by The long summer vacation is there – and it makes juggling to find childcare while they are for the evening.
Formal childcare options such as children’s knives, Christmas clubs and game programs can prove to be expensive in summer.
According to a childcare survey 2025 by Children’s Charity Coram, parents have exposed holiday clubs with an average calculation of 1,075 GBP per child for six weeks – an increase in costs of the previous year by 4%. The average cost of a child’s reduction in the same period is around 1,400 GBP per child.
Availability can also be a problem if you do not work regularly or are on the way after work. This means that many parents also use informal childcare options in summer, such as family, friends and babysitters.
While you can hire babysitters via registered childcare and nanny agencies, many of us will find them through mouth-mouth recommendations or recruit local teenagers.
However, if you set someone on site, you may have some questions. For example, there is a legal minimum age for babysitters, and what should you check before you leave them with your children?
We spoke to the NSPCC to find out.
If you use a babysitter with a teenager, share it with a neighbor or friend so that he can contact you if he needs help and you cannot come home. (Getty Images)
What is the minimum age for a babysitter in Great Britain?
While there are laws on the employment of children and how many hours they can work, there is no legal minimum age for a babysitter in Great Britain. Instead, it is up to the parents to use their judgment with whom they leave their child.
Helen Westerman, the strategic service manager of the NSPCC for local campaigns, says that the charity would use someone for over 16 years. “Someone under the age of 16 could not be ripe enough and there could be problems,” she says to Yahoo UK.
If your babysitter is a teenager or your older child takes care of a siblings, it is important that the situation feels comfortable and is confident what to do in an emergency or how to act if the children they take care of does not look as they say or annoy themselves.
If you hire a babysitter of teenage age, it is also important to consider if you are under 16 years of age, you are too young to be legally responsible if your child is harm. If you have left your child with someone who cannot take care of you, this can be seen as neglect in accordance with the law.
The NSPCC suggests having a short test with a babysitter to ensure that everyone feels confident and comfortable. (Getty Images)
What to take into account before you set a babysitter
If you set a new babysitter, you should ideally ask for references and meet you beforehand.
“Imagine your child or children of this person and maybe have a small test run. It could be that you leave it in the house with your child for 30 minutes while you are in a different room to make sure you feel safe and comfortable, and your child feels safe and comfortable,” she says.
She also suggests the following:
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Leave detailed instructions, including the time in which you come back and the plan for the children, i.e. time when you have to go to bed, how high is your routine, do you have rules for screen time and if you are upset, is there a certain toy that consoles you?
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Leave them your number and all emergency contact numbers.
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Find basic rules whether you can kill friends and whether your children can have friends.
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If your child has additional or complex needs, make sure that the babysitter knows what it is and what to do in a medical emergency.
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Open the allergies of your children and all medical information and inform them where medication is stored in an emergency.
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The NSPCC also explains that it may be the safest way to inform a neighbor or friend about your plans if help is needed and you cannot come home in time.
Westerman adds that you should always follow your instincts in babysitters. “As a parent, you will know whether something does not feel quite right. Trust your intestine and do not make you an arrangement if it doesn’t feel right,” she says.
She also suggests involving some older children in the decision who will take care of them. “And when your child comes to you and says that it doesn’t feel happy or don’t want this babysitter again, explore why.”
If you use a babysitter, you should also make sure that he has a way to get home safely.
You can find instructions for leaving children alone or with a babysitter on the NSPCC website.
