Taking a sitter to WDW

[frtchr]

We're going to WDW in May-thank you bounceback! We're going to take our babysitter with us this trip. We adore her and want her to have a good time, too. We're paying for her own room, her plane ticket, her food. We want to pay her, too, but I am wondering how anyone else has dealt with this in the past. Should I pay her a flat-rate per day? DH and I are going to go out to dinner alone one night while she stays with the kidlets, but the rest of the time, we'll all be together. Any advice or tips for making it a great trip? Thank you!!

 

[Miss LD]

we've been talking about this also since our nanny will be with us. To confuse matters, her sister lives in Florida so we won't spend the whole trip together.
We pay her weekly (as she is a full time nanny) so basically she will get paid her regular rate for regular days (plus flight, etc) but then if she babysits above and beyond "regular" hours (like if we go for dinner) we will pay her her normal overtime rate as we would at home.
Hope that helps.

 

[frtchr]

Our sitter isn't full-time; that's where my confusion lies. She comes in twice a week for a total of about six hours, and she occasionally sits on Saturday nights for us. I don't really have a daily rate for her. If I ask her, she'll insist on not being paid that week above us paying for the trip, but she won't win that discussion. LOL

 

[disfan07]

Ive done this with teh same famiy twice as the babysitter....I was an occassional sitter (once or twice a week)

They had 4 kids and had never been to WDW so I was going as guide/babysitter/and teh kids wanted me to come


They paid for air, hotel, park tickets and food.

We went over the tentative schedule before we left and this is what we came up with.
During the day, I was with them at the parks. A lot of teh time I would take the 2 younger ones to do somethign while they went on the bigger rides with the older 2. I also took the younger 2 back to the hotel for naps during the day (they were 1 and 4). and there were a couple of nights that i would watch all 4 kids back at the hotel so that they could have time alone (we were there for 10 days) or there were mornings where the oler 2 wanted to go to rope drop and the younger 2 were too tired so I would go ater with them.

What they did was anytime that I was responsible for the kids alone outside of the park (those mornings and nights) they paid me by the hour. BUT we agreed upon half rate (i usually get $20/hour for the kids...they paid me $10.hour in WDW)

So for example....one of the days we did EPCOT. we all went in the morning together around like noon i took the 2 youngest back for a nap (about 3 1/2 hours total...so i got $35 for that time and than that night after illuminations, i took all 4 kids back to the hotel and the parents stayed at EPCOT for EMH....that was about another 4 hours....so $40....so i got $75 that day for real "babysitting")

essentially....if i was with the parents as well....did not get paid....if i was actually responsible for the kids alone at the hotel, etc. i got paid for babysitting.

It worked out great because I did not want to be paid to begin with adn there were days that we were all together adn there were times where i got to go to the pool by myself so i got some free time so gettign paid for only when I was alone with the kids was teh best choice. Some days I got paid nothign some days i got $100 others i got like $30....I think i ended up with about $600 total for the vacation (about $60/day)

A couple of questions though...
What are you expectations with taking her?
Are you going to use her for babysitting?
Can she go off on her own if she wants to?
Is she going to have to spend the whole time with the family?
how old is she?

 

[dfchelbay]

Our sitter isn't full-time; that's where my confusion lies. She comes in twice a week for a total of about six hours, and she occasionally sits on Saturday nights for us. I don't really have a daily rate for her. If I ask her, she'll insist on not being paid that week above us paying for the trip, but she won't win that discussion. LOL

Maybe she'll except payment for when she's alone, taking care of the kids. Don't ask her, tell her she's getting paid for all the time when you and DH are not with the kids, and she's in charge of them...you insist.

 

[frtchr]

Thanks, disfan07!

To answer your questions, our expectations are just for some help while we're there. DD will be 3 and DS will be 1 1/2. I have a feeling there will be things she wants to do that he doesn't, so I would like the sitter to help DH and I if we separate with kids due to different interests. We do want to go out alone one night, so she'll watch the kids in the room that evening. Other than that, it will most likely be all of us together most of the time. She will definitely get time off to herself. Oh, and she's 20.

And d-bay, I'll absolutely insist.

 

[djmeredith]

I have worked as a travel/temporary nanny...a nanny who is hired to take take trips with families or to stay home with the kids while parents travel. In this industry, it is customary to pay all of the nanny's travel expenses (transportation, lodging, and food) as well as a daily rate.

The daily rate should include a set number of hours of per day "on duty." The on duty hours include all time spent with the children whether the parents are present or not. It is important to set the schedule before the trip so that both the nanny and the parents will have clear expectations of on duty time and free time.

Depending on the number of children and hours needed, a minimum daily rate for a full-time professional travel nanny would be @ $125 per day. If she is a babysitter, not a professional nanny, she may be willing to be paid at an hourly rate. In that case, she should be paid her hourly rate for all hours she is with the children whether the parents are present or not.

 

[disfan07]

To answer your questions, our expectations are just for some help while we're there. DD will be 3 and DS will be 1 1/2. I have a feeling there will be things she wants to do that he doesn't, so I would like the sitter to help DH and I if we separate with kids due to different interests. We do want to go out alone one night, so she'll watch the kids in the room that evening. Other than that, it will most likely be all of us together most of the time. She will definitely get time off to herself. Oh, and she's 20.

Depending on the number of children and hours needed, a minimum daily rate for a full-time professional travel nanny would be @ $125 per day. If she is a babysitter, not a professional nanny, she may be willing to be paid at an hourly rate. In that case, she should be paid her hourly rate for all hours she is with the children whether the parents are present or not.

I'm the same age as her (I was 17 and 18 when I went with them)

I mean personally, I never woul dhave accepted payment for time that i was with the kids while with the parents. Thats just me. When we were with the parents it was just more that I was an extra set of hands to get food, push a stroller, carry a backpack, bathroom trips, etc. I didnt have to deal with disciplin if they needed it, the meltdowns, etc. so i didnt do anythign major when the parents were there also. I thought I was going to be doing a lot more because there are 4 kids but I had the most fun when we were all together.

I think that if you are paying for her trip, giving her time to do what she wants if she wants to, and paying her when shes alone with the children, that is the perfect setup IMO

What was so great about teh trips for me with this family was that they treated me like part of the family. I had an opinion on meals, schedules, etc. While I did "work" while i was there, it was definitely vacation adn the parents made sure i enjoyed it. Ive been to WDW 19 times and aside from the one christmas trip i did with my parents, those were my 2 favorite trips ever.

 

[Rosiekins]

I am a nanny who has traveled with families before. First I want to say you sound like a lovely family to work for, you understand paying for her expenses and paying her for her work also, some people don't so good for you What I have found to be the normal is a preagreed upon rate. In the past I have just been given my regular rate plus any "extra" evening hours, but I have also traveled along as a part time nanny who did not have regular hours. I would find a set amount for the day or even just the week. Figure out about how many hours you will have her with you each day and come up with some rate for that.

I am currently traveling with a family who have been trying to pay me less because it is a "vacation" for me too , they are going skiing and don't get back till 4 well they say 4 but it is closer to 5 so by the time I actually get to leave everything is closed I have dinner and come back. They don't pay for the house we stay in and we cook all the food so they pay for very little of that too, I bring my own car and they barely give me enough money for gas so it isn't like they are paying expenses for me, so I am insisting on my full rate. Anyway if I was being taken to Disney I would expect to be paid less then my normal rate because the trip would be really fun and exciting for me and you would be paying for so much already. Just find a rate you are comfortable with and offer that!

 

[shaylahc1]

I would pay her a daily flat rate fee, plus extra when she's actually "on duty" alone while you and DH go out on a date.

I dunno....I used to be a babysitter (and am a parent now) and I guess I feel if she's coming along she will be "on duty" even when parents are around. Just out of curiousity why are you bringing her? You said you plan on having 1 night alone with your DH to go out to dinner, etc....are you expecting her to pitch in during the day also? Will she be allowed to go off alone? These are all things that should be discussed up front. I think going on vacation as an employee is not much different than working at home. Sure the scenery changes but the work is still there. I guess some people would think of the vacation as part of the "reward" but IMHO it's not really a vacation for her....it's work. I'd treat it as such.

Personally if you only needed her for a couple of evenings I'd consider just hiring a local sitter service....it'd be less expensive. If you expect her to help out with childcare on vacation then by all means I'd pay her a fair wage similar to what she gets paid at home.

JMHO.

 

[frtchr]

Thank you for the advice! We're taking her just to help during the day and to watch the kids the one night, maybe two. But we definitely want her to be able to go off on her own or to just hang by the pool alone. We want her to enjoy herself as well. I think we'll do a daily rate plus extra for the nights she's with the kids. I'm going to go over everything with her before we go, money, expectations, the whole bit. My "concern" is that she won't take any time for herself, but I'm going to tell her that she has to.

 

[disfan07]

My "concern" is that she won't take any time for herself, but I'm going to tell her that she has to.

yeah, definteily make sure she takes a little time for herself. Even if she just goes to the pool alone.
I almost didnt take timef ro myself but I am glad I did. The days that we ALL went back to teh hotel in the afternoon, I would go to the pool with a book and read or just walk around the hotel, the gift shop etc. I did go to MK one night adn EPCOT one night by myself.

I'm glad i took teh time to myself. I mean I absolutely LOVE the kids but I was not used to spending 10 days with 4 kids let alone sharing a room with 2 of them. The break was defintiley needed.

 

[frtchr]

For sure! I don't expect her to be with us 24/7. Ideally, we would like her with us in the mornings and for lunch. After that, the kids nap and when we go out in the evenings, it's not for long as the kids go to bed pretty early. But she likes to sleep late, so we can work something out. Ah, to be 20 again and sleep late...