To not want to pay SIL to look after DD

[smileygrapefruit]

Arranged with PIL's for them to have DD (2.5 years) for a few hours this Saturday. They have messaged DH today to say they need to pop out for an hour or so and SIL (aged 17) will stay with our DD and we should give her babysitting money. Aibu to think you shouldn't have to pay family to spend time with family? All her food etc will be provided by us.

I think a tenner is reasonable considering the OP was doing the inlaws a favour by letting them have their grand daughter for a few hours and they then backed out at the last minute when the OP had arranged work. It's not clear if the OP's husband also works on a weekend and the OP said the babysitting bit was only for an hour or 2 up thread.
The OP's original thought that a 17 year old would be "over the moon" to be spending a sunny Sunday babysitting a small sprog was rightly laughed at.

Everyone has a different expectation/experience of family providing help

Don't think this is a big issue really - your PIL very kindly offered to help you - yes perhaps they should have kept to the original agreement and yes many in your PIL situation would have just discretely picked up the cost of SIL babysitting and not suggested you pay her - but equally many PIL would never have offered any help at all ditto many SIL are not interested or able to be providing cheap babysitting

I think you are very lucky to have PIL willing to help and a young SIL who with a little bit of cash can also be a helper - plenty of people get no help at all and have no freedom when they have small kids or they have to pay the full cost of private child care

I appreciate its a bit irritating and perhaps there could be an agenda of them by stealth helping SIL to earn a bit of cash or a tendency for, PIL generally being a bit unreliable - but the issue is if you want freebies or close to freebies from family you cannot expect the same sort of contractual commitment as you would if you were paying the full going rate from a private provider so you can't have it both ways

Yes Lilac - especially given that the OP was that she felt a bit miffed about what had been agreed without her say-so. She didn't start a thread to ask how much would be a reasonable amount. As the OP's now resolved the situation and says that all concerned were happy with the outcome - including SIL with her payment - then asking further questions isn't serving any purpose, is it?

It was for just over an hour. But I still don't see why it matters when every one is happy and she's said she'd love to do it again. It was a token "thank you" and more than fair!

Oh and 2rebecca, I didn't say all 17 year olds would be over the moon, I said I would have been at that age. And tbf SIL was, she genuinely loved it. And yes, DH works weekends. I generally don't but booked work as they had asked to have her.