Monday, January 14, 2008
How much would you pay...
For a reliable sitter? Now that both kids are potty trained and pretty good at playing together- we've decided that it's time to get them a babysitter. We've never had one. I don't know many high school age kids who would be interested- especially in the diapering part of sitting. We just either do everything with our kids, or Grandma and Grandpa have offered to take them every now and then. Well, Grammie and Grandpa deserve a break, and we'd like to have someone who lives right in our town who we can turn to for a quick night out every now and then. Luckily, we have a referral for a great 13 year old girl- mature, straight A student, first aid certified, loves kids, lives right around the corner, and is interested in doing more sitting. She has only watched family kids before, and has never been paid. So, I've been asking around town about the going rate for a young sitter, watching two kids, and haven't gotten any response yet. I'm not getting a lot of guidance online either, everything seems to depend on location, but in my rural, lower-income town- it'd be hard to stick close to the national average. I don't want to short change the girl, but some baby sitters make more money than I have ever made hourly at any job... and we just can't afford that. So what are other moms out there doing? Is there a good website I can check out? Any input would be appreciated- thanks guys :)
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9 comments:
I've also never paid someone to babysit for me, but I think I'd feel best around $6/hour and free snacks. :) Figure if you go out for three hours, you spend less than $20 on kid care. Once or twice a month, that's not bad.
Of course, you'll have to start out small with the kids if they've never had a non-family sitter before. Start having the girl come over during the day and playing with the kids while you're there so a) they can get used to her and b) you can get some AM time or some non-kid friendly chores done or whatever you want and c) you can see if she lives up to her resume!
I'd probably start out that way. Say "hey reliable would-be babysitter, I'll slip you a ten-spot to come over for a half hour on tuesday and thursday to watch the kids play crayons while I take a hot shower, what say ye?"
Say it exactly like that too! :)
I would.
Thanks, Jessey! I am meeting with potential sitter and her mom tomorrow night, and we are going to set up some afterschool visits while I'm home to do the trial stuff. I wanted to have an amount to offer her, so I might just do the $6/ hour rate, plus meals and whatnot when we go out.
And I'll definitely try the "slip you a ten-spot" line, word-for-word, yo. ;)
I think $6 is kind of low for two kids, but she is only 13 and might just go for it. Plus, if she does a good job and it's worth it you could always give her a raise later. I think around here the going rate is $9-10 for two kiddos.
I've used a neighbor's niece here for $10/hour but she was a college student home on break. My local drop-in day care is $8/hour and I know of a service here called the Sitter Connection that is also $8/hour. I know in high school I made $5/hour for two kids plus usually a pizza and a little tip :) For a 13 year old I think $6 would be fine. Good luck - I was nervous about babysitters at first but now we are trying to do date night once a month!
I pay $3.50 an hour for my Daycare provider for one child. When I had Taylor and Shannon Christenson watch Taylor when I played softball, I think I paid them $5. a piece for two hours. Things are much cheaper up here. When I was in high school and watched 3 kids, one being an infant, I got $9. an hour. Keep in mind you can always give her a raise. I know who you are talking about watching the wee ones and Taylor loved her, she is great with kids and her mom is just down the street if there is any problems. GOOD LUCK.
Thanks, Mommies! It's helpful to know what everyone is is doing so I have some basis to the numbers I come up with. You're right, Amy, our wages are much lower in our county, so it really is quite a bit lower for child care. I think I'll just take what a person in our county would normally pay a lic. child care provider, $3.50/hr and mulitiply it by 2. So, I'll offer her $7/hr, which should make it worth it for her- since it'll only be once in a while. Tonight's our first meeting, let's just hope our kids don't scare her away, now that we've figured out a wage!
Soooo, how did it all go????
I'm dying to know!
I have a feeling that wages in your county are close to ours! I can't imagine paying $10 an hour for childcare! It would almost make going out not worth it. Plus, if you add in free snacks...
And she gets to hang out with your two great kids...really, she should be paying you!
Plus, like Mer said, she's 13...it's not like she's paying a car note or anything. She's making money for milkshakes and MP3s or whatever it is the kids are into these days. Hannah Montana tickets.
It went great! Her mom was sweet and seemed excited for this opportunity for her daughter- and she was shy, but seemed interested in getting to hang with the kids. They were being wild and showing off all their night time craziness, and she didn't seem to mind. She seemed excited about $7, I think it was more than she was expecting. She's finishing up basketball season this month, and will be available after school in Feb. So, we are looking forward to some trial runs in Feb!
That's awesome!
Just for perspective...
When I was 15 (100 years ago, no, more like 15 years ago almost) I got my very first real job with a paycheck.
I think I made $4.25 per hour.
I was stoked!
$7/hour would have been an insane amount of money to me then!
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