11 year old babysitting?

[Spotthecat]

Would you let an 11 year old babysit the 5 and 8 year old in the cabin? Daytime? Evening? Late at night?

 

[quandrea]

Definitely not.

 

[Carrie in AZ]

Not a chance.

 

[Cheerio]

We did, on the first cruise my 10 and 12 year olds had homework to do. They traded off a few nights so each could stay out late and we could go to a few shows. They knew not to open the door to anyone, they were comfortable knowing how to get to the Muster station, but also instructed to stay put as we'd come back for them to get lifejackets. By the end of the cruise, my 5 and 6yo's were up pretty late anyway thanks to afternoon naps that we didn't need to sneak off.

 

[PrincessShmoo]

Would you let an 11 year old babysit the 5 and 8 year old in the cabin? Daytime? Evening? Late at night?

Generally I'm in the "no" camp. But each child and family dynamic is different. Only you know if you're comfortable with your (it is yours?) 11 year being responsible enough to control the others.

 

[Karin1984]

What do you do at home? If the 11 year old is used to babysitting his/her younger siblings (I assume), then why not, if you take precautions like @Cheerio said. The only obstacle I see is having a veranda. If the 11 year old has her eyes on one of the children, and the other escapes her attention...

 

[DWillowBay]

Nope. Never.

 

[Cheerio]

What do you do at home? If the 11 year old is used to babysitting his/her younger siblings (I assume), then why not, if you take precautions like @Cheerio said. The only obstacle I see is having a veranda. If the 11 year old has her eyes on one of the children, and the other escapes her attention...

Yeah we had connecting interior cabins, not sure I'd feel the same if we had a balcony. Only you know what you are comfortable with.

 

[mousefan73]

Would you let an 11 year old babysit the 5 and 8 year old in the cabin? Daytime? Evening? Late at night?

hmmm. it really depends.. a year ago My DD was 11 and her cousins, who she sees daily were 5 and 7. I'd be ok leaving her alone in the cabin for a short amount of time. Like leaving to have a night cap at the bar. I would probably go back and check on things if we were gone too long.. I say this as i know they would lie in bed together and watch a movie and nobody would move. And my DD always has them under control. She has watched them often alone while at home.

I would only be nervous if we had a balcony.. Just because I am paranoid.. so I might not allow this if it was a balcony room.

Though I do have to ask, where is the need? the kids clubs cover almost all hours.. unless you plan on doing the District until the wee hours..

I would be most comfortable in the evening, bedtime hours.... We have done this on family vacations already... Kids watched TV in the hotel room, we were in the lounge hanging out as adults.... Daytime.. kids get bored and wander... middle of the night, some kids might freak out if they wake up. But for us telling the kids to get into bed, have a PJ party and watched a movie was always their fun time while on vacation, while we adults hung out.

 

[jdb in AZ]

As mentioned above, it really depends on the personalities of the kids involved. Some friends of ours had their 8-yr-old babysit five younger sibs while the parents were over here visiting. They got along just fine. Would I ever do that? Nope.

 

[dad of 3 addicted to DCL]

We did when DS was 11 & the twins 9. We've sailed with a veranda 8 of 9 cruises (family of 5 here!) and after the finger waving and a stern "Don't go out there" we realized the kids weren't strong enough to open the door! Joking aside, the kids were fine. Camped out with cookies, popcorn and the remote. We got back a few hours later to snoozing 9 year-old girls and a son joyfully controlling the remote.

 

[JWG]

Yes for us. We let our 10 year old daughter watch her nieces (3 & 6). That said, it was relatives, we were in a static place (Palo), they couldn’t leave the room, and she had her iPod with the messaging app in Disney’s app.

She will be 12 this next trip and we would for sure.

 

[FigmentSpark]

Can you send them to the kids' clubs? Or at least the younger ones?

 

[Summer2018]

Absolutely not.

 

[beachdrmn]

I would if the 11 year old is responsible. It's not like your a car ride away if they needed you. Your no more than 5 minutes and if you really needed to get there you could make it in a couple minutes from anywhere on the ship. I would be most comfortable leaving them in the evening when they are wore out from an active day. Order some service so they have some snacks, put on a Disney movie they like and go. I think it would be good if they had a phone and could use the app to message me but the wave phones would work fine too. I personally think it's good for the kids to give them some responsibility. I think we baby kids way too much these days and it's why we have teens and young adults you can't trust with anything. I know when I was a kid I was babysitting neighborhood kids and babies at that age.

 

[PrincessShmoo]

Your no more than 5 minutes and if you really needed to get there

Only issue with that is, the messaging capability on DCL isn't all that great. You may not get notified until sometime after your child needs you.

 

[beachdrmn]

Only issue with that is, the messaging capability on DCL isn't all that great. You may not get notified until sometime after your child needs you.

I agree there is a delay. Maybe the wave phone would be better.

 

[heather913]

It depends on the child babysitting and the children they will be watching, but I feel like if you have to ask, you already know the answer in your situation.

 

[Spotthecat]

Thanks for all the responses. My eldest has babysat but only really while I ran to the store and back. He's also been left alone for a couple of hours while the others are at scouts. I am thinking maybe of doing a trivia session or *gasp* a movie with my husband lol.

 

[darnheather]

Yes. My oldest was very responsible and I would have had no problem with her "baby sitting" her sister in the cabin while I went to a late movie. She could have texted me at any time.