It may be good news for some but not everyone. What is wrong with having an age for everyone? It beggars belief that once you get to 65 you are grouped together. How old is your oldest sitter?
This looks like ageism to me!
I will continue to include my age in my applications and if the HO doesn’t like it, so be it, it’s their problem, my reviews will show that my age is not a problem and in some ways can be an advantage.
@Snowbird , I am glad you originally brought up this subject. Like you and many others, I am uncomfortable having my age listed. It feels intrusive. HO’s are not required to list their ages. @Amparo makes a valid point that your years do not dictate your energy level or your experience. On the other extreme, someone in their 20’s could have grown up on a farm, volunteered for rescue organizations, worked at a wildlife refuge — have a lot of experience, but be passed over for someone older. I second @travellingnomad ‘s suggestion that age ranges be used for all age groups, not just those 65 and older.
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So very true @mars! The reverse is equally true. A younger person might be rejected without a further in depth view of what that individual brings to offer.
We cannot judge and make intelligent choices when we are skewed by the assumptions often associated with categories, which is just another form of labeling.
Very similar to other topics recently.
Just something to think about and be aware of.
I agree with your points. Maybe the discussion should go deeper and we ask, why are ages shown at all? Perhaps sitters should be assessed on their other merits. If a homeowner wants to ask about age, if the sitter is short-listed, then that can be a discussion. For most sitters, photos on their profile can give the homeowner an idea of their age ‘decade’, let’s say. I realize there will be many who disagree with this suggestion, but if so, it means age is being used to judge a person, which is really without merit. @Amparo @travellingnomad
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True. It’s illegal to ask for an age on a job application, although people can use old photos on their profile to obfuscate the issue. This idea is definitely worth considering – doing away with age on the profile.
I have been a member of 3 other house sitting sites and have never been asked by them for my age.
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Age is just a number. It only reflects how long you have been on this earth. It doesn’t give you good health, fitness, wisdom or any other attribute that might help a pet parent to choose the correct applicant. Life experiences is what is important. I know some 18 year olds that have more sense and life experience than most over 59s. I know some 70 year olds that can out walk most other people. I know some 40 year olds that you wouldn’t leave in charge of a dolls house.
Read the application, read the profile, read the references and reviews and base your choice on these. Not a number or address. Not how they look, their sexual orientation or what car they drive. Base your choice on important things.
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@Snowbird @ELNF @mars … the “good news” referral was appertaining to the fix ie: to bring the App in line and achieve uniformity which was requested by a number of members.
Perhaps this should have been posted in the “Website App Differences” conversation.
Hello All,
Is a current photo not enough to show your age? Does age affect the number of sits? Just asking as I am a new member.
FYI: yesterday I had a video call with an HO, and he said his concern was not age, he was concerned that his dog might over power me. My point is the picture of the pet did not reflect his true size(50lbs). Also no mention that one of the dogs was not trained, which is my take on his concern. We will see if he accepts me for the sit. What do you all think? I am working to get my first sit. 
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I think it should be done away with altogether. For those of us in the US and Canada, in particular, it feels like it invites discrimination and violates our privacy. My first thought in setting up my profile was, “why does anyone need to know my exact age?” There are untold, sketchy sites that compile data and sell it online. This is illegal in the EU (and the UK still, I think).
Potential employers in many countries are not legally permitted to ask age (or to ask leading questions to get there); a sit is not a “job” per se, but it’s a grey area, isn’t it?
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We are closing this topic which has been open since May. Today’s App functionality announcement was to advise those members concerned about the differences in display between the App & the website that the correction had been completed.
We thank everyone for contributing to this discussion, all of your comments will be fed back to the Product team for internal discussions.
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Although I’m 67 years young, and at first on this site as a sitter. Now as a Homeowner, my upcoming sitter that I confirmed over a month ago, has asked if her 82 year old friend could come for a visit while she is sitting. She also asked if her sister could come. grrrrrrr I feel of course she should have asked this a month ago when she applied. My cat is use to one person and a female person. Anyway, getting back to the age thing. I basically am uncomfortable with someone that age in my home and potential liability when I know nothing about his/her agility, etc, there obviously are no reviews or photos. But I immediately went to see what age my sitter was as I do not thing I noticed, but assumed she was around my age. It was then I saw 65+, I checked my profile 65+. Personally I would like THS to state the persons actual age. Of course I know there are very youthful people in their 80s, but I wonder why THS won’t do this? I think my cut off may be 75.
There was a very lively discussion of age here: Age of sitter in profiles - #94 by Angela-CommunityManager
if you are not comfortable with visitors, just say “no”. “No visitors” seems to be a fairly common rule with HOs.
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Okay. Thanks I missed this thread. Lol. Looks like most want to do away with the age thing altogether. Again my issue it is a visitor my sitter wants to have here. At 82 I nixed it. She gave her age but I have no photos of the visitor. I think the sitter maybe in her late 60s. Who knows.
The thread actually starts from back in May. If you want to see all the comments, start at Age of sitter in profile. As is usually the case in life, and specifically in such a diverse group of sitters, there are a wide range of opinions.