To think this is a lot of money

[Chrysanthemumtea]

I asked one of the nursery nurses at my kids nursery if she ever does babysitting. She was really keen.

She knows my kids. They really like her. It would involve playing for an hour then putting them to bed then watching tv or whatever until we got home.

I thought £10 an hour as that is what nannies charge.

She said her rate was £10 per child per hour but as she likes my kids she'd do £15 per hour!!!!

We pay £8.50 per hour to nursery nurses irrespective of number of children. She's having a laugh!

Bugger me! YANBU. Are you in London? I'm in the West Country and its standard £7-£8 per hour. That's per hour not per child. That's ripping the mick. Does the nursery allow staff to babysit charges outside of working hours? Ours allows us to put our names on the staff board so that the staff can then contact us.

Oh my word!!

It is a lot of money, but then looking after children, the most precious thing in other people's lives, is a big responsibility.

I've known nursery nurses who already work with the children charge more than that, just because they can as people will pay that little bit more to have someone that knows their children well and is also qualified, CRB'd and first aid trained.

Far too much!

That sounds way too expensive. A few years ago I used to charge £7 an hour for up to three children if they would mostly be in bed (I did charge more in the day or for young babies who might need me to tend to them a bit more post-bedtime). Sure prices will have gone up but that sounds ridiculous. I thought nannys usually took some responsibility for household chores related to the children (eg: washing children's clothes, cooking meals and washing up afterwards, tidying playroom) so if she wants to charge nanny prices perhaps you should give her a lost of extras to do once kids are asleep.

Might be a lot but those are her terms

Per child, pricey. Experienced nannies may babysit around 10 an hour but would care for all a families children.

Nannies in cities can be 15+ an hour sometimes, perhaps she is comparing to that.

Fuck that

She's taking the piss. We used a friends nanny the other day and she was £10 an hour and I thought that pricey but thought as she fully qualified it was OK.

My nursery nurses charge £5/hr (which I realise is ridiculously cheap, and always give them extra!)

We pay nursery nurses from the nursery the DC attended. They all set their own rates but it's usually £6-8 hour, no extra charge for two DC. I normally tip a bit as well. £15 is crazy!

I've always wondered how to broach this issue - is it a bit "hush hush" (would the nursery not be happy for it to happen; do you have to keep it quiet?) or is it all out in the open?

Of course she was really keen at that price and I imagine she's got a lot of free time. Ask a few of the other staff members, find out if they're all as deluded.

If so, ask a friend for a recommendation, its far too high.

£7.50 per child per hour seem cheap to me for evening/night childcare.

I used to use the staff at my daughter's nursery for babysitting and it was all above board - in fact I would sometimes ring the manager and ask if she could see if anyone was free for a particular evening! But it was a very small, friendly, independently run nursery, might be different elsewhere?

uk.care.com/babysitting-rates

You can alway check your area

I asked her if she was allowed and she said she would check so I assume yes. But maybe I will fit though the manager and double check.

Yes, in London.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/19_Kids_and_Counting

Have you got a large family :-)

We're South East, outside M25, our nursery staff all charge £8 per hour, they are all agreed to charge the same, so noone is undercutting anyone else/over charging.

I would imagine from what she's said, they don't have that sort of arrangement at your DC's nursery, so I'd ask one of the others.

I agree with Mary - all the staff at my nursery charge the same rate.i think they have the same agreement that its to be the same as their hourly rate at the nursery (who actually do at well)

I pay £5 an hour for 2 children and I thought that was a lot!

Two kids!

But I got back and said thanks but too expensive and she said she'd be happy to do it for £10.

I'm a nanny in the south east and charge £7/8ph per family. Depends on who/ages/bedtimes/etc. But £10ph pchild is a joke unless ther eare severe SEN/medical needs involved?!

Taking the piss. My cleaner babysits for £9 an hour and that including ironing once the kids asleep. Would expect to pay £5-£6 for a teenager, or £9-£10 for a nanny. In total, not per child.