to think £25 for babysitting 3 children until 3am on New Years Day is disgustingly stingy.

[TaggieCampbellBlack]

DD and her friend. Both 14.
Parents said they'd be back shortly after midnight. Finally rolled in at 3am.

DD and friend slept over but were expecting them home before 3.

Stingy bastards handed over £25 this morning.

And also more than a little surprised. That isn't the done thing really is it? Getting in 3 hours late.

Well, mathanxiety, I must be doing something right because the babysitters I use are more than happy to come here for what I pay them. And the one who put her fees up to £5 an hour has fewer parents asking for her now, as do other ones who raised their rates similarly. Round here a qualified childminder gets £3.50 per hour. I think that for a teenager to ask for more than that, especially when usually the kids are already in bed and settled by the time they start 'work' (ie watching telly) is a bit of a piss-take.

For me the big issue would be that they came back 3 hours later than they saId they would. 10 minutes is neither here nor there, 30 mins is beginning to push it, 3 hours is not on. You haven't said if the parents rang to let them know they were going to be late which would have made a bit of a difference. You also Didn't mention how they were supposed to get home.

If they rang up at 10 past midnight and said we're going to be home in3 hours so go to bed that's very different to them not calling and leaving them hanging waiting, not knowing if they were late or had been in an accident. And also it can have knock on effects if the parents of the 14 year olds' were waiting up for them to return or to pick them up etc. Also one thing if you are siting waiting for parents to stay awake to just past midnight - much more difficult to stay awake indefinitely if you don't know where the parents are and are expecting them back any moment. And unfair too as most people can cope the next day having been awake to midnight, but if the 14 year old's were supposed to be doing things with their families or friends on new years day, they would be sruggling to be awake in time or stay awake during the day...

Oh yes and the girl who now charges £5 an hour was sitting for a friend of mine and the friend came home (at around 10.30 so not particularly late) to find her asleep on the frigging sofa. Work ethic my arse.

With all services (babysitting, cleaning, ironing etc) I really believe you get what you pay for. No one worth their salt is going back to a family that pays £3/4 an hour. They (in London at least) can get babysitting jobs that pay £7-10 an hour easily if they have any sort of experience.

I think as another poster pointed out up-thread, the going rate varies considerably on where you are. Here, £3 an hour is more than acceptable - one of the girls who sits for me earns less than that with at least one of the families she sits for.

Also, I kind of resent your implication that I hire crap babysitters!

That's why I said "in London at least".... I assumed it could be taken as read that it depends on area.

You said 'no one worth their salt' would accept what I pay my babysitters, and explicitly gave as your example what I paid them.

Did you daughter ask for £25 or did they decide how much to pay her?

At 14 if i got paid £25 babysitting i would have thought i won the lottery.

I used to get paid £10 for 3 kids, but they was in bed and the women would cook me a lovely dinner and she had sky tv :)

for 7 hours babysitting it's not enough - regardlesss of age or location.

I'd have thought £30 would have been fine
£25 is a bit tight
Were there any perks? - pizza? chocolate?
But yep, should have been agreed in advance

Wallison, those fiver an hour wannabes are no doubt learning to value their services accurately. The going rate for any given area is usually what the lowest paid but still responsible babysitter accepts. However, there will always be parents who are willing to pay a bit more for various reasons. If the higher priced teens are still in business they are getting their fiver an hour somewhere. Someone is willing to pay that.

Blueemerald -- yes, you do get what you pay for, and teens who are good and conscientious, leave everything clean and tidy, get everyone to bed and tucked in happily, with teeth brushed and bottoms wiped and bathroom left fit for the next person to use earn both repeat business and a decent rate. Teens who know they can count on a reasonable rate for what they do and want more business are inclined to go the extra mile.

Seven hours for £12.50 works out at very little per hour, and it's not 'being paid to do nothing' either -- if you are in someone's house and bound to stay there until someone returns from a night out then you can't be anywhere else, either doing nothing or earning more elsewhere. It is understood that with babysitting you are being paid for your time and an professional adult caregiver on New Years Eve would make that clear to parents.

Ok, Wallison, to me it is obvious that's not what I meant, I was quoting the rate the OP's dd was paid, as that's what this thread is about, not your arrangement. I live/grew up in London so can only speak for the situation I see there.

Tight bastards !!!! They knew they had a good deal...

Dont understand how anyone can leave children with a child..
Would they know what to do if the child started vomiting?
Choking?
Stopped breathing?
High temp?
Night terrors?
Sleep walking?
If the electric went out?
If there was a fire?
Someone broke in?
A gas leak?
A burst water pipe?

In future they need to negotiate the money before they sit.

I suppose it's dependent on how far away they, or another adult was. DSis and I used to babysit at this age, but in our road so our parents were moments away.

I think £25 is only acceptable if the children were asleep on their arrival, they were provided party food or pizza, and they had the option of going to bed as staying over. Afterall, all being well they would have had a fun night together seeing in the new year.

Presumably the couple know your DD's friend's parents well - what do they think?

^Wallison, those fiver an hour wannabes are no doubt learning to value their services accurately.

Well, they aren't, because there are fewer and fewer people who want to book them now. Especially now word has got out about the 'falling asleep on the sofa' incident. Meanwhile, the other girls that I use are in demand. And they are good sitters - I wouldn't leave my child with anyone who wasn't.

It's just not right for this area; if a qualified childminder with say 10 years' experience looking after children gets £3.50 an hour, it stands to reason that a teenager shouldn't be getting £1.50 an hour more than that.

am I the only one here who wouldnt dream of asking a 14 yr old to babysit till 3am???

to me a 14 yr old needs a babysitter, what if something goes wrong....

actually sorry nannyof3, just read you feel the same as me

and BTW I have a 14 yr old and I work as a babysitter, so I do know exactly what I'm talking about

Mine all would have. They regularly mopped up vomit and accidents, changed nappies, changed bedding, found clean pajamas and sheets, rinsed puke out of bedding so parents wouldn't find it all dried in in the morning, comforted children with night terrors and redirected sleepwalkers back to bed. They took temperatures, and administered ABs if asked to give a dose. They did Red Cross first aid courses and had certs for various emergencies including choking babies and small children, fire evacuation, gas leaks. They knew how to deal with household emergencies and all the parents who hired them know the DDs would call me immediately if they had an emergency that was too much for them. They have all had their own phones from an early age. I never let them babysit unless I was going to be home and available for the duration when they were 12 - 14ish. After that I felt they could handle whatever the night threw at them and so did all their customers.

Should be about 5 per hour but a little more on new years eve. Maybe 6 per hour.

When did the kids go to bed? If they had to do any baths/stories/tea etc then both girls should be paid hourly.

I take it one girl was there to just keep the other girl company?

Wallison, are you able to get a qualified CM for night babysitting for £3.50 an hour? If yes then the teens will have to trim their sails. If no, then the exigencies of the situation may well make a higher rate necessary one day. A given area will have its own acceptable rate but that rate tends to rise even if the rise is small or gradual. I suspect once it gets out that teens are asking £5 an hour the CMs are going to start looking for more.

I wouldn't leave a 14 year old to babysit. I have left ds's (16, 14 and 5) whilst I went to a friends house for a meal but I would not leave them past 11.30 and the 5 year old was sleeping before I went out.

I think £25 is perfectly fine.

sure they would mathanxiety, sure they would

they sound the most perfect 14 yr olds ever

Piss off Ssd.
You don't know them.

My four DDs are fantastic babysitters. They have made small fortunes babysitting at least three times a week, year round, for families who have called them for years (and have passed down certain families as they moved on to university). They have bought laptops, clothes, shoes, paid for school trips to France and concerts all over the place, without me shelling out a penny.

I make them do chores at home and take responsibility there so it is not difficult for them to do the same and get paid for it elsewhere.

If I had known it was till 3am I'd have stopped her doing it. The plan was untill 12.30 then pick up be friends mother. The parents changed the plan during the night.
Both DD and friend have done babysitting course at school (with first aid) and are sensible but shouldn't have been left for such a length. Had I known at the time I'd have worried even more. As it is I need to lay out more rules for future babysitting duties.
Still think it's stingy.