LEGAL AGE TO BABYSIT

The law gives no direction about what is the legal age for a child under the age of 18 to be able to babysit. Parents are expected to exercise their own judgment and in making such decisions the only guideline the law provides is that they make reasonable decisions about their children’s safety.

What is reasonable will depend on each individual family’s circumstances and includes the age and maturity of the child who will be babysitting and any other factors that might be relevant (such as whether the children being cared for have special needs, eg require monitoring of medication, child with a disability).

What the law does say about parent’s responsibilities towards children

Parents are responsible for the care, welfare and development of their children (Family Law Act)
It is an offence for a parent to leave their children in a dangerous situation and/or leaves a child or children unfed, without clothing or accomodation (Criminal Law Consolidation Act ss 14, 30)
The Police or Families SA have the power to remove children from situations where their safety is in serious danger and there is no guardian present (Children’s Protection Act s 16 )

Where a child under 18 years of age is left to babysit and something goes wrong who is liable?

Where a child under the age of 18 is left to babysit and the issue of negligence or liability arises it is likely that the parent or parents will be held liable for the carer in addition to the children being cared for. Where a child under the age of 18 is left in charge of younger children they will not be judged by the same standards as an adult.

There are a number of questions parents need to ask themselves before making the decision as to whether to allow older children to babysit younger children and excellent resources are located on the Parenting SA website, in particular at http://www.parenting.sa.gov.au/pegs/Peg32.pdf .