Teen Babysitting Is Fading Away, and That's a Shame

Babysitting has changed in a big way since Anna North made $5 an hour watching neighborhood kids as a teenager back in the 1990s. Today, it's "become a professionalized job with dedicated apps and a workforce of experienced adults," North writes at Vox. Teens looking to make few bucks in this age-old role are largely out of luck, which North sees as a shame for pretty much everyone involved. "Taking care of a kid for a few hours can be a formative experience for teens," she writes. They gain confidence and experience.

But "it's not just the sitters who benefit," she adds. "Kids, too, get something unique out of being watched by someone closer to their age." If nothing else, it can be "a fun break for kids from the sometimes rule-bound routines of family life." North sees a bigger-picture loss at play as well in all this. In her view, "resurrecting the culture of teen babysitting could help strengthen some of the community ties that have frayed in recent decades, leaving kids and adults alike ever more isolated from one another." Read her full essay.