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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

cost of babysitters, i am really out of touch

123 replies

redblue · 28/08/2009 12:39

i know i am totally out of touch here. Tonight hubby & I are going out tonight for the first time since daughter was born 10 months ago. Found a trusted person to babysit who tells me going rate is £6 per hour. We don't live in london and knowing nothing about this I was quite pleased when she first told me this hourly rate thinking it sounded cheap. But as I am about to go to the cash point now to get money to pay her I realised that our anticipated hours out of the house (about 4) are likely to cost us the same if not slightly less than the two main meals at the pub we are going to and so there is quite a good chance that we pay more to the babysitter than we spend whilst out. I know I know that that is not the point and it is quality time and the chance to go out etc and maybe it is our own fault for not blowing the budget and going the whole hog in the 4 hours we are away but that is not really our style. I guess it will be a learning curve to me conclusion of which is don't go out make your own fun at home! (No family members living nearby before anyone says it!!)Right, let the abuse start if you think i am totally out of touch and that is just the way things work!!

OP posts:

Mamulik · 28/08/2009 15:06

we going to pay £45 per day, but I also can pay with childcare vauchers

Original poster

redblue · 28/08/2009 15:12

milk, never go out on new years eve (since i was 17 anyway) cannot afford it. always stay in and enjoy myself (i am guessing here) much more! sorry

OP posts:

MatthewBellamysMuse · 28/08/2009 15:15

Do you not know even one other couple who you could babysit for in return for them babysitting for you? My children are 5 and 7 and we've never paid for a babysitter although we go out a lot. I have a babysitting circle and other trusted friends who are willing to do reciprocal babysitting. I also have my mother nearby, which helps.

TheDMshouldbeRivened · 28/08/2009 15:19

Have you not got friends with kids? We used to swap babysitting (no such thing as a circle)
We don't go out now cos even friends couldn't look after dd and agencies charge £15 per hour.

MaryBS · 28/08/2009 15:20

I'm unemployed atm, and every time I see how much babysitters get, I'm tempted to set myself up in business! OK, its not megabucks in some areas, but to my mind its a nice way of earning some money!

overthemill · 28/08/2009 15:21

i think £6 an hour to look after a baby is good value. I charge £8 - 10 and more after midnight/special nights eg new years' eve etc. I know it massively adds to the cost of the night out (I'm so glad our eldest can now babysit for the younger 2) but I feel it's wirth it so you can get a night out.
As others have said there ar eother ways of reducing our cost: babysitting swaps with mates (ime not worked when they are young tho as mates also have young ones too) and using a teenager. Teens are great but I personally wouldn't have left mine when babies with a teen.

You could also ask at the school/preschool near you - sometimes workers there are happy to earn a bit extra and may charge less for a regular booking?
good luck, it does get easier!

MatthewBellamysMuse · 28/08/2009 15:25

Overthemill, in our circle the dads get left at home with their own children while the mums do babysitting for each other.

Blondeshavemorefun · 28/08/2009 15:32

milk - I wont bs on NYE - prefer to spend it with dh/friends but I have been asked many times, and I always say I charge double time so £20ph and I get asked normally a few times by my regular familys i do

one family two years ago wanted 6pm - 2am and i said it would be £160 and they were fine with that - so I gave it to my Bf instead who didnt mind leaving her dh

SuzeMcG · 28/08/2009 15:41

We pay £8-10 in London. It does make it an expensive night out so we usually only get a babysitter once a month. My brother and his girlfriend will babysit but by the time we pay £25 for a cab home and buy them a bottle of wine, it costs about the same as getting a babysitter. It is worth it to get a night out with my DH though.

milknosugarplease · 28/08/2009 16:03

hmm thank you blonde

im really not a NYE person...though it seems at the age of 21 i should be...double priced drinks no way to get home REALLY appeals to me...not!!

was wondering how much demand there would be for a NYE babysitter!

milk

abdnhiker · 28/08/2009 16:07

I pay my sitter £8/hour, although that's on the high side. Other parents with older kids say they pay around £6/hour. But for £8 I expect my sitter to put my older son to bed and cuddle my younger son (14 months) when he invariably wakes up screaming. I know she works for her money! Plus I value my kids and want her to treat this job as more important than her other job(s). For everything else the salary goes up with responsibility. Babysitting is one of the most responsible jobs there is and it's often underpaid.

But i agree it's expensive! We go out about 6x a year because it ends up costing so much.

abdnhiker · 28/08/2009 16:10

Reading this - I'm willing to babysit on NYE think about it! One night could finance a sitter for three or four other nights!

overthemill · 28/08/2009 16:32

well i know that dads can stay at home while the mum goes to babyist for mates (and in fact this is often what happens while i go and sit) but in our family it dodn't work, nor for those of my friends' but that was for our first ones and after that we kind of gave up.,

I now run a babysitting directory and do some sitting myself to earn extra cash to bring in extra income while i retrain. It is great to have something i know i can do that helps other people too!

HarrietTheSpy · 28/08/2009 16:36

We pay £8 per hour plus a cab home, if needed. We're in London.

Sitters.co.uk charges less per hour, but you have to pay a booking fee. The one friend I know who uses them has never had a problem. And accd to her, they only send people who can make their own way via car or public transport.I think probably does work out cheaper.

I think you'd struggle to pay much under £6 per hour. I would be embarrassed to offer £6 in our area, but I sympathise with your need for a moan.

The idea of a babysitting circle fills me with horror - am I the only one? But I work full-time. The last thing I want to be doing is schlepping over to a neighbour's for the night shift.

TrainWillArriveTonight · 28/08/2009 16:40

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn

Purplepanettone · 28/08/2009 16:49

It is expensive. I think because it is expensive we tend to spend more when we are out; it seems silly to spend £25 on a sitter and only go out for a drink.

Could you join a babysitting circle, or set one up with your friends? We are part of one sometimes and it is all managed on-line and very good.

sweethoney · 28/08/2009 16:50

Have a great night tonight and don't stew on it otherwise you won't have the full value of a baby free evening!

PictureInTheAttic · 28/08/2009 17:22

Excellent advice, Train. I used to babysit for Spaghetti and Meatballs!

rupertsabear · 28/08/2009 17:28

Have you thought of advertising for someone who will do your cleaning or ironing in the evening while 'babysitting' for a sleeping child? I have and you get your moneysworth that way.

bronze · 28/08/2009 17:34

Whats the going rate for a childminder as I dont think it should be more than that.

Not really used a babysitter except very regularly when dd was in scbu and Im sure they gave us mates rates/pity invoices.

ThingOne · 28/08/2009 17:55

I think I pay £6 an hour. Out of London. The other thing you can do is agree in advance a fixed fee for 8pm-midnight, with any extra time at an hourly rate. Not that you'd be later anyway .

Sarasue · 28/08/2009 18:01

I was getting £5 an hour when I was 16 and that was 15 years ago, I know I was the highest paid baby sitter of all my friend but I would happily pay 6-8 for a good sitter that I trusted. However we never go out.

Teddington · 28/08/2009 18:07

I babysit with a 'putting to bed' service as well and it ranges from £30 to £30 per evening, depending on the length of time, lateness, number & ages of children etc.

I also have a babysitting group with ante-natal 'sisters' - we have vouchers and get paid 2 for a weekday evening and 3 for a weekend. It's an excellent way of working

Enjoy your evening!

Belgianchocolates · 28/08/2009 18:15

at the prices of babysitters in the UK. 15 y ago I used to ask £1 in Belgium and now you can expect to pay 3 Euros, which nowadays is just under £3. I can't believe it's £6-8 here. Looks like we're lucky enough never to have had to pay for a babysitter yet.

Portofino · 28/08/2009 18:19

We pay ours 50 euros for the night. She is a grown up though and bilingual English /French. I could probably get a local teen for less, but she's been coming for 3 years now, probably has a better idea of what to do in an emergency than i do and drives herself. She's become a family friend now.

My dd is happy to play and be put to bed by her, and I feel I can go out for 4-5 hours without having to worry. Also she's always happy to come. I don't begrudge the amount for those reasons, but probably go out less than I might have done. We always have a "proper" night out when she comes, never just pop to the local pub. If we fancied a quick drink out, we' take dd with us and get a takeway on the way home.

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