1. Tips for PickingBabysitterswww.fridayschildmontessori.com

2. One of the good things about summertime is that schools are closed, which means that if youwant to go out for the evening, itseasier to find a helpful teenager tobabysit your children if youhavent got one of your own. 3. But before you go and grab the14-year-old next door to comeover and babysit your pre-schoolers, you might need to stopand have a think. 4. First of all, what does the LAW say? 5. The law in Australia, according to the Raising Children Network of Australia (http://raisingchildren.net.au), is abit vague on this point, and thereis no minimum age forbabysitters, 6. and parents are expected to judge for themselves whether a particular older child or teenageris capable of handling theresponsibility of looking after pre- schoolers. 7. If you are one of the many who has come from New Zealand tothe Gold Coast, this may be a bitof a surprise for you, as theminimum legal age for babysittingin that country is 14 years. 8. In general, most teenagers shouldbe able to babysit two children fora couple of hours or for anevening fairly competently. 9. Use your common sense, ofcourse. If you think that the 14-year-old next door is a bit of a larrikin and youve seen him orher being hauled home by the cops, then maybe this isnt thebest person to look after your children. 10. However, if that 14-year-old seems to be reasonably sensibleand polite, then you can probablystart asking the questions. 11. And you should ask questions,even if youre asking your teenageniece or nephew or your best friends daughter to do thebabysitting for you. 12. Ask a few basics like what he/shewould do in the case of a fire, andwhat they would do if a child gotsick. 13. You probably dont need to demand a first-aid certificate anda police safety check, but look forsomeone who seems to have their head screwed on. 14. Most people assume that babysitters are girls. However,there is no reason why a teenage boy cant babysit pre-schoolers. 15. In fact, if you want someone tolook after a four-year-old boy, anolder boy is often quite a good bet older boys will be quite happy totire your little boys out withboisterous games and, if given thechance, will teach them how to play rugby and similar games. 16. And your little boy is probablygoing to see the older one as asort of superhero. 17. Its a generalisation, but its probably better to get a girl as ababysitter if you have a baby that needs care, as girls are more likely to be willing to do some ofthe more down-to-earth tasks likefeeding, changing and gentleplaying. 18. Some people worry about thepotential for their children to bemolested if they ask a teenage boy to babysit younger girls. 19. There is no denying that this risk does exist. 20. However, a teenage boy who youknow quite well and who shows a healthy interest in girls his own age (and thus is unlikely to be interested in little kids)is probably safe enough. 21. Want more articles about childrenand learning?Visitwww.fridayschildmontessori.com