Babysitters charge too much?

[Tucker]

So I am a nanny and babysitter. I normally charge around $6 for babysitting and for my nannying jobs it varies. But I was shocked at what so many babysitters charge.

My friend was outraged that she got paid $20 bucks for a little less than 3 hours. That's about $6.67 an hour. She babysat 2 kids, both potty trained, and all she did was watch tv with them.

I told her that was very reasonable, and she says she charged $9 an hour for them. $9? In America the minimum wage for an actual job is $7.25, and a portion of that goes to the government. So why are teenagers getting paid more than that, in cash, to watch tv shows with some kids?

When I told her this her excuse was "Marlena, you could charge more too. Besides, the family can easily afford more than $9."

One family I just babysit from time to time has one kid. I said I charge $6. (She's 5. That means no changing diapers, no nothing. Just watching tv and playing board games.) She was astounded and said her last babysitter charged 11. (Really?!)

Don't get me wrong. I'm sure some babysitters have to clean, get up early, change diapers, cook, maybe care a child with special needs, and yeah that would give you some extra pay. But for just watchin the kids watch tv, aren't some just getting too much pay?

Anybody else out there agree, maybe have gotten extra/too much pay themselves or maybe know the hassle of babysitters charging a lot?

 

[ribbit]

I say the price depends on the children's age and what you have to do with them, so for what you do (and what your friend did), 6 dollars is about right. Babysitters act like their job is the worst thing ever and they should be getting shit tons of money when people who actually work their asses off all day come home with less than 9 dollars an hour. Most baby sitters are probably around 21 or younger so they're greedy and want more money they don't need. Charge less and you'll be hired more and make more money than if you were to charge more

 

[L]

i think your friend is just needs to get over themself

you dont need a resume or any qualification to watch kids besides claiming you've done it in the past and that you're good with children. then as long as you don't beat the shit out of anyones kids or let them take a crap in their diaper and neglect them for half an hour, you're set.

plus you get paid in cash...

 

[Squid]

$6 to look after someones kid is a little low I think. Taking care of someone's kid is a very big responsibility I think, they've pretty much left you in charge of their most precious thing. I think if i were to baby sit I'd ask for at least $10 an hour and I would do a very good darn job of it too.

BUT, wages in America and Australia are very different, so what's too little here (eg $6) might be a lot over there

 

[ribbit]

$6 to look after someones kid is a little low I think. Taking care of someone's kid is a very big responsibility I think, they've pretty much left you in charge of their most precious thing. I think if i were to baby sit I'd ask for at least $10 an hour and I would do a very good darn job of it too.

BUT, wages in America and Australia are very different, so what's too little here (eg $6) might be a lot over there

Well you can't set your own price on someone else's kid I'd say it'd be more reasonable if you were willing to pay 10 dollars an hour to a babysitter if you had a kid. Other people might not have the money to be doing that. Especially because they'd be paying the baby sitter more than they make in a that same amount of hours. Minimum wage here (nationally) is about 6-7 dollars an hour. A babysitter doesn't deserve to earn more than someone who is struggling to find a job. They're taking the money they get for granted. And on top of that they didn't even have to go to college or anything, which you generally do to get a job that pays more than minimum wage.

 

[Squid]

Well you can't set your own price on someone else's kid I'd say it'd be more reasonable if you were willing to pay 10 dollars an hour to a babysitter if you had a kid. Other people might not have the money to be doing that. Especially because they'd be paying the baby sitter more than they make in a that same amount of hours. Minimum wage here (nationally) is about 6-7 dollars an hour. A babysitter doesn't deserve to earn more than someone who is struggling to find a job. They're taking the money they get for granted. And on top of that they didn't even have to go to college or anything, which you generally do to get a job that pays more than minimum wage.

to be honest... I think someone who's on minimum wage should not be having a child... if they can hardly afford to feed themselves then they should not have a kid.

Why shouldn't a baby sitter pick what they want to charge? They're the one who has to look after the kid, they're the one who have to rush the baby to hospital if something terrible happens, they have to do the parents job and get paid for it.

 

[Donald Trump]

The Invisible Hand, the forces of Supply and Demand etc etc.

If I had a kid I would pay decentish money for someone to look after it. You wouldn't want some junkie fuck looking after the thing that you potentially love the most in the world.

Basically prices are formed by the amount of babysitters and the amount of parents that need babysitters. Also parents should pay a lot to have someone look after their children.

 

[Tucker]

While I do agree that you'd want to pay more for good care of your children, many babysitters babysit partially for their love of kids.
When I first started babysitting I charged 5 bucks and I did it with my heart and soul, mainly because I didn't have any little siblings and I loved kids. So it can be real easy to get good babysitters who don't charge as much.

I've found out that most babysitters that charge more really only do it for the money, hence why they charge so much.

Also, there are SO MANY FRICKIN BABYSITTERS. I'm surprised I have as many jobs as I do, as there are 7 other babysitters all around my age on the block. Maybe it's cuz I'm good and don't charge as much So if you don't wanna pay $10 bucks for a babysitter, there are always other people just as good willing to do it for less.

 

[The Master]

Question. Don't you technically need a business license to babysit? On note of the thread, anything over $7 is pushing it babysitting wise. The nanny thing I could expect a hell of a lot more.

 

[ribbit]

Not necessarily. Although it might be preferred. And some people may ask for resumes, but that's kind of pushing it.

 

[Rydia]

Some people want their baby sitters to be background checked.

If watching someone's kid is a person's full time job, they may have to charge minimum wage to make ends meet. And parents can always go to a cheaper babysitter. I feel like there are people everywhere advertising babysitting services.

 

[Tyler Breeze]

This is why our Mom is a stay home Mom. Not only does she fear babysitters after seeing all the horror stories in the news, but she also doesn't want to pay anything for a babysitter. I agree with Ryan when he said it depends on age, etc. For example, my two brothers are the worst on the planet as far as listening to adults goes. Not one fuck is given by them. So if it was me paying the babysitter, I'd probably want to give them a lot of money because they'd have to put up with them two. But for normal kids, I think 20 dollars for 3 hours is more than enough.