How do I set myself up as an evening babysitter?

[LindorDoubleChoc]

What are the apps people use? I'm in SE London. Need to earn some more money.

I would look at getting an up to date crb check and a paediatric first aid certificate

childcare.co.uk

(Is also an app)

This. And maybe a safeguarding course.

Perfectly happy to do a DRB check but not the rest of it! Is this really what parents expect from someone charging under minimum wage per hour? I'm just an experienced, reliable, local Mum.

Yes that's what parents expect and deserve

Just post of your local Next Door and FB pages. Say you are a local mum, what rates you charge (think about charging a little more if you are putting them to bed or after midnight) and give an email address set up just for that purpose.

Welcome to my world.

I work in a nursery and have all these, plus NVQs 2 and 3 in childcare, plus god knows how many other training courses I've done over the years. I don't even make £10 an hour.

Yes it's expected if you want to work with children on a regular basis.

I would have thought first aid was pretty essential for anyone looking after children - parents included.

I personally wouldn't hire anyone that didn't have decent credentials. DBS alone is pretty crap all it tells someone is that you haven't been convicted of the crime. I'd want more assurance that you can also handle children other than already being a mum. Yes it sucks but you can get free online credentials easily.

OK, I'll port that option then! Thanks for your advice.

We found a babysitter when she posted on a local Facebook group saying she was available. She is at college studying childcare.

Haha

Another example of people thinking childcare is a piece of piss and easy money.

Childcare and babysitting are very different though.

Yep 🙄

@LindorDoubleChoc why wouldn’t you charge living or at least NMW? Why sell yourself cheap? I had a regular babysitter when my children were young and paid for her to do infant & child CPR & first aid, it was up to her whether she renewed the training but I knew my children were in good hands. DH & I also did the same course.

We had maybe 10 different babysitters over the years when the children were little and it honestly didn't occur to me that they should have a first aid certificate considering I don't have one either.

Times have changed a lot in 15 years!

We use the app bubble, most sitters charge above London Living wage and are often nannies / nursery workers so have DBS and first aid. It’s a very popular app so if you can get those in order and build up a good network on there it seems to work well for both parties

@LindorDoubleChoc my children are older than that! All adults now.

Crikey, how times change. Babysitters always used to be your neighbour's teenage daughter wanting to earn some pocket money, or another mum returning the favour from when you looked after her kids for a few hours.

There is no law against this though. It is up to the parents what they find acceptable to be honest.

Exactly. The parents can still choose their neighbour's teenage daughter to look after their children if they want to.

In the unlikely (but not impossible) event of something going wrong, though, they won't be well prepared or experienced to deal with it.

Which is why people in charge of children should, at the very least, be up to date with their first aid.

Up to parents who they use.

As a college student in very early 1990's I had First Aid training (I was a Beaver and Cub Scout assistant leader, so needed it for that). DBS checks did not exist back then... think there was some kind of Police National Computer (PNC) check but not sure who was able to request that.

Facebook local group. Anything really locally focused.

I rarely do evening babysitting these days. It's much harder now than 30 years ago, not sure why, maybe I am just getting old.

Baby sitting in the evening, when the children are in bed or for most of the time in bed, is not quite the same as childcare! It is having a responsible older person in situ. I'm sure my teens who have done plenty of babysitting like this are relieved all parents don't view a first aid certificate as essential .