Anyone Have a Male Babysitter?

We had one sitter who was male and my son loved it. For once he had a sitter that played video games with him instead of always entertaining his sister. :)

I had two male sitters for my boys when they were younger, and they were wonderful, but they were both family friends. I would not use a male from Sitter City.

Never. I would never have a male baby sitter especially if he's an adult.

I read a book about rasing boys and one of the things the psychiatrist said is that the curiosity teen boys have about everything sexual is just so very strong that even the nicest teenage boy can be tempted beyond what they know how to handle. If your kids are 8ish or younger, or if they're girls I'd only go with a girl. If they're 8 - 12 and boys I'd maybe consider a teenage boy I know but I'd have to know him and his family really well.

But there's no way in hell I'd have an adult man I didn't know taking care of my kids. Are you nuts? He is probably a very nice guy - but I'd never take the chance. never.

I have two boys. Male sitters are definitely preferred! The boys have so much more fun doing "guy stuff" with boys. I also find that I have far less drama to deal with with male sitters. They follow the rules and actually play with the kids.

I'm curious as to why your husband thinks it's odd. Perhaps this guy grew up with lots of younger brothers/sisters/neices/nephews and feels comfortable taking care of kids...? Why is it odd for a boy to do this but not a girl? If that's the case, when does it become "not odd" for a man to want to be around kids? Would it be odd if he said "I love watching kids...I can't wait to be a dad someday but I know I'm too young yet/waiting to meet ther right woman?" I'm just rambling here, but perhaps you see my point. It's not odd to me.

ETA: I can't help but think: How would some of you suspicious mamas feel if someone wouldn't even entertain the idea of your child babysitting their kids because he's a male? I, for one, would be highly offended that anyone would imply or suspect my sons would do anything untoward, inappropriate, or otherwise. Put your paranoia away for a moment and think about what you're saying.

NO. NO. NO.

Too many close friends with experiences I prefer not to detail here. 'nough said?

I appreciate your open mindedness, but after what I've witnessed through families close to me, I would NEVER take the risk. And yes, each time was a male babysitter. Trusted sons of family friends, I might add. One family had girls, the other had a boy.

We have three, and I love them! The kids do too. I had no qualms, neither did my hubby. Thay are great with the kids - son is 3 1/2 and daughter is 2.

ETA: The three we have were people we knew - 2 were sons of friends of ours, and one was a former student of mine who gives swimming lessons to our son in the summer. We are as comfortable with them as our female sitters, and they do tend to be more dependable than at least one of our female sitters who cancelled so much that we hardly use her any more.

YES you've gotten mixed reviews but I will say this-I have a 15 y/o young man who babysitts my 3 & 2 y/o now that my 18 y/o is in college. My children love him and often ask when he is coming back to play. My 3 y/o tells me all about what they did while we are out and is excited when I tell her he is coming over. If your kids are old enough to express themaselves, you've done all your background then there is no reason not to.

Hmmm...that just sends up red flags to me...we'll classify that under mother's intuition.

Well, this is different, but our nephew babysits our son. They have a blast--pizza, video games, soldier stuff, sports, etc.
My friends child care has several male workers and the boys love them because they'll play football, etc.
It depends. Background checks are a wonderful thing.
How old are your boys?
There's most likely safety in numbers if you find a wonderful male sitter.
I DO hate the stigma attached to men/boys. It negates all of the good done by wonderful fathers, step-fathers, uncles, and male mentors out there...but we do need to be aware and prudent when arranging child care.

I personally wouldn't hire any sitter that I didn't know well or had references from people I trusted. I most definitely wouldn't hire a male sitter without knowing him first. We have had a male sitter in the past, but we knew his family well and trusted him. Wonderful young man. Women in general are more nurturing, and sexual predators tend to be male. So, with those thrown in the mix, um, no way. Of course, most men are not sexual predators. But, what a perfect place for a guy to find victims.

Yikes! It's a shame so many people are sexist regarding babysitters. We have a male babysitter(I have a daughter and son). He goes to our church and is great! I think one would be wonderful ESPECIALLY since you have 3 boys!
There are so many women on here complaining about how little thier partner interacts with the children-then I come on here and read these comments like 'Why would a boy want to play with kids' etc. If a guy wants to spend time with children-encourage it!

This is a personal issue, personally I would not bring any man in my home around my children when I was not at home, then again a man might work better with 3 boys, my sons used to babysit for people in our church and they were prefered over a lot of the girls who wanted to babysit, so again it's a personal choice, I have seen many nanny cams where women were just horrible to the children, but I would put a nanny cam in your home regarless if you have a male or female come into your home and care for your kids, it will help to if your boys are old enough to tell you EVERYTHING. J.

I have girls so probably not. I might if it were someone I knew but never a stranger.

My stepson has babysat his sister and once or twice another child. I often trade kid-time with a SAHD friend and we're comfortable with him caring for DD. That said, I haven't had to use a service to find a sitter and everyone we use is someone we know or someone a trusted friend uses.

I do think a male sitter can be a good thing for a group of boys and I would give him the same third degree you would give anybody. Talk to his references. Meet him. See how he interacts with the kids before you head out on a date (maybe make it part of the interview). Do any sort of background check that would make you feel more comfortable.

What would your DH think of a male nurse? A male preschool or kindergarten teacher? A male coach of a young group of kids? It might help to think of him in context with other men your children might run into.

Ultimately if my DH was not comfortable, that would be that.

I have used male babysitters for my two boys and they LOVED it! I even had to threaten to start hiring girl sitters if they weren't behaving! Worked every time.The sitters were always sons of people I knew though. I once had a male sitter contact me directly thru sitter city asking if he could sit for me, which made me really uncomfortable, since I wasn't the one posting. If your boys are at the age where they are playing x box and computer games a boy sitter is much more fun. I would be sure to check references only from parents of children who are old enough to tell all to their parents. Getting a referal from a parent with a baby is useless,

I would --- with nanny cams everywhere, pop up visits, a complete background check and reliable referances.

To be honest my first response would be NO to a stranger. I have a 14 year old son he'll be 15 in May. About a year ago, maybe two, when his older sister by 2 years was getting into babysitting, he said he would like to make money too. I told him, people don't usually hire boys to babysit. He was sad about that. He's pretty good with kids, but I told him there is a lot of hesitation when it comes to boys babysitting.

We had a male daycare provider for our kids when they were younger and he was fantastic. He was not what I would consider a typical daycare provider in terms of outer appearance. He was magic with kids and everyone love him. You have to go with your gut on these things, but I wouldn't rule hime out before you meet him just because he's a man.

While my normal sitter is a girl....My back up sitter's are all male.

I also have the luck of having my best friend rooming with us...So he also watches them for us in a pinch.

I think as long as you meet ahead of time and get to know him a bit....It would be no big things.

I have never used the sitter sights before...Do they screen applicants before allowing them to respond to inquires?

I have 4 boys and our babysitter is also male. He is a 17 year old neighbor of ours and we are dreading the day that he gets a "real" job and can't/won't babysit anymore. My boys have done SO much better with a boy babysitter than any of the girls that have watched them. Boys are rough and loud and a male babysitter seems to relate to them better. I'd say go for it!

Hm. My nephew is only 11 now but he is AWESOME and I really admire everything about this kid. He's more mature than pretty much any high school student, male or female, that I've ever met. If he were a few years older, I would trust him implicitly with my children. That said, he's family. My brother, without a doubt, I would trust him over anyone including my mom or dad. Again, family. The only guy I can think of that is NOT family would be my old neighbor's son. Before we moved away, I got to know this young man that I just thought was exceptional. He had younger siblings and was very patient and gentle with my boys. My older son was only 3 and not fun for a "big kid" (10), but when he and his friend would be playing front yard tag football, or street hockey, or whatever, he would see my son standing there staring. He'd smile and hand him an extra stick and take some time to show him how to shoot. I told him he totally didn't have to do that, especially with his friend around, but he just smiled and said "oh, that's ok. part of the fun of knowing stuff is teaching". But I lived next door and was able to see how he was on a daily basis and knew his family (they were ALWAYS outside). So again, if he were a few years older, he could be an option for me. But not just any guy.
And on Sitter City....I dunno. I feel like.....why would a man (not a boy) be a sitter? It's not a "fun" job for guys, or a typical job for guys. Interesting, since my brother is a sahd and that's not typical but I'm proud of him for his decision. But it's different. I wouldn't have a guy I didn't know very well watch my children. A boy, if he were like my old neighbor or my nephew, I wouldn't mind because they "need/want" money and it's more normal for a young adult to have less options for jobs, or they're not able to have all the time jobs, so it's understandable for them to do little pick up jobs doing "whatever", including babysitting. But a babysitter, male or female, that can't show me that they are MOST reliable, cannot watch my children. Period. End of sentence! My husband's coworker kept trying to push her sister on us as a sitter when we first moved here, but I said absolutely not. She didn't phone me back twice. I feel that if I can't trust you to phone me back to say "No thank you, I'm not available", then HOW can I trust you if there was a crisis? I have one very kind adult, one college student, both referred by friends who use them regularly, and a good friend with 2 boys the same ages as my 2 boys as sitter options. I'd rather wait longer to find "the right" sitter.

My son had a male sitter when he was very young from 2-5. I would also subscribe to NY Metro Mom to teens caution.

We've only had female sitters for my girls just due to circumstances, but I have to say that I had a teenage boy as a sitter when I was a kid. He was great - always very appropriate and we had a blast with him. He was a councelor at our summer day camp, which is how we got to know him. I still have fond memories. . . .If the right one came along I wouldn't hesitate a moment about having a male sitter.