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Paid childcare

Discuss everything related to paid childcare here, including childminders, nannies, nurseries and au pairs.

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Original poster

Is it reasonable to ask a babysitter to.......

56 replies

Earlybird · 05/02/2007 15:09

......do chores related to the child, once the child is in bed for the night?

I've got a babysitter coming tomorrow evening. DD will be in bed by 7.30, and I expect to be home by 10.

Would it be reasonable to ask the babysitter to iron some of dd's clothes, and sew in a few school uniform nametapes? I know these are things a nanny would do, but don't know about the protocol of asking a sitter....

OP posts:

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Skyler · 05/02/2007 15:11

Yes, def unreasonable IMO. Sorry.

Soapbox · 05/02/2007 15:11

No - absolutely not!

Tatties · 05/02/2007 15:12

I don't know what the protocol is but I don't think I would ask a babysitter to do anything like that.

Soapbox · 05/02/2007 15:12

To clarify - it absolutely not reasonable to ask them to do that.

tubismybub · 05/02/2007 15:12

Sorry but I wouldn't dream of asking a sitter to do chores, unless you offer her extra cash to do them.

louii · 05/02/2007 15:12

Dont think this is usually included in babysitting duties.

You would have to pay extra i would imagine, i wouldnt dream of asking a babysitter to do my ironing, would think its a bit cheeky tbh.

Hulababy · 05/02/2007 15:13

No, not unless you arrange to pay her for doing these chorses and she willinging agrees to do them.

How old is your sitter?

I'd have thought most sitters would be listening out for your child whilst asleep, but also taking the opportunity to catch up on TV, music or even doing some of their own work.

Twiglett · 05/02/2007 15:14

no its a babysitter

babysitters sit on your couch, watch your tv and eat your biscuits

piglit · 05/02/2007 15:14

You could ask but I'll bet you she'll be out of the door before you finish your list of things to do!

Sheraz · 05/02/2007 15:14

I wouldn't dream of asking my baby sitter to do any of those things!

Skyler · 05/02/2007 15:16

Yes I love babysitting as the children rarely wake up, I get nice treats to eat that I wouldn't buy at home and get an evening of peace reading or watching TV without having to do any ironing (unlike at home)

Original poster

Earlybird · 05/02/2007 15:18

Guess I should clarify, and say that she collects dd from school 2 afternoons a week, and looks after her until I am home.

She has not done evening babysitting for me before. I am paying her the same rate to babysit as I pay her to actively look after dd (£10 per hour in central London), so thought it was worth asking here if I might get her to do more than 'sit' for 2.5 hours when dd is in bed asleep.

I know it's a sore point for nannies when families ask them to do housekeeping type chores that are unrelated to the child. But thought it was worth checking here to see if I could reasonably ask for child related chores to be done....

OP posts:

Original poster

Earlybird · 05/02/2007 15:22

Babysitter is 38.

TBH, it never would have occurred to me to ask about this sort of thing until I visited my friend in France a few months ago. We went out for the evening, and waved goodbye to the evening babysitter who asked prior to us going out if there was any family ironing to be done as she preferred to be occupied!

OP posts:

Hulababy · 05/02/2007 15:29

But I suppose you could also see that you are paying extra for the evening sitting as it is out of hours, so to speak.

HuwEdwards · 05/02/2007 15:33

No, not reasonable at all.

nannyj · 05/02/2007 15:38

To be honest i think its a bit cheeky. Your babysitter will have had a full day and it is late to be starting chores. But you can ask i suppose but be prepared that she may not rush to sit for you in the evening again.

happybiggirl · 05/02/2007 16:13

Message withdrawn

DominiConnor · 05/02/2007 16:18

I'd offer money to do actual work.

Original poster

Earlybird · 05/02/2007 16:18

Just curious happygirl - how much extra do you pay for ironing to be done?

OP posts:

hana · 05/02/2007 16:20

no it is not reasonable to ask her to do these extra things
you could cheekily put it all out in the corner and see if she takes the hint....but nope, I wouldn't ask

uwila · 05/02/2007 16:21

I would definately not ask a ababysitter to do ironing, sewing, etc. But, then I also wouldn't pay £10 / hour. When I read your OP I thought jeez even I wouldn't as that. But, the £10 is quite a lot so I can see I might expect her to do a bit more than watch telly.

However, the time to have this conversation is before not after you hire her.

BradfordMum · 05/02/2007 17:35

Totally unreasonable - in my opinion.

LIZS · 05/02/2007 17:41

Sorry I don't think so , whatever you pay her. The evening session is less sociable than daytime so think the time is her own as long as she is caring for dd's needs whiel youa re out.

McDreamy · 05/02/2007 17:43

You could mention that if she fancied earning abit of extra cash she could do the ironing and sewing. I used to get so bored when I went babysitting.

Greensleeves · 05/02/2007 17:46

No, I find the whole idea quite weird. I wouldn't expect to be asked this if I was babysitting for someone, in fact I would probably be quite insulted. A babysitter isn't an employee, it's just someone doing you a favour.

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