Discuss everything related to paid childcare here, including childminders, nannies, nurseries and au pairs.
Childcare
santasweetdreamer · 11/12/2006 20:32
come on uwila!
babysitters are a lot different to a holiday company!!
I babysit for additional income, I earn £5 an hour usually. hardly makes me big business does it!
and I pay MY babysitter £5 an hour.
but if I asked her to work New Years Eve I would expect her to charge me at least double, it's once a year and she's giving up her night to babysit my kids, so I would certainly pay her more on this night!
uwila · 11/12/2006 20:46
Okay, I might py a bit more, but certainly not £20/hour. No way. Maybe time and a half but any more than that is taking the mick. However, I generally think everything associated with New Years Eve is over rated and over priced. So,I'm not likely to go anywhere. Might have a few friends over while my kids sleep upstairs for free.
smeeinit · 12/12/2006 09:17
news years eve is hardly " a night like any other" nannynick.
i personally would not babysit on news years eve as i have and always will celebrate the coming of a new year with my family like many many others around the world do on this special night,if i were to sit on n y e then i would not give up my precious time with my family for less than treble what i normally charge.its not "a night like any other" atall!!
StrawberrySnowflakes · 12/12/2006 13:32
i wouldnt babysit on NYE, even tho i prob wont go out, but if i was persuaded, i would only have overnight here and thats normally 5.50 per hour, i would at least double that!..i get £3 an hour every other day and we run our own business' so people either pay it or dont and stay in with their little ones
Glitterygookwithchocsonthetree · 12/12/2006 13:47
I wouldn't pay anything. I'd rather stay in than pay silly prices just cos it happens to be 31st Dec. God, it's just a night like any other night. I really couldn't care less about it. Paying to get into a pub aswell - what the F is that all about?
Nope, I'm staying in.
Glitterygookwithchocsonthetree · 12/12/2006 13:49
Ditto Uwila - we go away for a night or two for valentines but we never go on the actual night/weekend - what a rip off!
I hate being ripped off.
NYE is a night like any other. It's just a night. I can go out any night so why would I pay 3 times as much as I would the day after!
More money than sense springs to mind.
LetitShnowLetitShnowLetitShnow · 12/12/2006 13:53
"just cos it happens to be 31st Dec"
I don't think you understand what an important date this is. It's my birthday!
If anybody is in the Alan Partridge area (Norwich if you've missed the thread), I'll babysit for almost free. I charge a gingerbread man and unlimited cups of tea.
I'll be pg, DH works till 1am on NYE and I'll only be sitting at home...
ljcooper3 · 12/12/2006 14:12
I dont think I would babysit on NYE as I too like spending it with friends and family. However, If I did I would charge £20/hour as that is the rate people are asking for in my area and they have had no problem getting work.
One of my friends is getting £250 for 7 hours work with 4 children, plus a taxi home!
wrappingpaperBOwZZAndribbons · 13/12/2006 08:50
I think £9/hr/child is not bad - surely some of them will go to bed for some of the time? I do not go out on NYE. The average rate seems to be £20/hr for a babysitter - so say 8.30-12.30 would be £80, plus taxis, plus other expenses. We could have a night away in the spring and send the kids to their grandparents for that money.
What we have done the last two years and will probably do again is this - book a table at the local Italian which does not change menus/prices for early on in the evening - maybe 6.30 and take the children. They have crackers and party poppers and are great with the children who are also good in restaurants, so it is nice. Then when the children have gone to bed I will sit with DH and drink a bottle of wine and play a game. I will get dressed up and get the children dressed up to go out.
WhenSantaWentQuietlyMad · 13/12/2006 08:51
It's only one night per year uwila. If you feel strongly about not paying over the odds, then just don't book a babysitter. It is a market of supply and demand - if people could get someone cheaper, they would. If someone prices themself out of business for that night, then that is their hard luck.
Taxi drivers, restaurants etc all work on the same principle. I don't see why babysitters shouldn't be any different - no-one is forced into getting a babysitter and going out on NYE!
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