to think teenagers should be cheaper than qualified people?

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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 😁)

£10 an hour seems fair for a teenager, maybe £15 for someone qualified.

Is this a joke? I live in a posh south east village. The going rate for a teen babysitter is £6/h, and that's for an 18 yr old with plenty of experience with young kids. not someone who's 15 y old.

£15/h is a joke, I wouldnt even pay that to an experienced adult. Registered childminders where I live charge £10-12/hour for babysitting.

The price of something is what people are prepared to pay for it. So either you pay what they want or you don't get their service.

Obviously but this is one of those situations where there's an information imbalance, which is a factor reducing the effectiveness of the market. OP is simply remedying that by checking a range of prices by asking mnet.

Is there a website people would recommend for babysitting?

Babysitting when children in bed is a completely different ball game to minding awake children. Someone’s paying you to watch tv and eat their snacks. I used to babysit 3 small children already in bed next door and used to feel very overpaid. I’d have been sat in bedroom next door watching rubbish portable tv instead I had a nice big tv with lots of channels to myself and they bought me nice snacks. I was probably 15/16. That sort of babysitting I’d have thought £20 for 3 hours would still be attractive to a 15/16 year old. I help at Rangers and Guides and I’m sure the girls would jump at an offer like that (alternative is pot washing or waitressing for £5 a hour) and I’d have no hesitation leaving most of them in charge of sleeping children.

I am South East, and you won't find a babysitter for £4 or £5 an hour, it's insulting. And you won't find a first aid trained, DBS checked, qualified professional nannies for £8 or £10 an hour either .

It's interesting how any rate above the so-called "minimum wage" attract so much resentment, but it's depressing how childcare of any kind is seen as having no value whatsoever.

You just have to read the old threads about au-pair rates and expectation to see how entitled people can be.

It's interesting how any rate above the so-called "minimum wage" attract so much resentment, but it's depressing how childcare of any kind is seen as having no value whatsoever.
I don't think people resent anything above minimum wage or think childcare is of no value, more that there's a difference between a professionally qualified childcare provider and a teenager sitting downstairs whilst the kids sleep for a few hours.

I don't think teenagers should be expecting more per hour for babysitting than the staff who care for DC are paid per hour.

£15 an hour for babysitting. I've been a paediatric nurse for 17 years and don't get paid that much hourly!

Considering the NMW for under 18 is £4.62, then they are chancing it asking for £15!!

Intriguing perspectives

Childcare is massively undervalued

And most babysitting is done at premium times - evenings and weekends.

A local childminder used to get really snippy when one of “her” parents paid DD £10 an hour after midnight on a Friday night as it was “obscene”. But DD was the only babysitter willing to do 8pm to 2am. Had there been a plethora of childminders available she wouldn’t have been able to charge £10 an hour. That’s what she felt was worth it to give up her Friday night out. It’s then up to people if they want to pay it.

Activity centre my dc is at this week pays £9 per hour for instructors and they need all sorts of qualifications and are responsible for groups of kids rock climbing and caving etc. £15 for an unqualified teen babysitting asleep kids seems totally unrealistic to me. I am up north though.

@Kolo

NLW is £4.62 for under 18s, so I'd say £5 ph is pretty reasonable, if it's within reasonable hours.

They are not employees or workers legally though so NMW doesn't apply.

They are effectively self employed and can take whatever money is agreed between both parties.

I used to get £40 for babysitting between 8 and midnight, plus a takeaway, a taxi and two alcopops to take home.
If the couple got back late, which was frequent they gave me extra.

My teen was.babtsitting pre Covid. She charged for the whole evening. £15 until midnight. £20 if they get back after midnight.
She was about to put it up by £5 though a s she'd been charging that for a while. As she was earning £6 per hour in a shop, she thought that was quite easy money as she liked the kids and they were no trouble.

Babysitting is not the same as childcare

I wonder how many teenagers would know what to do in an emergency?

Also it's not undervaluing childcare, it's economics. It's babysitting, not a skilled trade like an electrician. Anyone with half a common sense can put kids to bed, make a cup of tea and watch the telly. It's less effort than driving or a cashier.

I can t really get excited about it. If you want a service you pay for it. If you think it's too expensive you don't. Up to you.

If the market accepts the teenagers' price they'll get babysitting jobs. If not they lower their price. It is pretty much Economics 101

Discussion about NMW & NLW are pretty much superfluous. This is the age-old employer/employee dance where each tries to get the maximum bang for their buck. Actually it's a free market economist's dream: you are watching actual market forces in action.

@ineedaholidaynow

I wonder how many teenagers would know what to do in an emergency?

just as much as so many adults posters who have to start a thread when they are faced with a so-called "problem" or "scary" incident I am guessing...

It's like anything else, try to get the highest salary or rate you can possibly can for the job you are doing. If you ask too high, you won't get, but if you settle for peanuts, you won't get anything either.

£15 an hour for teenagers babysitting sleeping children! That's laughable.

The teen girls I know are capable and sensible. They’ve done first aid course at Guides/Rangers. I’m sure lots of teens will have through school or an activity. The children are in their own safety proofed house asleep. Real emergency 999. Child vomiting or screaming and won’t settle just call the parents.

The 15/16 year olds I know with jobs are waitressing for £5 an hour. £5 an hour babysitting sat watching tv/on your phone is very attractive.

@MereDintofPandiculation

Less than £10 an hour for a teen babysitter is insulting frankly. In that case there's an awful lot of people on minimum wage who are being far more insulted.

This doesnt say what you think it does

glitterelf How many parents are trained in paediatric first aid ? You can have a baby before you are 18 so why wouldn't you allow a17 year old to babysit ?

They are not employees or workers legally though so NMW doesn't apply.

They are effectively self employed and can take whatever money is agreed between both parties.

I was using NLW as guidance. If they're self employed, would be interesting to know what percentage of teenage babysitters fill out a self assessment return to HMRC.