On Wed, 13 Apr 2011 21:35:21 -0700, Ranée at Arabian Knits
> wrote:

> Our eldest is 12 1/2. We trust him to watch his siblings for a short
> while when we are gone. Both my husband and I were babysitting
> non-family by that age. Our 10 year old is also capable of keeping an
> eye on his siblings for an hour or two. Even our eight year old son can
> watch his little sisters and brother while we are out of the house, but
> available on the property.

You don't need to make excuses or apologize for a 12+ year old
babysitting. Back when my kids were kids, the legal age for
(unsupervised) babysitters was 11.

--

Today's mighty oak is just yesterday's nut that held its ground.