How much should I pay a teenage babysitter

[BouncingTurtle]

I'm thinking of asking my next door neighbours' dd (aged 13) to entertain my nearly 6mo ds for 1/2hr - 1 hr after school.

All she will be required to do is entertain him - no feeding, or changing nappies, I'm happy for her to take him for a walk in the push chair to the local park 2 mins from our house.

She will not be left alone with him - I will be in the house or in the garden so will be handy if she needs me for anything. If he settles with her ok, I might go up to the shops to pick a few bits up, but would be no more than half an hour, but that would be when I felt she would be comfortable with it.

I haven't asked my neighbour as yet. Just wanted to know what I should offer to pay her for this, as I haven't a clue!!

TIA

I suppose I should mention I live in Teesside, on a pretty average estate.

£5

I'd say £15-£20 week.

I pay my babysitter £5 an hour to sit with my older two dds after the two dses are in bed. I'm in North (semi-rural) Scotland

Thanks, that's great.
£5 ph seems reasonable to me. I'll ask her next time I see her

i paid my 15 year old babysitter £20 a visit (normally 3 - 5 hours)

It isn't worth while otherwise

personally I wouldnt leave a child of 13 to look after your DS of 6mths alone, if you went to shope etc, anything could happen and the child of 13 is not responsible enough imo!!

Clearly you did not read my OP properly.
I said that I might go up to the shops, not that I would.
And I only once I saw how she was with him and whether she felt comfortable me to do so.

and you didnt read my reply, i said IF you went to the shops

a 13yr is not suitable or responsible enough to be left alone in charge of another child

Yes I did read your reply.
And my answer still stands.
I do not have to justify my reasons for you as I did not ask your opinion, especially about a hypothetical scenario. The person I would be asking would be her mother.

Usually our babysitter comes sometime between 7 & 8. If we're home before midnight we give her £10, if its after we give her £15. Sometimes if we think we should give her £12 or something other in between, we round it up to £15 and then down to £10 the next time. Babysitter is 17 and is happy with what she gets.

We're northern too, if that makes a difference.

I run babysitting course for 14yr olds as part of my job and we say with no experience i.e- no younger siblings or looking after cousins etc then £3 an hr is fair for first babysitting job at 14yrs and with experience upto £5 an hr until they are 16yrs.

I am 28yrs and am qualified nurse so charge £10 an hr for babysitting so there is your comparison really.

i think its good of you to offer her some experience and as you get to know her more and see what she does with your baby i dont think you should feel gulity nipping to the shops for an hr, as long as she has a mobile number to ring you on and I am sure her own mum and other neigh bours are around.

I babysat at 13 for mt 6 younger siblings and for another family who had a 6,5,3 and 4wks old twins when i started and they went out every fri from 6pm-1am.

sounds like a lovely set up for them both
I think £5 per hour is quite a bit for a 13 year old but if you are happy paying it, I do think paying good childcare wages leads to a good professional relationship and can improve the standard of care you get

I was eleven when i got my first baby sitting job - for a 2 year old and 10 month old. Sole charge, although my parents lived across the road and I had to wave at my mother a few time a night. I liked putting the older one to bed and keeping the younger one up to play. By the time I was 13 I was babysitting all through my school holidays. It depends totally on the person babysitting - within reason.

£5 sounds a good starting amount.

no you dont have to justify your reasons to me, you asked opinions on how much to charge

if you ask a question on MN, sometimes you get replies you might not like!

my answer to your question was that I wouldnt leave a 13yr old alone with a baby - therefore a suitable payment wouldnt come in the equation.

you also said you would be happy for the 13yr to take your child for a walk to the local park 2mins away from your house = wouldnt this be alone? Or would you go together? Therefore why wouldnt you be happy for her to take your DS 6mths - if you were there?

I am not having a go, just merely stating my opinion - which you dont have to agree with.

The world would be boring if we all agreed

lindsy - you say you are running a course for 14yr olds - would you let a 13yr do your courseor do they have to be 14 (which i still think personally is too young to be left alone with someone elses children) but that is my opinion

some 14 's are mature, some arent - as are some 18 yr olds

even us nannies in our 30's have a few mad imature moments - though obviously not at work

the qualified staff at my dd's nursery charge £5-6 an hour for babysitting (we're in the midlands)... so I'd think £5 an hour for a 13 year old with no experience and no first aid training a bit steep tbh. Especially if you or another responsible person are still around most of the time.

But I do agree with FrannyandZooey - it is really important for your childcarer to be happy and satisfied with the job.

Imananny - sorry if I was a bit snappy with you, was having a bad day. Now I do feel like i have to explain myself further.
I haven't even got to asking my next door neighbour yet, so this might all be moot! And you jumped on me for no reason because of something I said might do! The likelihood is I wouldn't be leaving him, she would be just keeping an eye on and playing with him while I did a few jobs around the house and garden, for only about 1/2hr - 1hr maybe 2-3 times a week. And as for the walk in the park - I'm talking about a 5 minute walk if he looks like he needs a nap to help him to drop off to sleep with explicit instructions to bring him straight back if he shows the least sign of unhappiness!
And I think you're being a bit unfair to 13yos - some of them I wouldn't leave my cat with, but some 13yo are more mature than others.
I've still to decide what category my neighbour's dd falls into, but I am reserving judgment until I have seen her with him.
If she and ds bond then maybe a couple of years down the line I would consider leaving her for an evening - I also agree with F&Z, I wouldn't leave ds on his own with someone he didn't know, and so I think it is important to build up a good relationship with a known childcarer because I have absolutely no family or friends near by to leave him with.
I hope this now shows you I do know what I am doing and I have thought this through. This is my PFB we are talking about

Gee - I'd be better off as a baby sitter than as a childminder. I make £3.50 an hour and that includes trips out, all art and craft stuff and food!

:-)

Sally

Blimey, may be I should offer her just £3.00 an hour!
Haven't spoken to her mum yet, not had chance atm.

Bouncing turtle - no need to appolgize honey

I suppose i see it, that if you are having someone to help look after your child,while you do jobs at home then you might as well have someone who you would and could leave alone with them, while you do things child free, ie shopping/gym etc and therefore i personally wouldnt feel comfortable in leaving a child of 13 to look after a baby - JUST IN CASE

yes you get mature 13yrs olds (sure I wasnt one fo them)

hope you manage to have her or someone else, its important for mums to have a bit of me time, esp as you dont have any family or friends near you who you can trust and rely on

Thanks

leans through laptop and hugs the turtle (hug)

I think £5 per hour is far too much for a 13-14yr old.

For the record I know plenty of 13 yr olds who are more than responsible enough to cope if something happened and quite a few 16 yr olds who aren't, so the 'age' is, in my opinion, completely academic!