I wonder if hiring teens to be babysitters is an American thing? It's unheard of in my mother's Thai family... you just don't ask non-family members to watch your kids. I never had a babysitter, as a result, and I also never had the chance to babysit other kids (I lived in a relatively rural area with no young kids around, and I'm an only child). Sometimes I wish I'd had the experience, since I am still rather intimidated by small children... but I guess that comes with my own children, eventually. It's true, I've never changed a diaper!
Also, how many boys get hired to be babysitters? It seems unfairly limited to girls, because of the expectation that they will be more "domestic" and responsible. I sure know I wasn't capable of cleaning house and wiping butts when I was in my early teens.
