legal babysitting age?

[cheyanne]

Hi, wanted to know if anybody knows the legal age for someone to do babysitting?

I have two children age 6 and 10, my nephew is 15, a sensible boy. Was wondering if he is allowed to babysit his cousins?

Tried googling it, on there it looks like the age limit is 14. But not sure.

Thanks in advance.

[trinity]

I don't know what the legality of it is but I would be perfectly happy to let a sensible 15yr old babysit for the ages you mentioned.

[Ann]

I think it's 14, certainly my daughter has done since that age. If you're happy with your nephew go ahead. I'm sure a lot more boys would babysit if people gave them the chance.

[njc97]

Did some googling a month ago. No legal minimum, just are they old/sensible enough that you trust them.

[londonloves]

It depends what perspective you're coming from-if your babysitter is under 16 then they are still a child and legally the responsibility of their parents so leaving anyone under 16 with children is legally the same as leaving your children "home alone". However there is actually no law on how old a child needs to be to be left "home alone"-its left to common sense.The other perspective is that of when is a child old enough to work which is 13 for most jobs-part time obviously. Legally i think children under 16 cannot work after 7pm at night-and not for more than 4 hours at a time-which technically means most parents in the UK have broken the law on a friday night-so i think its one they "turn a blind eye" to.

[bonaome]

Spunds like it's up to you to use your judgement. See http://www.nspcc.org.uk/HelpAndAdvice/Parentsandcarers/HomeAlone/homealone_wda35965.html