Dadtalk

Family - babysitters, child employment

The minimum age that a child can undertake part-time employment is 14 although some local councils allow children of 13 to undertake occasional ‘light work’ such as paper rounds. A child under 13 cannot be employed at all other than to take part in performances, sports and modelling where payment is made for the child’s participation.

The national minimum wage does not apply to children under 16. There are also restrictions on the hours of work a 15-16 year old may carry out, they cannot start full time work until after the compulsory school age. For more information see the article at the Children's Legal Centre

Babysitters

There is no minimum legal age a person for babysitters. However, guidance from NSPCC suggests a parent should ideally choose a babysitter who is over the age of 16 and need to carefully assess any babysitter under this age. You should be aware that under some circumstances, parents could be prosecuted if any harm comes to their child whilst in the care of a babysitter who is aged 15 or under. For more information see the article at the Children's Legal Centre

Childminders

Childminding is not babysitting. It is unlawful for anyone other than a registered childminder to receive payment for childminding. To understand the difference and to find out more visit the National Childminding Association

Home alone

The law does not specify an age at which it is ‘safe’ to leave your child at home alone. It is up to parents to judge the maturity of their child when making this decision. Parents commit an offence if leaving a child at home alone puts them at risk. The Children’s Legal Centre provides a checklist to consider when thinking about leaving your child at home alone.

Adding your name to the birth certificate

If you were not married to the mother and you would like your details added to the birth record, a re-registration will be required so that a new birth record can be created to replace the original one. To do this, you will need to complete a form GRO185 (Application by mother and/or father for the re-registration of their child's birth). The full details about completing your application - such as who needs to sign it and whether you should enclose any other documentation - appear on the form.

If you and the mother cannot attend the register office together to give the information for the new entry, you may find that you also need to complete a form 16 (Statutory declaration of acknowledgement of parentage), available here as a PDF .

You can obtain a form from any register office in England or Wales or from Corrections and Re-registration Section at the General Register Office (GRO) by telephoning +44 (0)151 471 4806 or e-mailing This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Once completed, you need to take your paperwork to your local register office - in some cases it may then need to be sent on to Corrections and Re-registration Section at the GRO in Southport for processing.

If you do not believe that the mother will consent to your details being added to the birth record you will be required to make an application to the court for a Parental Responsibility Order. This order is normally made by the court unless it is clearly contrary to the welfare of the child.

Once you have gained parental responsibility through a court order you can make an application to amend the birth register provided that you are able to produce the parental responsibility order as evidence.

Parental responsibility

Parental Responsibility (PR) is defined by law as: "all the rights, duties, powers, responsibilities and authority which by law a parent of a child has in relation to the child and his property".

In practical terms, those with PR will always be involved in important decisions relating to their child. Mothers and married fathers automatically have PR, unmarried fathers do in some circumstances but those who don’t can obtain PR in a number of different ways. For more information on PR, see the article at the Children's Legal Centre

To download a factsheet from Gingerbread on parental responsibility go to their website and follow the link to Information Online.

Smacking

The law says it is unlawful to smack a child unless it amounts to a ‘reasonable punishment’. This level of punishment is not defined in law but is assessed on a case-by-case situation. As a general rule, if a smack leaves a mark it may be seen as ‘unreasonable’ punishment. It is illegal for teachers, nursery workers etc. to smack your child, although a person employed privately by the parent (such as a childminder) may be given permission by the parent to use ‘reasonable punishment’ in the form of a smack. At this stage, whilst there has been pressure on the government from both within the UK and the EU community to ban smacking, this has not been done. For further information on the law and advise on when smacking becomes a criminal offence, visit the Children's Legal Centre

The NSPCC gives ‘top ten tips to be a great parent without smacking’

Adoption and Fostering

Private fostering is defined in law as anyone looking after a child under the age of 16 for 28 days or more by private arrangement between the parent and carer. If you are considering looking after a child for 28 days or more, you should seek legal advice on your position as there are regulations covering such situations.

BAAF – British Association for Fostering and Adoption – provides in-depth information on the law relating to fostering and adoption.