Mother Arrested for Using 13-yr-old as Babysitter
Mother Arrested for Using 13-yr-old as Babysitter
Wednesday, May 30, 2012 by Kim Shannon from Buzzworthy Bulletins
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When does one become qualified to babysit? Is there a specific age or grade level that accurately measures the aptness of a sitter?
A 39-year-old woman was arrested for leaving her four children – ages 13, 10, 4, and 1 1/2 – alone at home while she attended church. According to this article, she left the children in the care of her eldest child; but when a neighbor called the police, stating that the 4-year-old wandered into the yard across the street alone, this mother was charged with “risk of injury to a minor.”
Some people are criticizing the mom, while others are pointing fingers at the neighbor, “accusing her of acting in anything but a neighborly way.”
When I was 13 years old, my parents felt I was qualified enough to be entrusted with my 9-year old sister and 5-year-old brother while my mom went to the grocery store, or while my parents went out to dinner for a Friday-evening date. I don’t know if they would have done the same if I’d had an even younger sibling; but regardless, they were never gone that long, and they were never too far away. If my younger brother had wandered out into a neighbor’s yard, I think that neighbor would’ve walked him back over to my house and then, perhaps, stayed until my parents returned. Or, that neighbor may have just returned him and scolded me, warning me about the possible dangers, and would’ve later told my parents what had happened.
I also don’t think my little brother would’ve wandered off without my knowledge. I was a bossy 13-year-old, and I loved authority and responsibility. My siblings probably hated when I was left in charge. I was a helicopter babysitter, just as I am a helicopter mom (I make no apologies for my hover-hover-hovering).
Times have definitely changed since I was 13 and children wandering out in streets or into neighbors’ yards can lead to much more dangerous situations than they once would have; but have the times changed so much that using a 13-year-old babysitter is considered child neglect, or “risk of injury to a minor”?
When does one become qualified to babysit? What do you think?
http://www.everydayfamily.com/blog/mother-arrested-for-using-13-yr-old-as-babysitter/
Quoting Homeschoolmom99:She was at church not in a truck doing drugs! I was raising my brother going on three years by the time I was 13! Do they not have better things to charge folks with?
Quoting opal10161973:
Ridiculous! In the state of FL, they only need to be 13 and to have taken a Class.
Quoting Bookwormy:
The four year old crossed the street alone & no one was aware where he was! Why does it matter that mom was at church? Clearly this 13yo was irresponsible. Which makes this mom irresponsible. What if the 4yo had been hit & killed by a vehicle? Would it not be the mom's fault because she was in church?
Quoting Homeschoolmom99:She was at church not in a truck doing drugs! I was raising my brother going on three years by the time I was 13! Do they not have better things to charge folks with?
Every kid is differnet
My DD just turned 6yo, is very mature, knows to look both ways, & I would still freak if she crossed a street by herself, with no one knowing where she was. I know an immature 4yo & I would be scared for his life & hyperactive limbs if he crossed a street by himself & no one knew where he was!
Quoting opal10161973:
Oh the prejudgement today! My brother would run the neighborhood at 7yo. People are so judgemental nowadays. Sometimes, kids play or wait until you are busy, to get away. It happens. Once is an accident. Twice is neglect. Idk, was it only the one time?
Quoting Bookwormy:
The four year old crossed the street alone & no one was aware where he was! Why does it matter that mom was at church? Clearly this 13yo was irresponsible. Which makes this mom irresponsible. What if the 4yo had been hit & killed by a vehicle? Would it not be the mom's fault because she was in church?
Quoting Homeschoolmom99:She was at church not in a truck doing drugs! I was raising my brother going on three years by the time I was 13! Do they not have better things to charge folks with?
Holder to investigate....Holder
- futureshock
on Jan. 18, 2013 at 10:06 PM