What’s the Legal Minimum Age for Babysitting Siblings in Massachusetts?

When I was growing up, my brother would babysit me. You would think that would be a good idea for my parents. It's a great way to save money and good for him to hone his skills when it came to responsibilities. For the most part, it was a pretty decent system but with the two of us being boys that are 8.5 years apart in age, we would get into some pretty decent physical battles as most brothers do. We would be wrestling, putting each other in headlocks (with him always getting the advantage), and knocking over furniture. Sometimes you would think there was a rock band in our house sharpening their hotel-trashing skills.

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As I mentioned, these physical altercations didn't happen all the time. It came to a point where even though he was still watching me, I was old enough to the point where I took over his paper route which enabled me to have my own responsibilities while making some money. I have to admit, even though we would get into tussles, I found it to be pretty fun...call me crazy, but it was. As I think about those times, I started wondering the following question...

At What Age in Massachusetts Can You Legally Start Babysitting Siblings? 

According to various web sources, there isn't a set or minimum required age to babysit other children in the Bay State. It's subjective and based on maturity level. However, the website Kidsit, which is a website for babysitters, suggests that generally speaking, kids around the age of 11 or 12 can start babysitting siblings for short periods of time. As the babysitter becomes more experienced, the time period can increase but parents shouldn't leave their kids overnight until the babysitter is 16.

Further Reading for Massachusetts Youth Babysitters

So, legally it doesn't really matter where you live whether it's Boston, Westfield, Worcester, Pittsfield, etc. as there isn't a legal minimum age for children to babysit their siblings in Massachusetts but to make sure your child is ready, you can get more babysitting suggestions by going here.