Babysitting.. could I get in trouble?

Question

I was just wondering if somebody could help me out with this question or knew anything on the topic. At the Moment i watch 2 babies plus I have an infant myself. I used to watch 3 babies plus my own but the family was military and they moved away. Well According to North carolina where I live, (so i was told) You can only watch 2 kids full time other than your family without being licensed. But my thing is I have a friend who really needs me to watch her daughter, and that would make 3 kids.. my thing is could i get in trouble? Or would i at least get a warning or something.. the other parents dont mind and they know. How does that work?

Answer 1

oh heck, when my daughter was born I had no child support and no maternity leave and I was not going to work out and leave her. So when she was 3 weeks old, I put an ad in the paper and I babysat 8 kids for her first 6-12 months of her life. Mind you they were not all at the same time... sometimes I had one, sometimes we were almost all there! There are regulations and I have not heard of two. Usually here it is only 2 kids under two and 4 over 2, or something like that. I would ask the other parents if they mind. If they are ok with it, you can do it 'under the table' so to speak. As long as you feel safe about it. Watching kids is very important and YOU need to feel that you can do it safely and supervise them properly. Younger kids need alot more and it also depends on how your house and yard is setup.  

Answer 2

Call your local Child Protective Services and ask them. They know the law for sure, and if you were to get into trouble they would be the ones called in to investigate so their opinion is one that matters. If you don't have a Child Services in your area call the non-emergency police line. Do whatever they say. If you need to get licensed then so be it- If you are watching that many babies it could only help. I think you have to be CPR certified to get licensed and that knowledge can only help. They may even know of a program that can help with fees if money is an issue.  

Answer 3

I cant tell you that you wont get in trouble,I don't think you will but the best thing for you to do is get in touch with the childcare team at your local social services to ask the question just to make sure,u need to be on the safe side.

Answer 4

If all of the parents are okay with the 3 child and know that you aren't licensed than I don't see how you could "get in trouble".

Answer 5

I believe that the 2 child law refers to babies.  You can only legally watch 2 babies age 2yrs and younger, but more children if they are older.  I think it comes from a safety issue where if there is a fire or other emergency you have to be able to carry the 2 babies out while the others can walk out on their own beside you.  This is of course what I have been told, but laws and their details may vary from state to state.