How much to pay 14 yo babysitter?

[sophy]

What's going rate for 14 year old novice babysitter?

Oh FGS.

"an average 14yr will not be able to cope if there was an amergancy"
well apart from the fact that some could cope in an emergency, and some couldn't, a) there isn't likely to be an emergency
b) this 14 y.o. has quick access to his/her parents if there was.

"or if need to get child to hospital and cant drive"
erm, not all parents/adult babysitters can drive, and if you have a badly injured child to deal with, you are not in a state to drive safely anyway. That is why we have an ambulance service in this country anyway.

I don't see why this babysitter shouldn't be perfectly fine (only the opening poster knows whether the 14 y.o. is sensible or not)

Anyway, the question was "how much", not "be judgemental about my choice of babysitter".

I'd say £10 would be fine for these hours, £15 if you were staying out till 11:00.

i dont think any babysitter should be taking a child to hospital anyway as you cant consent to any treatment.

if the child is so unwell they cant wait for a parent to take 30misn to get home then a sitter should call an ambulance, otherwise wait for parents and one of them can take them.

if babysitting for more than once child anyway what would you do with the others if taking one to hospital.

clumsy mummy makes a good point.

each to their own if someone want to pay £10 and have a 14yr old for 3hrs fine if someone else wants a qualified person and to pay £10 an hr thats fine too.

I babysat regularly when I was 14. My parents were in the village so I could always call them should I have needed too. Some 14 year olds seem even older than I was at 14 nowadays IYSWIM

sophy - I don't think there is such a thing as a going rate. It is between you and your babysitter to agree upon a rate of pay. My view is that your babysitter should determine the amount, tell you, and you then decide if that is ok, or not.

I can't recall how much I charged when I was starting out as a babysitter... could have been £1-£1.50 an hour. It certainly was not that much. My first regular babysitting job was working for the family next door.

Thanks for all the advice. It was the babysitter's first time (feel the waves of shock pouring forth) and she did not know what to ask for. She looked v. pleased when I offered her £4 an hour.

For those of you concerned about my child's welfare, he is 6 and they were going to watch a dvd together then he was going to bed. I was at a meeting 5 mins drive away, babysitter's mother was 3 doors away, and babysitter had a mobile.

When I got home (at the late hour of 9.30 p.m.) she gave me a full rundown of how things had gone -- e.g. ds had read his whole school reading book to her, then complained he was feeling a bit hot so she told him to turn the duvet over to the cool side.

I thought she showed initiative, she clearly appreciated being trusted and having some responsibilty and I would not hesitate to use her again for similar early evening babysitting.

I know lots of people who are happy to leave their 14 yo chikdren at home on their own or with younger siblings and don't think this is much different.

glad she was ok with your son and you had an eve out. lets hope you get many more nights out and she sounds like a lovely girl from what youve said

i wonder where many of you would be if someone hadnt given you that first chance - to be experienced you need to gain experience

I leave my 15 yo Ds to babysit Dd who is 4.
He has been doing this for over a year now, we usually give him £10-£15, he would usually go to a friends etc, so thats why we give him something for his efforts!

I think your new sitter sounds great, she could have just sent him to bed and ignored him all evening!

I'd say £10-£15 for a few hours is about right. My little sister has had a few babysitting jobs starting when she was 14 and has been paid about that.

She is now 16 and looks after my DD occasionally Glad other people were willing to give her a chance as now she is great at it

I dont think 14 is too young, it depends on the person, SOME 14yo are some arn't. 14yo have kids of their own to look after in some cases.

As for the 14yo cant drive so they are rubbish babysitters?? WTF? Thats like saying if you cant drive you are a rubbish parent!!