To think that £20 for a night of babysitting is ridiculous

[Holly102]

My DD (who is 16) babysat for a local mum, I have known for a few years from my DS’s school.

She asked me, on Monday, if my DD would do her a massive favour and babysit for a couple of hours on the Tuesday as her usual babysitter had cancelled last minute. She offered to pick her up and drop her back as it wouldn’t be late . She told me it would be 7 until 9.

So yesterday evening DD was collected at around 7. I texted her at 9 asking if she was on her way home but she wasn’t so I told her to message the mum. No response.

At quarter to eleven my daughter gets a message apologising but does she mind if she stays until around 11:30. It was a Tuesday night, DD is 16!!!! My DD, being young, felt she couldn’t say no.

This is not the end of the story though, the mum finally arrived home at 12:30!!! Far from the 9 o’clock first agreed. She apologised profusely but the proceeded to pay DD only £20.

Is this completely unfair behaviour. Is £20 what my daughter should expect?

I used to babysit when I was 13 for our next door neighbour and their two small kids and they’d always say they’d pay the next day, but never did. That was the early 80s & I think times have changed now. I think £20 for nearly 6 hours and coming home after midnight on a school day, is taking the pee. It should have been at least £30, especially when she initially said it would be 2 hours. I think really you just need to put it down to experience and your daughter not to babysit for her ever again.

Round here most people pay extra after midnight, so your daughter would have got at least £30 and probably more. The "Time flies" excuse just doesn't work on any level: if she planned only to be out for two hours, there is no way she wasn't fully conscious of what she was doing.

I think £20 is fine, I usually pay around the same (£4-£5 a hour), I think that’s plenty for sitting on someone’s sofa watching tv for 4 hours.

But, Lovemusic, (a) it's not 4 hours, it's 5.5 hours; and (b) she didn't spend the time on the sofa watching TV, she had to put the children to bed.

It wasn't 1130 it was 1230!

Can't believe the arguement above if I paid a childminder more than 20 quid I'd never afford to go out. That's not the babysitters problem -
they aren't a charity! (I say this as a single mum that struggles to go out).

I would guide DD how to deal with the situation but I wouldn't wade in on her behalf. If the mum mentioned it to me I would take that as permission to let her know you weren't happy. Stick to your own feelings though. Your dd might want to babysit for other mums so she doesn't need to be talked about as demanding (she should check hourly rate first though and overtime rate, or make clear she can't go over time).

My then 15 year old boy babysat from 6.30pm til nearly 2pm!!! On a Saturday though with a 11 year old boy. It was supposed to be 12pm but they were late coming home. Of course I had to wait up for him though as I was worried. They paid him £50 and a taxi home.

I babysat a LOT when I was a teenager. I charged £5 an hour until 11pm, £8 an hour after 11pm. And this was in the 90s! This is so not on, she’s completely taken advantage!

I had CF do this to me when I was a teenager. One once paid me £50 for 23 hours work and was routinely late back for evening babysits (3 hours late once. Rolling in at 2 am). Refuse all future babysits from this person and if you have the balls explain why. I started babysitting for my CF at 15 and it carried on for 3 years :0

The woman took the piss both by staying out much later than agreed and by paying the measly £20. I don't think 11.30 is too late. Teens often burn the midnight oil after all. But you can't arrange a rate for two hours and then pay it even though you were gone for 5, and you can't stay out for 5 hours and just assume the babysitter has nothing better to do with her time.

For some strange reason there are people who think that teenage girls are babysitting because of the goodness of their hearts and their desire to make sure women get to go out once every so often. A charitable endeavour...
OP, I hope your DD will never babysit for that woman again.

I used to get paid around £20 for 6 till midnight.
Money is money at 16. I only live a few doors away so I'd just walk home and go to bed.
But it was always weekends.
Minimum wage for under 18s is £4.20.
I don't think I'd expect more than that to sit in front of the tv for a few hours tbh.
I did used to babysit for someone during the day on weekends, the kid kept asking me to play football in the garden with him, wheb I said no he said he'd tell his mom I'd hit him. I played football, took my £20 and never went back! Lesson learned. Hopefully your daughter had realised this is not someone she wants to babysit for again.
Its the taking the piss coming home late on a school night and putting her on the spot and then still staying out later than the revised time means she shouldn't say yes again.

25 years ago I got about that or a bit more, but then the pay at my daytime summer job in a cafe worked out at under £2 per hour!

These days I'd think about £8 per hour for a teen late evening babysitter and £10+ for an adult.

Chalk this one up to experience and agree rate in advance in future - "I charge £8 per hour, is that ok or would you rather leave it?"

What I should have said is the minimum wage comment for under 18s is aimed at people saying £5 or even £7.50 an hour for babysitting. As someone who used to babysit, it doesn't sit with me.
I've scrubbed toilets for £7.50 an hour, I've stacked shelves for £7.50 an hour. Babysitting just doesn't match it to me, especially if most the time the kids are asleep.

Dd used to charge £5 per hour and a taxi home. Now she can drive and has a first aid qualification it's £6p hour

MsHopey the difference is between regular and ad hoc employment.

When I was a childminder I charged £4.50 per hour per child (or £40 per day for a ten hour slot). That was only for children on a contract with a month's notice though.

I sometimes did ad hoc Babysitting for which I charged, and was paid, £12 per hour, even though there was far more work involved in daytime childminding.

Nursery workers will also charge more than their daily hourly rate, which might be minimum wage.

Babysitting is a random few hours with associated inconvenience and always costs a premium.

Can't believe the arguement above if I paid a childminder more than 20 quid I'd never afford to go out. That's not the babysitters problem - they aren't a charity! (I say this as a single mum that struggles to go out).

Agreed, it's not a right to go out and expect someone to cover the child care for a minimal amount. I'd like to go out more often but I can't afford to. So I don't.

I need to get myself into the babysitting game then!

OP you are NOT being unreasonable. £20 is a piss-take and turning up ay 12.30 is outrageous. I would demand more money if I were you.
I would never dream of paying anyone - teenager included - less that £10 per hour. I don't believe in taking the piss out of people just because they are young and inexperienced.

It's between 8-12 an hour here in the SE as well, £20 for the agreed two hours, then time and a half for overtime?

Serious piss take

Our grown up, fully qualified child minder quote £6.50 an hour. DH and I agreed that was ridiculous and pay £10 an hour. Always make sure we are back by midnight.

Babysitters £8/hr here. This woman should definitely have not arrived back so long after the arranged time, and on a school night, and then only paid £20. Can't believe anyone would say this was reasonable!

Sometimes on MN I feel that an OP will post something that's absolutely outrageous and on which they are definitely NBU, and I am always amazed at the amount of posters who find a way to justify it.

try posting that the woman didn't get back until 5am. There will STILL be posters who say something like "that's £2/hr, when I started babysitting (in 1982) I got 50p an hour and was grateful".

Gah. I despair.

Completely agree Hairblues.

And also, things cost different amounts in different parts of the country but some posters seem to think their specific experience applies everywhere.

Agree with all these posts, £20 is a reasonable amount, it is within minimum wage for 16 years and tbh getting any part time job at that age is increasingly difficult. But turning up so late is not reasonable - there is a big difference between 9 pm and turning up at 12.30 - so I agree your DD might want to avoid babysitting for this family again.

One other point on the pay, seeing it from the perspective from someone who used a babysitting agency for years when mine were younger, a night out is expensive enough so it is important that all parents establish what they think is reasonable and not try to poach or outdo others by offering silly amounts. I am shocked by how much some of my DDs friends are getting paid (more than I get paid per hour in retail as an adult with years of experience). One has a much better arrangement, she does dog walking and babysitting in exchange for piano lessons.

Agree with whoever said should have rounded it up to 6 hours from the 5.5, not least by way of apology, and given her £30.

my daughter babysits for a friend of the family. She is paid £8 an hour, and they put her in the taxi home, or husband brings her if they havent had a drink. she is 17 but was paid that last year at 16 too

and why SHOULD they get minimum pay? Is that all anyone ever thinks people are worth? the least you can get away with?