£9ph to babysit?!!!!

[yummumto3girls]

We have used the same babysitter for the last 4 years. A girl who worked at my daughters nursery so we knew she was qualified and checked. Have always paid in region of £5ph and rounded it up to take account of travelling, so usually £25 - £30 a night from say 7 to 11. We don't often go out together and have no family to babysit so needs must. Have had 3rd DD 9 months ago (others are 9 and 6) and only been out once about a month ago when we knew DD was sleeping 7 to 7 so put baby to bed before we go out, other two washed in PJ's so all she had to do is entertain for an hour before putting to bed. Have just asked her to babysit this weekend and she has said she wants £9ph now she has the responsibility of a baby! Am I out of touch or is this just taking the piss?

Lol, comparing a cat to three young children, words fail me....

er my point was that people are happy to pay more to me to feed their cats (and Im cheap - google London/SE prices- it's £10 for half an hour there) than the OP is willing to pay a babysitter. I was simply suggesting the babysitter wasn't asking for an extortionate amount. I wasn't actually comparing feeding a cat to looking after a child. Obviously.

I pay 10. One of the TAs from DS1's school does it for all the families. Worth every penny to walk out the door and know they are as safe as can be.

hmmm I dont know any cleaners that get £10 an hour are you paying through an agency or something????...

I pay my cleaner 10 an hour, no agency.

She awesome though.

I'm in the SE and a childminder. I charge £7 per hour to babysit for a couple of regular children (as I know them and it is mainly sitting watching tv, although there are some nights when the children are up/have nightmares/aren't 100% well etc). My friend is a nanny in the same area and charges a minimum of £10 per hour.

Personally, I would pay a higher price to have a qualified person who has done first aid training, to sit with my children, rather than a cheaper teen. My youngest is only 2.5 and a real handful when she's awake. If she slept all night (which she does 99% of the time) then the teem would be a great option but I would not be confident in that 1% of time or in an emergency. For me the extra couple of £ per hour is worth the peace of mind.

Having said all that we hardly ever go out as it's too expensive!

Think I am in the wrong job here I used to babysit maybe I need to go back to it hmmmm.

I pay my babysitter £5 P/H and I have 3 DCs including a non-sleeping baby. I do think its too low but its all we can afford. BTW our babysitter is fab!

I agree about the teens personally I wouldnt leave my child with anyone under 18. I would want first aid, nvq etc if I didnt know them.

And we normally just go to the local pub, so no taxis etc - still costs best part of £50.

I'll babysit for less! I'm in West London, got my own car and would be very happy to drive. I will also iron or do other simple tasks is all children are safe and sound in bed! Send me a private message if your interested

Wow- I'm in Cambridgeshire and babysit for £5-6 an hour, have nannying and au pair experience (sole charge 2years+), an exptensive first aid qual and CRB's! However I have been babysitting for these families since I was 17 and I'm now 23 so it has just stuck at the same price.

Cleaners round this way - Herts charge upto £12.50. I don't pay that though. That is non agency!

I live in NorthWest Kent and don't know anyone who pays more than £6 per hour for babysitters. Mostly we all pay £5 per hour and my two main babysitters are local girls in their 20's (one is a teacher). £6 is charged by a mature childminder. It is double after midnight. As it is a rural area, all the babysitters have their own transport.

I am feeling very lucky to have such low rates charged. It would be far too expensive for us to pay £9.

I'd want MUCH more than £9 per hour to babysit 3 children including a 9 month old. In fact there would not be a large enough sum to induce me !
In all seriousness, for a CRB checked and responsible person that you're happy with I do think it's fair amount

For those that are comparing her pay to those of a nursery worker please consider the unsocial hours she will be working.

Big difference between a tuesday afternoon and a saturday night, the pay should reflect that.

£9ph for 3 dcs inc baby sounds about right imo. I would be embarassed to pay less tbh.

I pay £5 for the teenage babysitter next door and I feel a cheapskate! YABVU imho for someone qualified, reliable and experienced.

we all know what the minimum wage is! Really babysitting at £9 ph is ridiculous!

At the end of the day babysitters (in most cases) work during the day so this is a way of topping up income! So this minimum wage business is a bit OTT, they are not paying tax on this money so if you pay £5 cash in hand that is more than the min wage before tax!

£7-8 is a fair amount for babysitting. Lok elsewhere!

How is £5 more than min wage?

£7 to £8 may be fair for one or 2 dcs but this one has 3 inc a baby.

Does it sound better if you say it as £3 per hour per child?

£5.80 is the minimum wage BEFORE tax and NI!

So if you are working like I said! You'll have likely used up your FREE allowance so will be paying the regualr 20% tax and NI. So do the maths!

£5.80 = before tax and NI
£4.64 = AFTER tax & NI

So £5 cash in hand is BETTER than the min wage!

I'm paying £6 an hour during the day for someone to help with DS (4) as DH has broken his leg and can't really do much as he has to sit with it elevated. I know in the evening the same women charges £9/hour. She used to work at DS's nursery and is doing a bit on the side now she does her nursing training so is qualified.

Anti social hours ? Do those at Tesco's or Burger king working on a Saturday night get extra £££'s no they do not, some of you lot live in cloud coockoo land

As I said geekof theweek I was talking about nursery workers who do out of hours private arrangement care some do overnight but only charge a fiver an hour. Looking after 2 kids and one baby isnt hard work at night even if they wake up compared to having to work in a bar etc.

I love babysitting/childcare etc and I would feel awful excepting more than a fiver an hour for it. You are right newteacher a fiver non taxed sounds brilliant thats why all my friends are falling over each other to do it where I am for our parents.

I used to get paid more to work unsocial hours in Sainsbury's years ago. I used to love night shift as I got paid so much more.

Whether you think she's expensive or not she's still entitled to set her rate and you can decide whether to accept it or not.

If you look on this thread there are plenty of people who would be willing to pay it for the right person, so she's presumably not completely pricing herself out of the market. Yep she might lose some customers at that price - but perhaps she doesn't want to babysit much anyway.

mamatomany, no idea what those at tesco etc earn.

I am going off my own job which is more money for unsocial hours. I wouldn't work a saturday night for the same money as a wednesday day.

newteacher, your first post said min wage before tax which is what confused me.

I can't believe people are moaning about this. Trying to scrimp and save money over someone who is looking after your children. I would try to make savings in other areas instead.

Pay peanuts, get monkeys.