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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....

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Aloha · 05/02/2007 17:47

Definitely unreasonable, I'm afraid. It would be a bit like taking your kid's washing in to his school and asking the teacher to do it - not her job! If she offers or you pay her more and she is OK with that, fine.

uwila · 05/02/2007 17:49

Poor Earlybird. I think she's got answer loud and clear.

Aloha · 05/02/2007 17:49

MInd you, £10 ph is over the odds! I'd say if you paid £6-7ph then you could offer £10 ph with ironing thrown in, but if you've offered £10 ph with no ironing, then you don't really have a leg to stand on.

Itcouldhavebeenbeetroot · 05/02/2007 17:50

Ask her. Pay her a bit more.

My babysitter sometimes comes early and cooks tea for the kids - I pay her a bit more for that.

Itcouldhavebeenbeetroot · 05/02/2007 17:52

at 10 pounds an hour

Greensleeves · 05/02/2007 17:53

Why poor Earlybird, uwila? She asked for opinions. If you didn't want lots of opinions, you'd ask an individual friend, not a website full of people, wouldn't you? I don't think anyone has been rude.

Itcouldhavebeenbeetroot · 05/02/2007 17:56

As she does other stuff for you I wouldthink it is totally reasonable to ask her to iron - as you are paying the same amount of money as you do when she has dd in the day

smeeinit · 05/02/2007 18:15

i actually think £10per hour for a 38 yr old babysitter in central london is a bargain!

i would be quite offended if someone asked me to do their chores whilst babysitting.
the clue of what the job entails is in the title "babysitter" not cleaner or domestic hand!
and i also would expect to be paid more for evening sitting than i do for day time.

3sEnough · 05/02/2007 18:27

NO not acceptable BUT I'd do the ironing if you paid me £10+ an hour and the kids were asleep!!!

WigWamBam · 05/02/2007 18:28

Good heavens ... totally unreasonable, and quite insulting as well. She's your babysitter, not your housekeeper!

I don't see how this could ever been seen as a reasonable thing to expect. The fact that you know of one babysitter who asked if she could do anything to help doesn't mean it's right to expect other babysitters to do the same thing.

Muminfife · 05/02/2007 18:55

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn

happybiggirl · 05/02/2007 19:05

Message withdrawn

Original poster

Earlybird · 05/02/2007 19:11

Well - looks like my question has provided some zing to the Mumsnet afternoon! To be honest, I can make a case for it either way.

On one side, I accept that a babysitter is not a nanny and therefore I can't ask/expect her to perform a nanny's duties. I've heard you loud and clear!

But on the other side....DD had a part time nanny 3 years ago. Our dear nanny was 40 years old, and a very experienced NNEB, first aid certified English nanny who was hired via an agency. For £10 per hour net, she took care of dd (and organised playdates/activities, etc), and expected to do cooking/washing/mending/ironing/name tape sewing, etc for dd (but only dd) as part of her job.

Three years later, she works for another family and performs the same duties for the same wage - but for 2 children.

So, it seemed reasonable to me to at least ask for opinions - if I pay the same wage to a babysitter, as I would for a qualified/experienced nanny, can I reasonably ask the babysitter to do some child related tasks? (fwiw, I would never consider asking about housekeeping or general family tasks.)

The answer appears to be an overwhelming and resounding no. Thanks for feedback and opinions. Sometimes when you ask 'is this reasonable?', you get told no!

OP posts:

NannyL · 05/02/2007 19:44

baby sitting is baby sitting ie sitting in front of tv while baby is asleep

baby sitting is NOT nannying and yes IMP it woukld be completely unreasonable to ask a babysitter to do those tasks!

I certainly would NOT do it, and would never even agree to sit for someone again if i was asked!

I am a nanny.... and when babysitting i sit down with my feet up. Should there be a basket of kids ironing it will wait for my nannying hours

indiajane · 05/02/2007 19:48

I've a friend who always asks her babysitter to do the ironing while she's there. I kinda admire her for it - wouldn't do it myself though as a good babysitter is hard to find and I don't think any of mine would come back - but that's the only reason!

colditz · 05/02/2007 19:53

Yes it would, very. I babysit for people sometimes, and if anyone asked me to char while I was there, I would turn on my heel and walk out. A baby sitter isn't a cleaner.

colditz · 05/02/2007 19:57

Mind you, reading the thread, I charge £10 a night, not £10 an hour!

Original poster

Earlybird · 05/02/2007 19:58

NannyL - just curious, do you charge the same hourly rate for babysitting as for being a nanny?

OP posts:

Whoooosh · 05/02/2007 19:59

I personally think it is a big ask but at £10 per hour,when going rate for a sitter here is around £5 per hr then maybe not?
If you have already offered £10 per hr without mentioning the ironing then I thik you have got your answer.

amidaiwish · 05/02/2007 20:20

you are only asking her to do a few name tapes, not the ironing/washing dishes/cleaning the frigging floor...

at £10 an hour (that is a LOT, even in central london) i don't think she would mind.
You could say it as "if you get bored, i would SO appreciate it... but please don't worry if you'd rather watch TV" blah blah..

then it's up to her.
I know my babysitter would. I pay her £8 an hour and can easily get a babysitter for £6/£7 (SW London) so she knows she is well paid. That is the same rate as she gets when she minds the DDs in the day.

NannyL · 05/02/2007 20:21

earlybird i charge less for babysitting than nannying!

definitley not £10 per hour for babysitting!

gscrym · 05/02/2007 20:32

You could ask her if she would mind doing a couple of bits and bobs during the time after she picks DD up after school. Just the name tape thing or other bits. I wouldn't ask her to do domestic chores. She might be offended or she may think that you think she's got time to spare. The other way to look at the money for evening sitting is that it's her time off so she might not be so keen.

You obviously value her and what she does with DD. £10 and hour seems like loads. I paid my niece that for a whole evening! If you want to bundle up the ironing and send it to me, I'll do it for £10 an hour .

MerlinsBeard · 05/02/2007 20:39

sorry but if you can pay £10 per hour (so £25 for th enight in question) and still go out then u can aford to have your ironing collected, ironed, folded AND delivered back by an ironing company in your area

WanderingTrolley · 05/02/2007 21:08

Another 'it's unreasonable' here.

To me, babysitting for a nanny is overtime. Therefore, you should pay time and half. But as the kids are asleep, you reach a compromise of paying her daily rate and she gets to interact with your tv and the biscuit barrel, instead of the kids.

But £10 an hour?

nannynick · 05/02/2007 21:08

No, things like washing and ironing clothes would not be something a babysitter would do, or a nanny come to think of it, unless the contract agreed was to include that. As ever it boils down to the contract, rather than what someone may or may not expect.

I have a clause in my babysitting agreement which states:
"Clients may not require domestic chores to be done, other than those directly associated with the care of the children - such as preparing meals, changing nappies and tidying away toys which have been played with during the course of the sitting."
I keep it fairly open, but if someone expected me to do ironing while babysitting - I certainly would not babysit for them again! So if you value having someone to babysit, don't expect them to do domestic chores.

As you employ your babysitter as your nanny, then you could ask if they would consider doing the additional tasks - but this should have been asked at the time of arranging the babysitting, not the night before.

For those interested, 10 pounds per hour is going rate where I am located for babysitting - at least, it's what parents are quite happy to pay for babysitting (without ironing!).

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