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1. luckymom30
   Member Profile

   I thought it was 13 but I can't seem to find any information online.

   Posted 1 year ago #         

2. JimmyG
   Member Profile

   

   There is no law stating how old someone must be to babysit in the state of WA.

   Posted 1 year ago #         

3. luckymom30
   Member Profile

   Thanks for replying kimmyG. I did find babysitting course at area hospitals and also through the Red Cross teaching CPR. The age is 11-13 to take the course.

   Posted 1 year ago #         

4. hooper1961
   Member Profile

   i would guess it is 14 that is the age i understand parents can leave a child at home alone; heard through the grapevine

   Posted 1 year ago #         

5. JimmyG
   Member Profile

   

   There is no law which says what age a child must be to leave them at home alone. If you want to leave your 8 year old home alone, it's not against the law.
   Not saying it's smart, it's just there isn't a law which specifies an age, or that you can't leave them home alone.

   Posted 1 year ago #         

6. Diane
   Member Profile

   

   uh, JimmyG, I would check with your local police dept on that one; re age for potential child abandonment/neglect charges
   ~
   I started my babysitting career at neighbor houses where I literally walked next door or across the street, at age 13, after pleading with my parents; by then I had 5 yrs experience helping with my baby brothers; but that was in California, 1000 yrs ago; would be curious to know if there is any legal age in Washington

   Posted 1 year ago #         

7. JimmyG
   Member Profile

   

   I know there isn't a law which gives an age for leaving your child home alone, nor one for babysitting. Feel free to call SPD if you don't believe me.

   By itself, leaving an 8 year old home alone isn't against the law. There would have to be other circumstances for it to rise to a violation of the RCW.

   Feel free to try and find a WA state law that states an age for leaving your kid home alone is a crime or that says an 8 year old home alone is child neglect. Neither exists.

   Posted 1 year ago #         

8. WSB
   Member Profile

   

   I have looked this all up before and I would back up JG, fwiw.

   Posted 1 year ago #         

9. KBear
   Member Profile

   However, if you're planning to PAY the babysitter, I would think there would be some labor laws that would apply...

   Posted 1 year ago #         

10. Que
    Member Profile

    KBear, I think all of us pay babysitters cash under the table and none of us are paying Social Security or payroll tax on them. We may be surprised by what is and is not covered by the law with regards to babysitting labor laws...

    Posted 1 year ago #         

11. KBear
    Member Profile

    Then why be concerned about a "legal age to babysit"?

    Posted 1 year ago #         

12. Que
    Member Profile

    I think the question is about at what age the government thinks someone old enough to be responsible to take care of a person younger than themselves.

    I think that there are adults that know that I wouldn't trust to babysit, and there are 13 year olds who I would trust. It is a parenting judgment call. But there may be a Nanny-State rule that applies...

    Posted 1 year ago #         

13. Spazmatazz
    Member Profile

    What I have always heard is that the legal age to stay home alone is eleven, the legal age to babysit is thirteen.

    That was according to my director at one of the daycares I worked at. It was part of her job to know these things. (She was the kind of person that generally knew everything.)

    Posted 1 year ago #         

14. JimmyG
    Member Profile

    

    Well she was wrong spazmatazz.

    There is no legal age to stay at home alone in Washington, nor one for being able to legally babysit.

    Please, if you don't believe me link to the RCW that says otherwise.

    Posted 1 year ago #         

15. waterworld
    Member Profile

    

    Luckymom: JimmyG is correct that there's no minimum (or maximum) legal age for babysitting. There are, however, a couple of statutory schemes that pertain to babysitting in general.

    First, RCW 43.215 has a number of provisions related to child care providers. RCW 43.215.250 says that it is unlawful for any "agency" to care for children without a license issued by the Department of Early Learning. "Agency" is broadly defined, at 43.215.010(1) to include any "person." RCW 43.215.010(2) lists a whole bunch of exceptions, including subsection (c), which specifically excludes "Persons who care for a neighbor's or friend's child or children, with or without compensation, where the person providing care for periods of less than twenty-four hours does not conduct such activity on an ongoing, regularly scheduled basis for the purpose of engaging in business, which includes, but is not limited to, advertising such care." The statute also specifically excludes family members. So by excluding the whole class of individuals who basically fit the definition of "babysitters" or occasional providers of child care, the State has refrained from direct regulation of this form of child care. That leaves you free to hire kids of virtually any age to watch your children.

    If you want to know more about the Department of Early Learning and childcare regulations, check out the Department website:

    http://www.del.wa.gov/Default.aspx

    Second, there are statutes that are intended to help protect children and other vulnerable people from "criminal mistreatment." RCW 9A.42 lists seven or eight crimes arising from reckless or negligent abandonment or withholding of the basic necessities of life (food, water, shelter, clothing, medical care). The statute also makes it a crime to allow a child in your care to be exposed to certain controlled substances or to leave a child in the care of a sex offender. The degree of seriousness of the crimes of mistreatment and abandonment depend on the state of mind of the person caring for the child: for example, the crime of abandonment is more serious if the child was seriously injured as a result of being abandoned than if the child was at risk of injury but not in fact injured.

    Third, there are numerous ordinary crimes that apply just as much in the child-care setting as anywhere else. I mean crimes like assault, rape of a child, unlawful imprisonment, etc.

    Fourth, are child labor laws in this state. RCW 26.28.060 prohibits the employment of a child under the age of 14 "at any labor whatever, in or in connection with any store, shop, factory, mine or any inside employment not connected with farm or house work." It also prohibits the parents or guardians of the child from allowing him or her to be employed. There are exceptions for actors and performers and, amazingly, youth soccer referees. Everyone else needs a court order to get around the rule. Babysitters are not mentioned in the statute, but I tend to think that babysitting would fall under the rubric of "house work." I didn't go looking for any legal determinations under this statute.

    Another child labor law is at RCW 49.12.121 and .123, which require work permits for minors. It is unclear to me whether this extends to babysitters, or if babysitting falls under the exemption in that law for "domestic and casual" labor. RCW 49.12.185.

    There are, as noted by someone earlier, potentially issues with social security and payroll taxes. If your babysitter is an independent contractor I believe you can get around that, but there are still a number of tax regulations that may apply.

    Whew! Maybe there's no minimum legal age for babysitting, but you practically have to hire a lawyer to sort it all out.

    Posted 1 year ago #         

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