At what age would you let your oldest daughter babysit younger siblings? Also would your answer change if the siblings were only a year or two younger than her?

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It depends on the kids. I think I started around 11 watching my siblings for short periods of time and was doing legit evening babysitting of my younger siblings by high school. But I was a huge dork, had safety training, and generally got along with my younger siblings.

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Definitely over 13. 
But you also have to consider how all the children get along, the maturity of the oldest, and all of their temperaments. 
Sometimes it’s just not going to happen. Some oldest want to help and don’t mind. Others feel it’s unfair to have to be responsible for their siblings (which is absolutely understandable). 
So there’s not a straight answer to this. 
My older sister (32) was watching me (29), my brother (30), and sister (21) starting at 12. We are 18 months apart and the oopsie. We were pretty easy kids and we all got along. She is also a stickler for rules.

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I won’t have my oldest watch his sibling(s). It isn’t his responsibility, my husband and I decided to have a family and grow it, not our son. Unless he expresses interest I won’t put it on him. My cousin lived with us as an older sister and she had to watch me all the time. Not only did she hate it, but  she has so much guilt for things that happened while we were kids and we are in our 30’s now. Plus, if anything were to happen I don’t want my son feeling like it was his fault or he could have prevented it. I’d rather just pay a babysitter or my best friend is a nurse and she watches them for us often as well.

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My oldest is 11 & we're able to leave her with our 7 year old for a bit. Like for grocery store runs or if I have to go to a doctors appointment or something. I have a 5 & 1½ year old that I take with me though, I wouldn't make her watch them.

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we let our 14 year neighbor babysit our 3 yo. she’s the best and super responsible. she takes care of her brother while schools out.

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Very much depends on the kids. I was babysitting my infant siblings when I was 11 for a few hours every evening while my parents worked. My parents felt I understood the responsibility and was capable of caring for them. They would’ve never left the babies alone with my first sister until she was 18 or 19, she was a hot alcoholic mess back then and they didn’t think she could handle it. That same sister is 2 years younger than me, I never “babysat” her, she was in the house with me and I let her know when dinner was ready but we either ignored each other or played together like we normally did—she could fend for herself fine she just couldn’t fend for an infant.

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I agree with the others, totally depends on all the kids, if any of them tend to be trouble makers then I dont think a sibling essentially policing them is a good idea regardless of age. If theyre all pretty easy and behaved, then as long as they can handle basic emergencies and safety guidelines, it's fine.

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Depends on their age and the oldest maturity.
But I would definitely avoid it if possible. It would only be out of desperate need or because my oldest wanted to.

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If their siblings were still young (<6 yrs old), I would say age 13. Otherwise, age 11 would be fine assuming it's a semi-responsible kid.

At what age would you let your oldest daughter babysit younger siblings? Also would your answer change if the siblings were only a year or two younger than her?

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