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Why is an 11 yr old babysitting - News story
https://www.ajc.com/news/north-fulton/11-year-old-babysitter-617778.html
This is a sad story where an 11 yr old was left to babysit a 2 yr old, and the 2 yr old died from blunt force trauma. The gil is being charged with murder, but to me, the moms should be held responsible for the child's death. An 11 yr old is not old enough to deal with a crying 2 yr old.
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Re: Why is an 11 yr old babysitting - News story
While I agree 11 yrs old is too young to be babysitting, wtf did she do to this baby?
An 11 yr old knows the difference between right and wrong. And it sounds to me like she did some awful sh!t to this baby.
A. I teach 6th grade. I work with 11/12 year olds all day. There is not one, even my gifted kiddos, that I would allow to watch my child.
B. I think mom ought to be charged with negligence for leaving her kiddo with someone so young. I would like to know some back story. Where was mom when she left her young child with this 11 year old? Was it I have to work/drive my friend to the hospital type situation, or were they out at a bar?
C. I wonder how the 11 year old have been previously treated. If she was hurting this baby, good chance she's had this kind of abuse modeled for her. Or, she was confused. I mean, perhaps she thought she needed to discipline the chld or something? Otherwise, maybe the little girl has some mental issues herself?
I agree with this. I could see if the 2 yr old got hurt accidentally because the 11yr old wasn't watching closely enough. Or if they were playing and he/she got hurt that way, but blunt force trauma? There is something else going on with that 11 yr old.
ETA: I also agree that even the most responsible and mature 11 year old should not be babysitting
OMG. wanna throw up> My crazy BIL and SIL let a 12yr old watch their 3yr and 2yr ALL the time--sometimes until 11pm at night. DH and I think it's awful---a 12yr old is just not equipped to deal with young children, and god forbid something bad happened................and I think people forget 12yrs and 11yrs is STILL a child.
UGH this is a horrific story and I seriously worry about my little neice and nephew.
I started sitting at 11, too, but it was my younger sister. She was 8.
I think there is a very fine line between what is OK in this situation.
For example, an 11 year old keeping an eye on a well-behaved 5-9 year old for a few hours in the afternoon is one thing.
An 11 year old being responsible for a rowdy toddler is another thing all together.
Thank you for saying this. Obviously it depends on the child, but I don't think it can be said that NO 11 year old is mature enough or well-equipped enough to babysit. I have two 12 year old nieces whom I would trust entirely with my toddler. They are plenty old enough (and have been for a while now) to know not to beat (or harm in any way) a child.
I started babysitting then too, after taking the same type of course. But I think the only reason I did is because I babysat a 3 year old and a 5 year old right who lived right next door. If I had problems, I could call my parents. That and the kids were pretty well behaved for me. It was just more about getting them supper, baths (sometimes) and putting them to bed.
I'm not sure I'd take the same chance though, now that I'm in the mom's spot.
Where I live you take the course at 12 and you're allowed to start babysitting if you pass. It's a 2 week class and you get taught CPR and everything. It's a sad story and that being said I wouldn't trust someone that young to watch my infant. I'm very picky about who I let watch DD anyways.
That doesn't make the situation ok, I can't even imagine.