhood where the pet sitting will occur. There's a big difference in taking care of a couple of hamsters or healthy cats versus a couple of energetic large dogs or an older dog or cat with health issues who may need regular medication. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stephanier.1765 Posted August 17, 2013 Share Posted August 17, 2013 For my kids, I was comfortable at 16. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SKL Posted August 17, 2013 Share Posted August 17, 2013 Do you mean staying overnight? Or coming over at different times during the day? It would depend on the child, but the age could be a lot lower (maybe not even teenage) if it doesn't involve overnight. If it's overnight, you would want to check to see if there are any laws against that up to a certain age. Also I'd want to make sure there was enough to keep the kid busy. I could see many kids getting bored and lonely in that situation, and you know what they say about idle minds/hands. And of course I'd have a substantive talk with the parent before deciding for sure. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SKL Posted August 17, 2013 Share Posted August 17, 2013 I was babysitting (other people's children) overnight at age 13. Of course those were different times. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
regentrude Posted August 17, 2013 Share Posted August 17, 2013 Depends on a lot of factors: how close to my house? Can I be there in an emergency in a few minutes, or would child have to have her own transportation? what animals? Are we talking a cat and a guinea pig, or large dogs? If it's dogs: how well do the dogs know and respect my child? Are they trained? (I petsat the neighbors' dog and it was a disaster because the dog did not obey and dug out under the fence one year and refused to eat while his owners were gone the next year.) How safe is the neighborhood? Depending on the answers, it may be 14 (safe neighborhood, close to parents, little animals) or 16+ (needs to drive) or never (aggressive dogs, unsafe neighborhood.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J-rap Posted August 17, 2013 Share Posted August 17, 2013 As everyone else has said, it depends on so many things. I've left my teen kids home alone many times in our own home for a night or two or even a week when there were at least two of them, either two of my own children of one of them plus a friend. We had a teen take care of our house + cat (staying overnight) for one month once, but he was 18 or 19. I probably left just one child home alone over a weekend when they were 16 or 17, but I wouldn't have let all of my children do that. (Which is funny, because one of my daughters traveled by herself abroad when she was 17, but I guess by the time you get down to your younger children you look at things differently!) It depends on the maturity of the teen, the neighborhood, and how responsible they are. Just the other day, one of my daughters thought she had turned the gas stove off, and when I checked it before bed, I saw that it was still burning low with an empty pan on it... hmmm... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pegasus Posted August 17, 2013 Author Share Posted August 17, 2013 I see now that there are too many variables to generalize. That's ok. I appreciate everyone's input. I'll just have to ask the mother/teen with our given situation and see what they have to say! Thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
higginszoo Posted August 17, 2013 Share Posted August 17, 2013 My kids are pretty responsible and independent. For an immediate neighbor (on our block), I'd probably let either of my high schoolers do that now. For someone who lived further away, I'd say that I'd rather they wait until they're 16 or so. This does vary a lot from child to child and from family to family. A neighbor still has full-time child care (a nanny) during the summer for her only ds (nearly 15, going into 10th grade) ... I probably would opt for part time, get out of the house things for my 12 year old, and would feel comfortable leaving him home for at least part of the day -- I'd leave my 14 and 15 year olds home all day without any concerns. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lailasmum Posted August 17, 2013 Share Posted August 17, 2013 I started doing it at 18 or 19, Ican't remember which.The house was in a bit of a remote place and a bit creepy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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