We have two very responsible kids, if I say so myself! Our dear daughter is graduating from 6th grade this year. Our dear son (with the food allergies) is an assertive nine year old. Daughter has become more independent this year especially, encouraged by our son’s “endless” sports activities. Now that she has a cell phone, she is going on 18!
So… the question has come up whether daughter can watch dear son so I don’t have to “drag them along” on boring errands. This is a hard one to answer. I think they are very responsible for their ages. They can cook with the toaster oven and the microwave. Daughter can cook on the stove top and the oven if a grownup is around. She can do wash.
But… our rule is that whoever is in charge of dear son must be willing and able to give the Epipen. Dear son outweighs his older sister by at least 10 lbs. Though he is brave in the batter’s box in baseball, he HATES having his blood taken for tests. He’s never had the Epipen, so I’m not sure if that would go better.
For now then, they are coming along. I think it is most likely that dear son will be ready to give himself the Epipen before he is willing to have it given by his big sister.