Babysitting?

[Fairyegg]

Sorry, this is probably the wrong forum but thought some of you might be able to tell me if I'm being daft. I'm a mum of 2 in her 30's who works part time but could do with some extra cash. I've overheard many parents recently moan that they can't get a babysitter, have no family around etc. I was thinking of just putting up a little notice in our local shop saying something along the lines of 'mum of 2 avaiable for babysitting locally' and seeing what happens. Is this even iegal? I have a crb check though work (nhs) which is just over a year old. I would go to there house, leaving my 2 with dh. I live in a very rural area so there are no babysitting agencies around here. I would also have no idea what to charge, £3 per hour maybe, with a min of 4 hours?

Go for it - but charge at least £5 per hour!

Great idea but definitely charge more than £3/hr - minimum £5 but even that is cheap if you read the sitters post

£3 ph!? That is waaay too low, wherever you are in the country . Would you really be happy if you did 3 hours or babysitting and received £9 for giving up your evening? Not worth it imo.
I live in the south east and charge £8 ph and have a two hour minimum (although, i'm thinking of raising it to 3) , thats just the going rate around here. Also, make sure you put your experience and your CRB on your advert.

agree at least £5/6ph

i charge £10 and have minimum of 4hrs regardless if they use me for all that time - tho im old been a qualified nanny for 21 years

Thanks for your thoughts. I think I might charge £5 per hour with the min of 3 hours and see what happens.

I pay my teenage neighbour £5 per hour, so I think with your credentials that should be the absolute minimum. Here in South East, CRB'd babysitters charge us £8 per hour.

I really think you're under charging, even at £5!
You say you live in a very rural area and there are no babysitting agencies near you.
Number 1, if you're rural, think about how much it will cost you in petrol to get to clients.
Number 2, if you're the only babysitter in the area, surely you'll be in high demand!
You also need to register yourself as self employed and keep records for tax, although most babysitters i know fall within the personal allowance.

Maybe charge £7 an hr but have an introductory offer of £5 an hr for first 3mths to get yourself known and some references. You will need to register as self employed and declare earnings for tax purposes.

You should be charging at least £7 an hour, and more if any of the children are under 4 years of age. I pay my sitter way over the odds as my children are 3 (hearing impaired) and 1 and i rarely go out so when i do want her i don't want a phone call unless they need hospitalisation if you get my drift!! Oh and if you go past midnight add an extra couple of pounds to the bill.... Good experienced babysitters are hard to find so are worth paying well.