Babysitter or Parent?

[Brighter.Tomorrow]

I was reading some laws about Nonprofessional Babysitters because I'm going to be babysitting soon.
Thought most states don't have a set Age you're allowed to babysit at. Several States have a law stating, If the babysitter is under the age of 15 and anything happens to the child, the child's parent's are held responsible, while if the babysitter is over the age of 16, the babysitter is held responsible.

What do you guy's think? And what do you think the babysitting laws SHOULD be.

I think that, no matter the age, the babysitter should be held legally responsible if anything happens to the child.

[Sage]

Seems fair to me.

[ErykaInspire.]

I completely agree with you.
I guess, by the terms of the parents and legal situations with under aged children and pay wages, parents tend to hire the children more mature, but younger of age.

The parents are held responsible for hiring under aged children to babysit their children. Although the child is the one watching over the babies, I think the government is looking at the fact that the parents hired them, and they're too young to know what they're doing.

Although, I do think the child should be held responsible. They shouldn't apply for a job that they're not qualified for.

[Sith Lord 13]

I don't think there should be a hard and fast rule. Different circumstances and all that.

[INFERNO]

I think it should be as follows. Babysitters shall be minimum of 15 years old and must be shown to be mentally and physically competent for babysitting the child and for functioning, without criminal records involving children, violent crimes and/or substance abuse, have taken a basic CPR or medical aid course and shall not leave the premises of the child's house unless emergency situations call for it. If anything shall happen to the child, the babysitter if under the age of a legal adult (16 or 18 or whatever it is) shall not be held responsible depending on the damages the child and/or property endured. If the babysitter is above the age of a legal adult, he/she shall accept full responsibility of any damages caused while they were babysitting unless shown to be beyond their capability to control (i.e. car slams through house).

Lastly, it is the duty of the parents of the child to ensure the babysitter seems mentally and physically competent and are comfortable with having him/her babysit their child. If the babysitter is deemed unfit and is obvious to others at or around the time of being hired by the parents, depending on the situations, the parents of the child shall accept some or full responsibility. It is their duty to warn the babysitter of any items in particular not to interact with or items or rooms that can be dangerous and cause harm to the babysitter and/or child (i.e. broken stairs).

I think with this, there are some rules as there have to be but these rules allow for discretion based on the individual events.

[Jamie]

I would think that if someone kidnaps the child from their room while the babysitter is on the duty of watching the child, the blame should be held as something that would've been hard for the babysitter to intervene in or even know about (assuming the babysitter wasn't in the room with the child). However, if say, the babysitter drops a dish and it shatters into many of pieces and shards, and the child steps on a shard or piece and the child becomes significantly injured, then it should be the responsibility of the babysitter to take blame, as well as for other events of the like. I don't think there should be an age in which the babysitter should be held accountable, but just more leniency shown on the babysitter, due to their age, should it ever come to legal terms.

[INFERNO]

I would think that if someone kidnaps the child from their room while the babysitter is on the duty of watching the child, the blame should be held as something that would've been hard for the babysitter to intervene in or even know about (assuming the babysitter wasn't in the room with the child). However, if say, the babysitter drops a dish and it shatters into many of pieces and shards, and the child steps on a shard or piece and the child becomes significantly injured, then it should be the responsibility of the babysitter to take blame, as well as for other events of the like. I don't think there should be an age in which the babysitter should be held accountable, but just more leniency shown on the babysitter, due to their age, should it ever come to legal terms.

I'm confused, in the example of dropping a dish, how can the baby sitter take responsibility for the damages yet not be accountable? If the baby sitter was a legal adult, why would they not be accountable just as if they were 12 years old?

[ryker]

I babysit my younger brothers all the time. But in Denmark, much babysitters take a course to become one.

[Jamie]

I'm confused, in the example of dropping a dish, how can the baby sitter take responsibility for the damages yet not be accountable? If the baby sitter was a legal adult, why would they not be accountable just as if they were 12 years old?
You're mistaking what I'm saying. They should both be held accountable in the dish-dropping scenario, however, the younger the sitter, the more leniency would be necessary.

[INFERNO]

You're mistaking what I'm saying. They should both be held accountable in the dish-dropping scenario, however, the younger the sitter, the more leniency would be necessary.

But before you said "I don't think there should be an age in which the babysitter should be held accountable", meaning the babysitter is never accountable. I'm thinking you just poorly worded it but I want to make sure anyways.