I was 11 years old the first time my parents left me home alone. That’s also the age I started my first job -- babysitting for my parents’ friends in the neighborhood. At the time I felt like such a grown up being trusted to watch kids as young as 4 years old. But now, as I look at the 11 and 12-year-olds riding their bikes and playing outside in our neighborhood I think to myself, “Wow, they just seem too young to be watching over another child by themselves.”
New research[1] , though, shows pre-teens are pretty well equipped to handle emergencies on their own. It’s the basics where they need to brush up. The American Academy of Pediactrics (AAP)[2] presented the findings at its National Conference and Exhibition in San Francisco on October 3rd.
The researchers surveyed 727 pre-teens (aged 11-13 years old) who have babysat a younger child or infant. Turns out nearly all of them (98 percent) knew who to contact if there was an intruder. 96 percent knew what to do if the child was hurt or sick and 85 percent knew who to contact if the child was poisoned. The surprising number to me was when the pre-teens were asked about the basics. A whopping 40 percent of them said they have left children unattended while babysitting. And 20 percent have opened the door for strangers. The study’s lead author says it gives them a great overall look at pre-teens’ strengths and weaknesses when it comes to child care. They can use the findings to tweak educational programs to focus more on the weaknesses.
But no matter how well trained a young teen may be, will that training come into play in a real life emergency?
What do you think? How old were you when you first started babysitting? Would you leave your child with a pre-teen babysitter?
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Source: American Academy of Pediatrics (2010, October 4). Are pre-teen babysitters able to deal with emergencies?. ScienceDaily. Retrieved October 4, 2010, from http://www.sciencedaily.com /releases/2010/10/101003081450.htm
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/10/101003081450.htm
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