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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

to think teenagers should be cheaper than qualified people?

236 replies

Topofthepopicles · 28/07/2021 10:55

We regularly use an agency for babysitting and have a level 3 qualified registered childminder who is in her 50s babysit for us.
She is fab, but for times when we are (literally) down the road we’d love to have a cheaper babysitter in their teens. Our children have never woken up in their sleep and are in bed by the time we go out. We could literally be home in 5minutes.

Loads of people advertising their teenager sons and dds are available for babysitting on Facebook (obviously would check them out first) but AIBU to think teens these days expect a lot!
So have 3 I have casually enquired about have want more or the same as the agency rate I pay for our qualified, experienced babysitter!

I am not that old and babysat a lot in my teens - I never expected the (equivalent) rate these teens expect.

Are people going to book them? Are they out of touch or is it me who is BU?

(For record even though this is AIBU I am not in a fury and will just carry on using our babysitter - so no drama 😁)

OP posts:
Pompoms1 · 28/07/2021 10:58

How much are each charging? £10 an hour seems fair for a teenager, maybe £15 for someone qualified.

StrawberryPi · 28/07/2021 10:58

What rate are you paying? Perhaps you are underpaying the qualified childminder rather than overpaying the teenagers!

Original poster
Topofthepopicles · 28/07/2021 10:58

@Pompoms1

How much are each charging? £10 an hour seems fair for a teenager, maybe £15 for someone qualified.
They are asking £15/hour
OP posts:
Howmanysleepsnow · 28/07/2021 10:59

Out of interest, what is the going rate? Dd14 would love to start babysitting, but no idea on price. I’m thinking £15-20 for an evening?

Original poster
Topofthepopicles · 28/07/2021 10:59

@StrawberryPi

What rate are you paying? Perhaps you are underpaying the qualified childminder rather than overpaying the teenagers!
She seems happy with the rate.
OP posts:
Seeline · 28/07/2021 10:59

Without knowing the rates you are paying for both it's impossible to judge!

Howmanysleepsnow · 28/07/2021 11:00

X post! If you’re near me, DD is cheap apparently!

Original poster
Topofthepopicles · 28/07/2021 11:00

@Howmanysleepsnow

Out of interest, what is the going rate? Dd14 would love to start babysitting, but no idea on price. I’m thinking £15-20 for an evening?
I’d happily pay that. It’s the £45 for an evening (3 hours) that I’m baulking at.
OP posts:
FawnFrenchieMum · 28/07/2021 11:01

No way would I a pay a teenager £15ph to baby sit sleeping children!

BuffySummersReportingforSanity · 28/07/2021 11:02

£15ph for an unqualified teen watching sleeping kids is waaaaaay too much. I pay my experienced, qualified nanny that for daytime care, but no way I'd pay it to a teen just for watching TV and listening to a baby monitor.

gogohm · 28/07/2021 11:04

Supply and demand! assuming they are under 18 I think the minimum wage is around £7 an hour but if they are asking more then they either don't want to work or have plenty of clients

Original poster
Topofthepopicles · 28/07/2021 11:04

Sorry for drip feed.

We pay £15 per hour via an agency to childminder babysitter (which take a cut so it becomes £12 per hour plus we pay an annual fee). She has always been very happy to do more hours for us and makes positive comments. So never got the impression she feels under paid.

Teens are asking for £15/hour direct via Facebook advertising (from their mums) which is effectively more than the childminder.

I think this is overpriced given they are 16/17 years old.

OP posts:
fruitbrewhaha · 28/07/2021 11:04

I pay £5 an hour. £10 for someone to sit in your house! My children aren't young. They would probably be ok on their own really especially as we have nice neighbours they could call on in an emergency but better to have a person with them. They just watch telly and do homework. My DC put themselves to bed

If I was paying £10 per hour I'd expect them to be doing something productive while there. I have a friend who's babysitter cleans out the kitchen cupboards or does ironing while there.

Seeline · 28/07/2021 11:05

@FawnFrenchieMum

No way would I a pay a teenager £15ph to baby sit sleeping children!
But surely you're paying them for when the children wake up, illness strikes, something unusual happens in the house, unexpected callers, floods, fires etc?

I know most of those are unusual, but that is what they are really there for isn't it? Just because they are teens, they would still have to deal with it in the same way as someone older. If you don't think that they could, then surely you shouldn't be leaving them in charge of your children.

Bryonyshcmyony · 28/07/2021 11:06

Dd21 has a first aid qualification, can drive, cook and a health and social care qualification and charges £10 an hour.

Original poster
Topofthepopicles · 28/07/2021 11:06

@FawnFrenchieMum

No way would I a pay a teenager £15ph to baby sit sleeping children!
This was my reaction Shock

Have message the mum back to say as much in a polite way who seemed surprised I thought it was a lot but admired their teen hadn’t done it before. So possibly they are wrong or possibly I am cheap!

OP posts:
Original poster
Topofthepopicles · 28/07/2021 11:06

^admitted

OP posts:
littlepeas · 28/07/2021 11:07

I think £8 - £10 per hour for a teenage babysitter who only needs to be the house (as opposed to interacting with the dc) is plenty tbh and is actually quite a bit more than minimum wage (so probably more than they would get paid if they worked in a nursery...).

ChainJane · 28/07/2021 11:08

It's supply and demand. If their prices are too high they won't get work and will have to lower them. Their logic is sound though, why would they work three nights at £15 a time if sometimes they can make the same amount in one evening?

The job is the same whether it is done by a qualified and experienced person or just a teenager. Ultimately all they do is ensure the child is safe for a period of time. I understand why people would pay more for an experienced person above an inexperienced one, but it's illogical to say you'd trust an inexperienced person charging £15 a night or an experienced person charging £45, but not an inexperienced person charging £45. (It's different if that's all you can afford of course, but then it's not a matter of trust.)

Original poster
Topofthepopicles · 28/07/2021 11:08

I guess I just have quite minimal expectations of a teen babysitter.

  1. they don’t trash the house
  2. they ring 999 in an emergency
  3. if kids wake up/are ill then they call me and I come home within 10minutes (I would literally 5 mins away).
OP posts:
Tal45 · 28/07/2021 11:09

£15 an hour for a teenager babysitting is absolutely ridiculous - unless you only want them for an hour or so and they have to get to your house and home themselves.
I think £5 - £7 an hour is reasonable with an extra £5 on top (or round up the amount) as a thank you.

Original poster
Topofthepopicles · 28/07/2021 11:10

It’s different from daytime childcare or childcare where I am unavailable because I am able to immediately drop everything and return. I don’t expect them to be great at teaching my child their numbers or come up with fantastic learning opportunities.

OP posts:
pleasedonttextmyman · 28/07/2021 11:10

Less than £10 an hour for a teen babysitter is insulting frankly.
£15 is a bit high, but if the demand is there, why not.

I am always so shocked at how tights people are about childcare (in general, not an attack against the OP). Spend a fortune with your cleaner, your hairdresser, your nail technician, window cleaner.. fine.

Giving more than a tip for someone giving up their time to look after your children? Seriously. It's embarrassing.

Seeline · 28/07/2021 11:10

They can ring 999 in an emergency, but they still need to to eg get the children out of the house in case of fire etc. There is a lot of responsibility involved which should be recognised surely.

IsThisNameTaken · 28/07/2021 11:13

DD(18) had DBS and paediatric first aid and only charges £7 per hour for evening babysitting - most families tend to round up to nearest fiver though.