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Date night with my husband was just wrapping up when our 11-year-old daughter called, near tears. ?Bennett just threw Cheerios at me and he?s not listening and I don?t know what to do!? Avery wailed. Her frustration was understandable: It was her first time babysitting her little bro.

I talked her through it, and by the time we got home, Bennett, 9, was tucked in, and our canine vacuum had hoovered up his bedtime snack off the floor. Avery was calm and felt proud of her accomplishment. Most important, she said she?d be happy to babysit again.
The day you can finally call on your built-in babysitter is one many parents fantasize about. But realizing this dream is a bit trickier than hiring a local teenager who has plenty of babysitting gigs under his belt. For example, Bennett would never have pulled the cereal stunt on an experienced outsider. So how do you know if your older kid is ready" Put simply, experts say you should expect the same maturity and qualifications from your child as you would a hired sitter; otherwise, she?s not ready to be in charge.
?Just because they?re the right age doesn?t mean they?re ready to be alone with a sibling for any period of time,? says Tracey Warren, national director of injury prevention and education for Child Safe Canada. ?The parents or guardians have to decide if their child is capable of handling responsibility and, if so, what degree of responsibility.?
How to prepare

If your kid...