Is There Anything Wrong with Using a Guy Sitter?

My favorite sitter when I was a kid was this 16 year old boy across the street, Darren. I have 2 little brothers so I was always 'one of the guys' anyway and it was way cooler to play nerf guns and GI Joe than it was trying to have female babysitters dress me and my brothers up like baby dolls ;) Now, I would not have a problem having a male sitter for my 2 daughters and son... In fact, they'd probably have way more fun with it!!

Not at all. It is not typical but there is nothing wrong with it. I actually find my daughter behaves better when we pick her up if one of her uncles has watched her than if one of the grandmas or an aunt has watched her. At least one of them will even let her put her dress up stuff on him (too funny!).

No, I don't think so at all! I specifically seek out male PCA's for my youngest son with special needs and have also sent my 13 yr old son to babysitter training at the Red Cross. It doesn't really matter the gender to me, just who is most qualified to watch my kids. I prefer the male PCA's overall for my youngest because they spend quite a bit of time together and they tend to do more "boy" stuff when it is a guy, which my little one enjoys more.

Nope. What ever you are comfortable with and whatever your child is thriving with is always the right answer.

no, not at all. I am not even going to read the other responses, so I may echo (I hope!) what others are saying.
I am the oldest of 5 children, the younger 4 are boys (well, men!). Some of my brothers watch my boys and are GREAT at it. They are a bit more fun then girls, I think. They get out in the backyard and kick the ball around, jump on the trampoline, throw the football, play Wii...very physical. it's exactly what my boys need! We also have a very good family friend (10 years now) who is great with my boys. He loves my kids and has known them since they were born. In fact, just last week he was at my house rocking my new baby girl for 2 hours.
I think it is so sad that people automatically think that just because someone is male they are not going to be good babysitters. Why? Men are great dads, good husbands, good sons...it just doesn't make sense to me. (and if it's a "predator" or "sexual" thing then your MIL needs to be reminded that men AND women do horrible things to children...and it's because they are horrible people, not because they are men or women.)
L.

I have 3 boys. When they were younger we had male and female sitters.
I found that the guys did a better job and my boys always looked forward to Andrew or Kyle coming to watch them!
Because the boys understand boys and like to DO things with them.

The male sitters took them down the street to the park or played ball with them, or taught them how to build really complex things with their Legos.
(I think the teen guys loved to come sit our kids so they could do legos too!!)

Common complaints I heard were that the girl sitters didn't do anything or spent time talking on the phone. Which was very much against my instructions!
I switched to guy sitters all the time for them after my oldest told me a girl sitter went out onto our front porch for a few minutes to talk to her boyfriend when my kids were supposed to be going to bed. And then she told the kids not to tell me. I was furious!
None of the guys every pulled anything like that.

Most people would say no, and if this was someone you didn't know, I'd say absolutely not (my BIL is a cop and told me never to leave my child with a man, just because of what he's seen). However, you clearly know this guy really well, and you've known him for many many years. If your son is thriving with him, then more power to you!

If you know and trust them, which I assume you do or you wouldn't leave your child with them, then why not? However, male or female, if you have any feelings of hesitation....... go with the gut.

Not at all- my BIL has always been my son's favorite sitter and we have a "mother's helper" who is an 11 yr old boy that my son adores b/c he will take him outside and run around like a crazy man, which our female sitters don't do.

If you like them and your son likes them, go for it!

Its not like you are asking some stranger on the street to watch your son!!! I think its cool and I bet your son loves it!! :-)

As long as the person caring for your son is attentive, meets his needs, cares about him and is someone you're comfortable with, then their gender shouldn't matter :o)

I'm sure the concern stems from the fact that males are far more likely, statistically, to perpetrate than females. In that way, I'd be cautious about allowing a male to babysit, say, if you were using a service to contract the sitter or using a sitter that you don't know well.

If the male sitter is a well known and trusted friend or family member, then I'd see no reason why that wouldn't be as good an option as a female sitter. The key is trust.

Not at all!! Whoever you are close to and you trust and has a relationship with your son is what counts, not their gender. Don't worry about the comment from your MIL.

I think it is ok if the person is completely trustworthy and you feel comfortable with it than it should be fine.

I don't think it matters if they are male/female as long as they love your child and do a good job of taking care of them.

M

Hi D.! No, I don't think there's anything wrong w male caregivers for your kids. Lol, my mom said the same thing as your MIL. We have a great male friend who watches our boys, and the kids usually have more fun w him than with our female babysitter. You have always chosen people that you trust, and that's definitely the most important aspect of choosing a caregiver.

Best wishes!
J.

No, not weird. My two brothers babysit my girls for us from time to time, and I know I can count on them in a pinch to happily help out. They love my kids and I trust them. We would have male friends that we trust watch the kids, but it's never come up. Thinking that a man watching your kids is strange makes me wonder what kind of experience your MIL has had with men...?

My favorite babysitter when I was a child was a male cousin. My parents went out with friends pretty much every Saturday evening and my sister and I always had a babysitter. We loved it when my male cousin was the babysitter as opposed to the female ones. He played games etc and the female ones were quieter and wanted to watch tv.

If you trust the person I dont see why it would matter.

I think it's always assumed that a baby sitter is female. I wouldn't say it's weird but I would always gravitate to a female to watch my kiddos. That's just me and you feel comfortable with your arrangement so I guess it doesn't matter what anyone else thinks.

Thats just her 'old school' way of thinking LOL as long as you TRUST the person who watches your son ~doesn't matter what sex they are :-)

.

I have 4 boys and they do much better with our male babysitter. He watches movies with them, plays video games, plays tractors, plays outside, etc. I get much better reports on behavior from our male babysitter than any of the females we've had (including MIL).

I have 3 boys and they have a guy sitter who is great. He works as a coach for our school district and is engaged to the gal we used regularly for babysitting.

Our best babysitters for our 2 boys were males. They were sons of our family friends. Now my oldest is old enough to babysit, so we don't have sitters anymore, but I never thought twice about having male sitters.

there's nothing wrong with it. Would she rather you let strange women you dont know watch your son, as opposed to your friends?

It is wierd if you don't know the guy well. If you know this male babysitter very well, then it's fine. But otherwise, I would steer clear of male babysitters due to something sexually inappropriate possibly happening.

I had a great male babysitter once, he was the asst teacher in my oldest son's classroom. He was such a great guy, he moved away and we all miss him.