How much should I offer a 17 year old to look after 3 children?

[OnEdge]

There is a lovely girl who's mum looks after my DD (3) at play group. She is doing some sort of child care course at college. My daughter thinks the world of her and she is keen to baby sit. I also have a 17 month old and 1 week old. I would like to her to take them outside to play for 2-3 hours. I would be in the house in case I was needed for any problems.

How much should I offer her? I have no idea.

2 pointers -

1. I would probably leave it as just the elder 2 with the baby remaining with you at the moment.

1. You want her to play outside with the 2 children in this cold weather for 2/3 hours? Not only will the children get cold/bored but I think the babysitter will too. Could they do arts/crafts or playing inside too?

same as lifinagoldfishbowl.

Its not appropropriate for any child(i include the 17year old here) to be outside for 3 hours in the winter..

i am sure you need a break and are knackered but this is not feasable..

pehaps the oldest two could be dropped at soft play with the babysitter although personally i wouldnt leave my dcs in charge of a teen outside of the house..

I'm sure Onedge wouldn't let them freeze. Sounds like you need a 'mother's help'.

When my dc were little had a 17 year old girl to help me too.

I would give her £10 per hour

There is nothing wrong with being outside for 2 - 3 hours as long as they are wrapped up. Its good for them. (I work with kids and we aim for 50% of the day outside). I would say £10 an hour to.

£10/hour? Flipping heck! I'd be more in the region of £6/hour. She's 17, not yet qualified and it presumably would be more like a babysitting arrangement than a permanent thing?

It's great experience for her though especially if you let her hold the baby/change a nappy from time to time. In all likelihood at 18 she'll be qualified for sole charge and this is an ideal way for her to build up to that for short periods of time.

She will need quite a lot of direction though so be prepared to say that you want her to take them to the park for an hour or play in the garden as much as possible but that they should wear coats/take a snack/come home if they're cold etc. As life pointed out you do need to have an indoor backup plan as 2-3 hours is a long time, although if she's only there for that time only an hour or so will be playing outside.

Oh sorry I thought we were talking about London? Usually people say they pay that kind of wage there for this sort of thing there. If you are not in London then where I live it is probably four quid or a fiver an hour is probably the norm.

There seems to be a big difference in areas for this type of thing.

London or not a 17 year old doesn't get £10/hour IME! Or I was grossly underpaid...

Nannies get £10/hour+ for FT work. Mother's Helps who are doing part time permanent work might get £10/hour to compensate for the fact that it's difficult to pick up additional jobs to fit around that.

£10/hour for an older local lady to come in every morning and do childcare/housework is reasonable - that's about £200gross over the course of a week. £7.82net to be precise. You're paying for the experience and the part-time hours.

£10/hour for afternoons is the same principle - you're paying someone to compensate for the fact they can't take a FT job. At least in the case of mornings they could get an after-school nanny job.

In both cases they could have other employment which means negotiating gross is vital and that gives a higher figure. Also if they lose your job or the other having a slightly higher hourly income than for a full time job means they're more likely to try and find another job that will dovetail than just find a FT job.

So in a nutshell a permanent arrangement pays higher but for a 17 year old doing it a couple of times a month, or even weekly, it's more like babysitting when the DC are awake and under the threshold for tax in a week so your £10gross (nearly £8net) get adjusted down to around £6net for the lack of experience and the relatively light workload (no nursery duties involved, limited long-term responsibility so no need to plan activities) which is equivalent to £6gross assuming no other employment and earning less than £97 a week. Otherwise it's about £7.50gross.

£5-£6per hour I expect would be fine. Probably best to ask her how much she would want, then take things from there.
Would she really be caring for your 1 week old? I would have thought she would be more entertaining the older two whilst you try to get some rest.

snowflake69 you brave woman.. does this, and your name mean you actually LIKE the winter!!! good for you to be outside all that time and sure kids love it but i definatly couldnt do that... hour at most in the park and then indoor fun..

roll on summer I say...

i would say £5ph - she gains exp while doing a childcare course and maybe even a ref

there is no way i would want to play 2/3hrs outside

i did 30mins last week at park and froze!!! a blue blonde is not good

im all for fresh air but maybe a play outside then crafts as goldfish said

I'm with the majority with the cold!! Yes, fresh air and playing fine, we love to go to the park in the rain BUT I'd say more like 30 mins when it's that cold BRRRR

Agree with Frakk. Nowhere near £10 an hour. And be flexible withoutdoor play in the cold. Whilst children might be bumdled up, she might not show up expecting hours in the cold rain/snow.

the body - I work in a nursery and I am a Forest School Leader. I also live down South and where I am it isnt too cold! I love being outside though.

did you mean her to take the one week old as well?

Don't ask her how much she wants. She'll probably vastly under charge out of embarrassment. Naming your price is very difficult.

I would say £8 an hour.

Hi there, when I was 17, 18 and 19 I looked after my neighbours 4 children in a similar arrangement - we played outside, walked to the river, the shops, did stuff indoors..

I got about £6 per hour, and I also did babysitting at this rate.

i live in the south west and it wasn't that cold when i wrote this bloomin freezing now !

we live in the grounds of a large country estate with woods at the end of the drive. i meant for her to push baby in the pram and go for an amble with them looking at pine cones and sheep etc (which is what we do ) there are no roads to cross and can walk about without going far from house.

i think i will offer her £10 an hour, and say to use her common sense regarding being outside, and to come in when they start to wilt.

thanks for all your replies

As a professional nanny in my 30s I get a little over £10 an hour - so sounds a lot to offer a 17 year old.
Expect she will be delighted.

I guess if your happy paying her that amount then fine, I personally think £10 is too much for 17yr old who is not qualified yet and not particually experienced?
Would she prehaps expect more once she has her qualification?
I'd have been happy with £15 for 3 hours at that age.
Mind you that was 20+ and a few more years ago!!

£10 is far too much and if you do pay this, then this girl will think thats the going rate and when going for other jobs she will be laughed at and turned down for jobs when she quotes she wants £10

your grounds sound lovely :)

I'd have thought £5 - £6 will be fine.. It may depend where you live but some people with a lot more experience won't be getting all that much more than this..

A bit chilly at the moment to play outside bbrrrr.

I'm in Surrey and the teenagers who babysit all get £8-£10/hour around here (have spoken to several). Same as nannies or cms. We could join sitters, but I'm not keen on paying that big fee to an agency. Nor am I happy that an agency would get the money that should go to the babysitter.

We already pay a cm 8-3.30, so DH and I just never go out without DS.

Agree with the point about giving her unrealistic expectations re: pay, especially in the area you're in where nanny wages are often very low.

I want your house though - it sounds just fab!

I don't think you should be giving a 17 year old girl a newborn baby to look after, sorry, especially not with a 17 month old and 3 year old
can she not play with the older two at home whilst you catch up on sleep/housework/spend time with your baby?