Do you train you babysitter in gun use?

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http://www.portlandtribune.com/news/story.php?story_id=124299579912377400

So here is a link to a story about a daytime home invasion that happned here locally. While I am glad nobody got hurt (this time) I really wish more of these stories ended with the bad guys either in jail or in the hospital.

The odd thing about the story is that 2 guns were stolen during the invasion. That means that a home invasion was successful in a house that was armed with at least somewhat easily accessible guns.

My question is if you hire an adult baby sitter would you talk to them about how to use handguns and possibly even given them access to a lockbox with the gun?

Its unclear from the story whether this is the babysitters house or if she was at somebody elses house.

It dawned on me that when I was like 16 or 17 I use to babysit for the guy across the street and I knew where he kept his 12gauge. It was accessible to me but not the child and I am sure that had the door been kicked in he would have had little issue with me using it to defend his house and his kid. Just makes me think.



he Clackamas County Sheriff's Office is investigating a broad-daylight home invasion in Happy Valley.

The victim, Julie Ann Ackerman, 38, says two men came to the door of her house on Southeast Natalya Street, and told her they had run out of gas and needed to use the phone.

When she told them to wait while she went for her cell phone, the men pushed their way inside her house.

One of the men pulled a knife while the other went through the house, stealing cash, jewelry, medication, and two handguns.

Ackerman said she did what the robbers told her. She wasn't hurt. Neither was the infant she was babysitting.

Sheriff's investigators believe the suspects had been canvassing the neighborhood.

One of the men, who speaks with a Russian or Romanian accent, asks for money for a relative who is sick and needs to pay medical bills.

Detetctives say one of these suspects may have been the same person who knocked on the victim's door last week.

Here is a description of the suspects, provided by the Clackamas Sheriff's Office:

#1: White, male, 30-35 years-old, 5'10" tall, short light brown hair – described as short, but spiky. Also described by the victim as having very light and bright eyes and a slight gab in his upper-front teeth. This suspect is further described as muscular and clean-cut in appearance. He is also recognized by his distinct Russian or Romanian accent. This suspect was wearing a blue button-style shirt and blue jeans. He was armed with a knife.

#2 (see composite sketch): White, male, 30-35 years-old, 5'08" tall, short dirty-blond hair, with a thin build. This suspect was also referred to as clean-cut in appearance. Observed to have been wearing a white polo-style shirt with green horizontal stripes, blue jeans and white tennis shoes. Also possessing a strong Russian or Romanian accent.

The knife used by the suspects was described to have a curved blade and black handle.

The Clackamas County Sheriff's Office urges anyone with information to contact its confidential Tip Line at 503-723-4949.
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Judicious application of lethal force isn't a babysitter's job, in my opinion, and to expect it is pretty absurd.

Having a close family member or the like who you know has some firearms training as the babysitter is a different story, but the sociable high-school girl from down the street? Have her put your number in her phone with two 'A's in front of it, put 911 into her cell phone, and don't go far from home if you're worried about it.
 
Having a close family member or the like as the babysitter is a different story, but the sociable high-school girl from down the street? Have her put your number in her phone with two 'A's in front of it, put 911 into her cell phone, and don't go far from home if you're worried about it.
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Oh I agree, but in this case the babysitter was 38yrs old. It not so much that I expect my babysitter to also run a tactical operation. Its more like showing the babysitter how to safely operate the gun. Such training can take less than 30minutes.

Growing up my mom hated guns but Dad worked night so your damm right that she knew how to open the gun box and use the gun inside it.
 
Even hinting at the fact that a babysitter could or should protect your children using lethal force should warrant a big wad of cash, i.e. whatever bodyguards make per hour, then double that since a bodyguard actually knows what he's doing. As another note, I think it's a horrible idea from a legal standpoint.

Giving a cursory rundown on firearm operation may take 30 minutes, but does that mean that they can effectively use it? Can you cover judicious use of lethal force and expect them to comprehend it in 10 minutes? What if they get scared, use it, and break the law? Do you think for a second they won't tell the police "I didn't want to, but he made it seem like it was my job to use it if I needed to"? That won't be an enjoyable testimony to listen to in court.

An all-around bad idea in my opinion, save for some unique circumstances. In those cases, however, the person in question likely won't be "the babysitter". They will be "uncle Bob" or "grandpa" who happen to babysit your kids.
 
it would depend on the sitter. some people just will not touch a gun <.....>, and some will. i would not expect a sitter to do armed security. but if she was interested, AND i knew her well enough to know that she wasn't going to go "psyco" on us, i would give her access to the shotgun, but not the handguns. first, unless we have been shooting together, i would have no idea how good she was as far as accuracy is concerned. i do not want someone shooting my own kids. also, i would need to be pretty certain that she could use it to take a persons life if it came down to that. i do not want to be giving a firearm to someone who would use it against her & my kids. it is a tough call, and not something i would do or ask of a new sitter. it would have to be someone i knew and trusted for some time. so far, the only person i would trust this responsibility with is my dad-in-law (my parents are both alreadt gone) and my brothers. but i would not have to give them a weapon, they have plenty of their own!
 
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Naah.

Our baby sitter was most often the in-laws or parents. They have all been shooting since before I was alive. Trying to "train" them would likely have not been well received.
 
Yes. She was shooting long before the baby came though.

My wife doesnt work, and my mother and inlaws enjoy having the baby, so we dont have a babysitter.
 
My wife didn't work when the kids were of baby sitting age either. But we still went out occasionally. I am sure she loves the baby/ kids but every woman needs a break every now and then even if they won't admit it.
 
Personally, I won't hire any babysitter unless she demonstrates proper technique in slicing the pie.

We then use Sim rounds in force-on-force training.

I make those girls EARN their $3 an hour!
 
I think it really depends on the babysitter.
16 year old girl form down the road = not a good idea
My parents and siblings = yes (it’s more of like a gun in location xyz)
My bother-in-law and his wife = maybe… would need to give them some serious range time before allowing that (they don’t have any experience).
My mother-in-law (even if she was allowed to babysit, not trust worthy) = NO, I’m better off teaching the dog.

Most of the time it is my parents that babysit (they are cheap (junk food or a pizza) and dependable, only problem is bedtime is a relative thing with them). I am lucky to have this luxury and not have to worry about if the babysitter will be protecting the little ones. The other nice thing is I don’t have to worry about the babysitter coming across any of my shooting (guns and ammo is secured).
 
If you (anybody) did ....... I hope your home owners insurance is top of the line.
The liability for such an action would be "big" to say the least if something happened to the B/S. Forget the perp, you`d be sued by the B/S family, right out the front door. IMHO. Bad idea.
 
You've got to be kidding right??? :what::eek::what::eek:

Think about the legal complications and liabilities in the event YOU ever have to shoot someone in SD. Now think about the further complications when your sitting in a court room and the babysitter is sitting on the stand pointing at you and saying... that's him (her).. he's the one who showed me where the gun was hidden and taught me how to use it in case there was a (break in, life threatening situation, nuclear war, biker gang invasion)...I didn't want to but he made me.

I am with the very, very, very bad idea crowd.
 
her house
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Looks pretty clear that the baby sitter was caring for the child in her own home.

I agree with others who have said a baby sitter is not hired as a security escort.

On the other hand, just as we make sure that our sitters have first aid training we also make certain we cover security issues so we know that they're not opening the door for anyone for any reason unless it is a neighbor.
 
A 38 year old woman answers the door to two strangers (men no less!) and says "let me get the phone"? Jaysus, she may as well have said "let me get the rubbers and the ky..."
 
Sorta sad The Great Society is raising a bunch of folks that do not have common sense and cannot think for themselves.

Time was, a baby sitter, be this family, or a neighbor, knew first aid, how to handle emergencies ( and this was long before 911) and if need be, stop a threat with various tools , including firearms.

Thanks a helluva lot LBJ!
 
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