Advice on using BABYSITTERS.

[MamaGogo]

Hiya

What has been people's experience of babysitters? A friend's 16 year old daughter may start babysitting my 8 and 5 year old for a couple of hours once or twice a week.

She's a great girl...got a million A*s in her GCSEs, Gifted and Talented, her and her family are regular church-goers...I know all this doesn't guarantee she'd be a good babysitter, but it certainly puts my mind at rest a little.

What is the going rate for 16 year old babysitters? I live in the Manchester area.

What are the laws around using babysitters?

Has anybody any practical advice to offer?

Me and dh have recently separated and we never used babysitters as we didn't feel comfortable. Now I'm a single parent it's turned to necessity as I need all the help I can get!

TIA

What does the fact that she got A*'s have anything to do with being a good babysitter? I didn't get A's at school but I'm a good nanny (Qualified/OFSTED registered etc)

Anyway

• I would be paying £4-5 an hour

As she is 16 you can do a CRB check on her. She may come from a a family with good morals but it is best to be completely sure.

I think £5-£7 ph with over time if you're delayed for any reason is good. She is young but not slave labour.
£4 ph is a bit mean.

i use my 15yo neighbour
i pay her £6/hr but round it up
she is fab
(dds are 6 and 4, i always had a fully qualified nursery worker when they were younger, but feel they are fine left with her for evening babysitting now).

You can't get a CRB check, as individuals can't request one - has to be done through a registered body.

Ask them about their experience with children... do they help with church groups, rainbows, brownies, beavers, other youth groups.

Your children are old enough to tell you if there are any problems. So leaving them initially for a couple of hours probably won't be much of an issue. Once they know her better then longer time periods are possible.

With luck she will be helping at church/youth group so could provide someone for you to contact for a reference.

£4 isnt mean, its min wage

i wouldnt pay a 16yr £7, when you can prob get a qualified/experienced nanny for that

We have a couple of 6th formers who regularly babysit for us (£5 an hour)and they're great.

At the end of the day we're rarely far away and always contactable on our mobiles. I also introduced them to our neighbours and leave their numbers too.

I have a red cross first aid book in a prominent position and leave Gp's number out.

As a reference I e mailed the school who were happy to vouch for their suitability. I also had them round to 'play' a couple of times (paid) before we left them for the first time so that the kids were familiar with them and I was happy that they had basic common sense when dealing with the kids.

One of the main things is to let her know what your kids are allowed/not allowed to do because they're bound to try it on at first!

Hope it works out well for you.

And on a practical note make sure you show her where fuse boxes/torches are, how the heating works, where spare bedding/pj's are kept. I also leave a local taxi number and enough cash to get them to a and e should a dire emergency arise and spare keys in case they have to leave the house for any reason.

I'm probably a bit over cautious but knowing every base is covered means I fully relax while I'm out.

Find out what her favourite biscuits are too!

Thanks everybody for the very useful suggestions. I shall definitely be using them.

Bloody hell, my registered childminder charges £3ph per child, so £6 per hour. I definitely won't be paying £7 for a babysitter!

LIAGFB I am aware that good grades don't make somebody a good babysitter, but if I had to choose between the kid who flunked all their courses or the one who obviously worked their socks off, I know who I'd go for in the absence of any other knowledge of the person!

Don't forget a registered childminder has more than one child this is not her hourly rate. Four pounds is mean its a lot of responsability.

I don't think £4ph is mean for a 16yo. Minimum wage for an under 18 is £3.57.

Hello

I am in east midlands and have run babysitting courses in the past for 13/14 (yr 9)-18yr (yr 13) in high school/6th form college and on completion of the course depending on experience of babysitting already we suggest from £2.50 an hr for the 13/14yr old upto £6 an hr for the 18yr old.