Cost of baby sitting

[Niloufes]

Our baby sister recently told us that she is putting her costs up to minimum wage per hour, £7.20 an hour. Am i being unreasonable to think this is too much? She comes round when our 3 year old daughter is asleep and waits until we get home. Only once has she woken up and needed a drink and so the sitter is just sitting watching tv the rest of the time. Is this a normal amount to pay? we paid £6 before. aibu?

[thatwouldbeanecumenicalmatter]

I don't get the begrudging paying people a living wage for babysitting, by that reckoning should security guards be paid £6 an hour or only when there's a potential break in?

[IpreferToblerone]

Yes I agree with Anythere the evenings the babies/ children are in bed. I speak as a past teen babysitter myself, paying teen babysitters and now having teens who babysit locally. It's the easiest job in the world. ( and yes much easier than childcare in the day when you are entertaining/caring for them).

[potoftea]

I'm shocked at how expensive a babysitter is, we were lucky having helpful grandparents around.
But I can't understand how people equate babysitter a sleeping child with other jobs. Standing on a shop floor, cleaning a house, assembly line in a factory, all tiring and you give yourself totally to your work. But a babysitter only has to check on child and be prepared to act if needed. The rest of the time is her own to read, phone a friend, study, watch TV etc. Its an easy job compared to most work, and can't be compared to looking after children in daytime.

[987flowers]

I'm lucky as my niece baby sits so we give her £15/20 an evening depending on how long we are out.

I want to know where these people who got £5 an hour in the early 90s. This is when I was babysitting and I got £5 for the whole evening, £10 if they went past midnight (if I was lucky!).

It's a really tricky one as a childminder who is looking after your child in far more potentially high risk situation doesn't charge as much per hour but I can also see why you need to pay a decent wage!

[Marynary]

I think you should vote with your feet. It is a lot of money just for sitting on your butt, watching television and drinking coffee. I would certainly give up my evening for £6/hour if that is all the job involves.

[MiniCooperLover]

Do you trust this person? If there was a problem with your child, an emergency trip to A&E for instance - do you trust her to do that? And if the answer is yes then remember she's only asking £7 odd an hour !! I pay £12 p/h, our babysitter works in a nursery by day and I'm paying for her knowledge and the safety of knowing she can take care of my child in any situation.

[A1Sharon]

I babysat in South Dublin in the early 90s and it was £5 an hour.
I live in UK now and know that it is £10 and hour going rate.

[ohohohitsmagic]

it's cash in hand so it's not the same as the minimum wage.

[CottonSock]

Well the going rate is £5 ph where we live.

[jclm]

This is why we have decided it is better to have date night during the day! So our nanny works 1-6pm on a Sunday and hubby and me go out for a walk and lunch. Works really well.

To get the most out of your money you're paying the babysitter, could you get her to do some child related chores? Eg ironing or batch cooking for the children?

[MintJulip]

I think at her age thats a fair wage. For a younger teen, pay less but she is an adult.

Its not much of a rise.

[MintJulip]

I pay £12 p/h, our babysitter works in a nursery by day and I'm paying for her knowledge and the safety of knowing she can take care of my child in any situation


exactly, one would hope at 40 she would be trust worthy in all those situations.

[Buckinbronco]

Baby sitting is easy as fuck. £50 is a fantastic amount of money for a teen to give up their night. They'll do it for £30

[cruikshank]

Get a local teen. Do any of your kids' friends have older siblings? Ask around. Get chatting to other mums who might know handy cousins/neighbours etc. I've found if you get the word out that you're looking for someone, you start getting people who are interested and round here they'll do it for a fuck of a lot less then £7.20 an hour. I pay around half of that to my sitters - a tenner an hour to sit around watching telly and eating pizza is definitely not the norm around here. Most teens are happy with £3.50/£4 an hour I've found, which is fair enough and incidentally what the going rate for childminders is as well, and they do rather a lot more than skype their mates and eat biscuits for their money.

[ZigZagIntoTheBlue]

I get £9 ph for putting 4 children to bed,dealing with the inevitable faff over who gets to sleep in who's bedroom tonight and confiscating of ipad after lights out. I also go up and check on them at least once per hour if not more often, which I'd never do at home with my own kids (!) Imo it is a lot of money (I do reciprocal babysitting for friends for free as I couldn't afford to pay me) but I'm in loco parentis and if there was an emergency I'm the one in charge of all of them. I personally wouldn't want someone looking after my children if I couldn't be sure they were responsible enough to act in an emergency.

[andintothefire]

I agree with most other posters - it's a fair enough wage for her to be asking. She is still working and on call. The question is simply whether you want to pay her (for the additional experience, safety and security she provides) or pay a teenager who isn't subject to the minimum wage.

[WaitroseCoffeeCostaCup]

cruic where do you live 1995?!

[SuperFlyHigh]

I babysat for about 5 years for different families for approx £10 per night (sometimes £20) in mid-late 1980s...

the children were all under 10 youngest at one time must have been about 3. nothing ever happened, they were either asleep/awake and just bedtime routine.

then i did a child development GCSE course and had to study stuff like reflexes, first aid etc... ended up babysitting the baby from 1 year onwards and his brother when born from 5 months onwards. I knew enough then to call an ambulance then but couldn't take them to hospital except by taxi. That took far more responsibility and once the baby was teething and the mum told me to put gel on his gums when he woke.... but I knew far more about the development how to calm him down etc. I still got £10 upwards per night normally £20.

The mum preferred that me and the other babysitter she used had experience and were used to young kids/babies.

some teenagers are competent/some not so much.

but I still think an adult should get minimum wage i have friends who teach (supply) who babysit through an agency and get the going rate.

[thelittleredhen]

I have been in touch lately with a lovely lady who charges £5 per hour plus £5 petrol. Much cheaper than the Sitters.com baby sitter which was the alternative.

[SuperFlyHigh]

thelittleredhen - I agree re Sitters - I registered on Findababysitter.com when I was temping and earning a really low wage and got a few jobs there but often they want qualifications (first aid etc) and hence feel able to charge a higher hourly rate. there are families out there who will pay those rates though, I worked briefly as a 'caregiver' for a family for 6 months.

[keriku]

Gosh this makes me feel old. When I was teenager I used to get £1.50 a night, free use of their stereo and all the chocolate biscuits I could eat> That was in the 197s....

[Foxedme]

My daughter is 17. She doesn't charge a set amount but gets paid by different families £5-8 p/h. Usually rounded up. She has no childcare qualifications. There's a local girl who does it for £10 p/h but she does have qualifications. I think what they both get is about right. They usually round it up and if they're late or after midnight I think a bit extra is usually given. I think she gets more babysitting jobs because she doesn't say how much she charges, the parents pay whatever. She's responsible for their children but also she gets to watch Netflix, eat snacks and do her homework in peace.

[stealthsquiggle]

I think the quoted rate for teenagers round here is £5 per hour, but I tend to round up to nearer £10 per hour because (a) there is a lack of supply and a huge demand round here (rural area, adults tend to have their own DC and teens go off to Uni) and (b) DD can be a royal PITA when we are out and I don't want to be blacklisted

[snowgirl1]

We pay £7 - £10 an hour.

[Biffsboys]

Totally understand what everyone is saying but if I paid £10 per hour I wouldn't afford to go out ! Thankfully I have lots of family to babysit 😐😐