Would You Hire a Male Babysitter?

Hiring a Male Baby Sitter? Seems in this world of equality, parents till prefer leaving their children with a female

It’s interesting that in the world of babysitters and nannies, the majority of them are female. You gladly hire the neighbor teen-age girl up the street and think little about it. However, when a young male volunteers to be a babysitter or shows an interest in your children – many people think there is something wrong with him. The truth is that no matter whom you hire, male or female, you should have an overall sense of comfort with the person. And no matter how well you know or trust someone, you should always remain alert to foul play.
For many young boys especially, hiring a teen boy may be just the fit. He can play football with them in the yard, watch silly cartoons, and probably be a person that they can look up to in the future. He may wrestle with them eagerly and rough house while you are gone – not necessarily imposing a whole lot of rules but getting the job done nonetheless. And as he becomes a buddy to the kids, you may find that the children actually look forward to him coming. If you have a houseful of little girls, hiring a male babysitter comes with obvious reservations that are easy to understand. Still, it is unfair to immediately think a male is flawed if he likes to baby-sit.

In the big world, there are plenty of male influences from teachers to coaches that will play a huge role in your child’s development and growth. While men seem to bring something different to the table for our children than women do, they should be seen as just as capable and accepted just the same. In polls conducted by a leading baby magazine, 483 people out of 500 said that they would not hire a male babysitter to watch their children regardless of the situation. While none of them had experienced any problems with doing so, they admitted that they saw the situation unusual and one that ‘asks for trouble.’ The problem with this line of thinking is that parents seem to feel comfortable and safe with female care child takers just because they are female, and there is plenty of evidence that females can injure children just as easily as a male.

If you have a mixed family of little boys and girls, you may want to hire a teenage couple that you know to sit your kids for the night. This way the two of them can see first hand what having children is like and your little boys will have someone fun and rough to play with as well.

Parents should always do what they are comfortable with when it comes to finding people to care for their children. You shouldn’t automatically make negative or positive assumptions about anyone – and should do thorough research on every person that is left alone with your children. If you cannot find one in your area, your best bet is to take the kids along on your date or find suitable family members to watch your kids.