A babysitter in demand at 11.

Yesterday evening I set out to track down our daughter. I thought she had taken off to ride her bike or something. I found her in our next door neighbors backyard playing with her 2 year old grandson Calin. Her daughter and son-in-law had gone to a concert and she was watching him. I went over and sat down to chat with her on her deck while the two played on the swing set. "How old is she now?" my neighbor asked. I responded that she just turned 11 this summer. "The kids want her to babysit for Calin some time." Our daughter routinely sees Calin and his Dad in the front yard and goes over to play with them. They are living next door having just moved here from Tennessee. They haven't found a house yet. I told my neighbor that we want our daughter to be 12 before she starts babysitting during daylight hours for a few hours at a time. I also want her to take a babysitting class next summer and become CPR certified. "She is so mature for her age, and Calin loves his "Kissa" as he calls her", my neighbor told me. She really is great with little kids, and I encourage this kind of interaction. I spent a significant amount of time babysitting as a teenager. It kept me off the street, and gave me a sense of responsibility, not to mention some money in my pocket. Kids I changed diapers on are now getting married and having kids of their own. Most of these kids are still close to my heart. I hope my daughter has the same opportunities as I did to spend some time with other children. This is some of the best training for later parenthood.