How young is too young for a kid to be entrusted with babysitting? This is the question a single mom in Georgia is asking after her choice of babysitter landed her in trouble with police.
It's turned into a hot button issue, sparking debate online and launching a successful GoFundMe.
My sister was babysitting for a toddler when she was 10 or 11. That seems awfully young, but it was a different time, and no one seemed to have a problem with it.
As WXIA reported, Melissa Henderson, a single mom of five in Blairsville, Georgia thought nothing of it when she asked her 14-year-old daughter to babysit for her siblings back in May of 2020. But after one of her kids got out of the house, Henderson found herself slapped with reckless conduct charges.
Henderson says the pandemic made it difficult to work enough hours to support her kids. So when she had the chance to return to work, she took it, leaving her 14-year-old in charge as it was difficult, if not impossible, to find childcare during the early stages of the pandemic.
"My four-year-old son saw his friend next door playing and went outside to play with him," Henderson explained. "As soon as his mom saw him, she brought him into her house and called the police instead of calling me or sending him home."
While Henderson's son was never missing and never far from the house, it didn't stop the Union County Sheriff's Office from charging Henderson with reckless conduct.
Henderson said that five police cars showed up to place her in handcuffs in front of her kids. "I almost don't have words for how low it made me feel," she told Reason.
Georgia law doesn't have anything to say about minimum age for babysitters, but there are guidelines recommending that babysitters be aged 13 and older.
This would seemingly clear the path for a 14-year-old babysitter, but according to police, the age of the babysitter isn't the issue. Instead, they stated that this was the second complaint about one of Henderson's children outside the home unsupervised.
Lawyer David DeLugas told reporters that there's precedent that should absolve Henderson.
"In a nearly similar factual situation back in 1997, the Georgia Supreme Court ruled that a reckless conduct statute, which is what Melissa's charged with, cannot be used against a parent," explained DeLugas.
Nearly two years after the incident, Henderson is still facing charges. She's terrified that she may lose her children, or that something similar could happen to other parents.
District attorney Jeff Langley says that police responded appropriately given the earlier warning. Langley also said that the boy was "wandering naked in a thunderstorm," but both Henderson and her lawyer dispute this.
"We just want to make sure the children in our small community stay safe," Langley told Reason.
The GoFundMe, started by DeLugas, has a goal of bringing in $48,500, so it's almost there. Donations go towards the National Association of Parents, or ParentsUSA, an organization dedicated to fighting charges like these.
What do you think of the situation? Let us know in the comments!
