Male Babysitters: Your Opinion?

a reply to: Atsbhct

I only have 1 child, a daughter. She had many babysitters, including what I called 'mother's helpers' until she was almost 15. At that age it was to make sure she did homework and chores before I got home from work and didn't zone out on texting.

Whenever I asked neighbors or put up an ad, only females replied.

I had a couple of borders, males, that babysat occasionally. They weren't particualrly interested in babysitting and my daughter would mainly bother them to death. They did not want to, say, dress Bratz dolls and position them on the Barbie Dream Cruise Ship.

If a male with good references from neighbors had presented himself, I probably would have hired.

a reply to: Atsbhct

Absolutely. You need to trust the individual not a gender.

I'm not sure why the stereotypes exist, I mean, I never had any sort of verbal altercation from any parent about my being male and working in a preschool with their children. I could definitely tell that when I first met some parents they were awkward around me. But once they got to know me and the education and experience I had with young children, they would relax, and in most cases, became fond of me. My coworker's loved me and were sad to see me go. I was the only male that company had ever hired to be a teacher's aide. This was for a HeadStart program. I dealt with families from all socio-economic backgrounds, but mostly families who were struggling financially, usually without many male role models in the picture. The majority were Hispanic families with English as a second language. So the cultural differences were a factor in how the families viewed me as well (I imagine.) I'm a white male in his mid 20's. But I excelled in the position and became the site's family advocate, which entailed setting appointments for dental and health care for the children. Shots and checkups and glasses prescriptions. I believe honestly that by the time I left that place, they actually really appreciated having a male in the classroom.

The point being that just because I was a male in a female dominated occupation, I shouldn't be expected to act any less professionally.


Now this isn't to say that I would necessarily hire a 15 year old boy to watch my children, I haven't had anyone but family watch them alone. Outside of daycare, that is.


a reply to: Atsbhct

originally posted by: Atsbhct
a reply to: grainofsand

But are they? Or is that just what we're led to believe? It's certainly what I would have thought.

According to one website, which I admittedly just googled:

Who is most likely to abuse or neglect children? Of child abuse cases in 2012, in over 80% of the cases the parent was the perpetrator. In 2012, more than four-fifths (82.2%) of perpetrators were between the ages of 18 and 44 years while two-fifths (39.6%%) of perpetrators were in the 25-34 age group. Of the 2012 child abuse cases, 45.3% of the perpetrators were male and 53.5% were female.

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Link


Edit: that's exactly what my parents told me, and what I imagined I would tell my child.

I see the stats you gave, but I am not sure what all they include. I do know stats say a family member is more likley to abuse a child than a stranger. But I would still be more careful in choosing a male sitter. Not that I wouldn't.

It would also depend on the child. Thinking about mine, at about older than 8, God help the babysitter of any gender that did anything inappropriate. I would be coming home to a serious medical emergency and it wouldn't be my daughter that needed attention.

Teenage males tend to invite over teenage females and that's how more babies are made....then in 9 months your babysitter becomes unreliable.....

Short term at best is my answer.

a reply to: Atsbhct

Would i hire a male bbysitter? no. I don't hire babysitters.

Would males make good babysitters? To say "no" is misandrist. But the reality is, millions of years of evolution has created 2 different minds within our species: male and female. And each mind has strengths and weaknesses. Im surprised that more women aren't database admins, as a side note.

But i feel that women come equipped with more of the tools necessary to be childcare providers of a high quality. Men can do the job, but we aren't typically geared towards that particular task. But we ARE more geared to chucking spears, so make better quarterbacks on the whole.

Yeah, dumb example....but you get my point.

a reply to: Atsbhct

I did a LOT of babysitting as a teen, and I don't know of any guys that did back then. There may well have been some, but I didn't know about it. I think most parents prefer girls because they are far less likely to do something nasty to the kids. Not that they can't, mind you, but it's less likely. That said, my older son did some sitting for a friend a couple of times. He has three younger siblings, and learned how to help with them, and we knew them, so it worked out. I don't think the friend would have hired just any random guy sitter, though. I guess it's more a case of, how well do you know them? How good are your instincts for someone who would be trouble? That applies to any sitter, male or female, in my book! With my own, it tended to be either family or an older sibling, or a close friend. Never actually had to hire some kid. Really liked that, to be honest. Most sitters are probably cool, of course, and safe, but there is always that small chance, and with what e can read about kids doing to one another, hiring some stranger to mind the kids can be a scary proposition!

All in all, trust your instincts. If something seems off, even a little, don't do it. Creeps can be hard to spot.

a reply to: Atsbhct

i used to baby sit when i was a teenage boy for my moms friends when they wanted to go out and party, and within in the past couple years have been asked to babysit my neighbors kids(but i guess that is different since i have two kids myself).

I think it really comes down to trust, i think when i was asked back in the day the parents knew me and had seen me with my little brother and with her kids at softball games and bbqs and stuff playing and having a good time, so it probably just clicked that i should be the baby sitter.

So yeah i would say trust ,and get the teenager you want to babysit and see how he/she is around the kid/kids, if it is a fit and the kids like the prospect of hanging out with the teenager then go for it.

I do believe i had a cpr and first aid card as well for something else i was doing at the time so i bet that made my moms friend feel better.

a reply to: Atsbhct

Yes, I'd hire one. Being a male, I had several male babysitters. They were more like older brother/friends down the street, but my dad paid them while he worked. It was fine. Not much different with female child/male babysitter.

Just check everyone out. Male-Female-Transexual!!!!!!

I have two kids, I wasn't willing to leave them with anyone.

Yeah, I was overprotective.
But my kids are alive, healthy, and I didn't have to worry about all this stuff.