Babysitting $$ question

[ilovejack02]

Hopefully in the future your daughter will count her money right then and there. I would never just shove the money in my pocket. It is so much easier to fix the problem right then and there. Cash is a tricky subject. I guess I equate it to walking into a bank and cashing a check and not verifying the amount. Once you leave the bank and you realize that you are short changed it becomes much more difficult to handle.

Most of my sitter's do the same thing, they all stick the money straight into pocket without looking, very rarely do they look at check if I give it to them this way.


WOW OP all that work your DD did, I would have most likely paid 45 or 50 for the time and work done.

I pay my sitters $7 an hour for 1, if I had 2 it would be $10 if it is a teenager sitting as usually they don't do extra work , but will pick up any food they make for my child or themselves. House is never cleaner when I get home lol. When I borrow my friend's nanny it is $11 an hour for just my 1, but she will cook dinner for family ,clean, grocery shop etc for me.

Hope your DD can resolve quickly.

 

[arihillfarm]

dd13 was sitting last night. The parents said she was to be home at midnight but did not come home till 2:30. The youngest child was sick and didn't sleep the whole time. DD13 went over at 6pm and usually gets paid $10 an hour. They only gave her $35 and was paid by the mother who is expecting and not drunk.. I was pretty upset and paid her more myself.

I'd be pretty upset that they were supposed to be home at midnight and didn't call. Not sure I'd let my 13 year old stay out babysitting that late anyway. I started babysitting for an infant at 12 years old, but had to be home by midnight.

-Astrid

 

[mjkacmom]

Even if that were the case, the father should have said something and either offered to write her a check for the difference or give her the rest of the cash the next time she came over.

-Astrid

We've had that happen, and we promise the cash the next day (and we pay $10 an hour). OP, hopefully it was an accident - I've never had a sitter look at the amount I gave her.

 

[valeriemouse]

I'm happy your daughter is sticking up for herself

This is an awkward situation, but it needs to be addressed. Teens should NOT be made to feel inadequate after they've done everything right. Your poor daughter seems sweet and responsible and I hope it was just an oversight, and NOT an intentional slight.

GL

 

[irish_trip_mom]

Agree with others....I'd let it go this time, but if it happens again I would tell them that I was "busy" when asked again.

And for $5/hr, can I hire your daughter???? I won't underpay her! (I pay $12-15 hr for 8 yr olds!) We tend to overpay also, but I usually never have difficulty getting a sitter then!

 

[prncess674]

Most of my sitter's do the same thing, they all stick the money straight into pocket without looking, very rarely do they look at check if I give it to them this way.

I think this is due to inexperience. This sounds like a good learning topic for the baby sitter and the parents. Ilovejack02 you should hand over your payment to your babysitter by saying you were here for X hours and X*rate=Y and I round up to Z since you picked up the dinner dishes and toys. Trust me that baby sitter has been caculating for the past few hours how much she is due and you should reassure her that she is being paid a fair wage. I guess I was a savvy babysitter and always looked at what I was being paid. I knew I was a good babysitter in high school and college and figured it just made good business sense to verify the payment. Part of the reason I was always called was the fact that I drove my own car and parents could drink and not have to worry about driving a baby sitter home. I knew that I should count the money. I am now a very savvy consultant and learned to be a shrewd biz woman early on.

 

[SOnotLayuh]

I would definitely have your daughter talk to them. I was in this position once and it was just an oversight from the employer.

 

[DebMcDonald]

Why not call them tomorrow (I would call for her) and say that your daughter didn't realize she had been shorted till she got home and looked at what she had been paid. They owe her $12.50, right? That's a lot of money to a teenager. I wouldn't let it go, just call them and nicely let them know they owe her more. Let them know that she is feeling like she did something wrong (which she obviously didn't). They ought to feel guilty pretty fast and offer to pay her what is owed.

I would recommend if anyone called it be your daughter, I as a parent would not get involved that's just asking for trouble. If your daughter is not comfortable calling I would also give them one more time and then if it happens again, your daughter should cut her losses and move onto another family.

 

[aprilgail2]

dd13 was sitting last night. The parents said she was to be home at midnight but did not come home till 2:30. The youngest child was sick and didn't sleep the whole time. DD13 went over at 6pm and usually gets paid $10 an hour. They only gave her $35 and was paid by the mother who is expecting and not drunk.. I was pretty upset and paid her more myself.

I babysat a family like that when I was 13 too- they used to say they would be home at 12 or 1 and come rolling in at 4am. I used to get the kids to bed (four of them, one was special needs) and then crash out on the couch myself until they got home, no way could I stay up until 4am. Of course they would come home drunk so I would just run home myself and not have them drive me (it was only about 7 houses away). They paid very well so I didn't really mind doing it- the drunker they were the better they paid LOL...I had a newpaper route and most of my babysitting jobs came from people on my route.

 

[merrily]

OP- Any updates? Did your daughter ever hear back from the family?

 

[wgwtgb]

I do after school tutoring privately. Once, a parent forgot to send a check with her daughter and didn't bring it when she picked up. I sent a "gentle reminder" e-mail to the parent. Maybe you could do this or have your DD do it. If you don't know the address and you don't want a personal confrontation (and they have an answering machine) have her call when you know they aren't home and give a "gentle reminder" that she was a little underpaid. I'm sure it "must have been a mistake".

 

[dzorn]

Oh I was hoping for an update.

Denise in MI

 

[Ericandjenng]

Hopefully the OP's dd got her money. It also amazes me how many people are so lax about paying the people who care for their children. When my son was in daycare, it was one of the first checks I wrote each time. Good Luck to the teen!

 

[R and C's momma]

I too hope the OP's DD was able to resolve. This thread has given me a great topic to speak with my DD about as she has just completed her babysitting certificate class and will begin sitting for friends and neighbors. I had never considered speaking to her about this but will now!!

 

[shaylahc1]

I haven't read the whole thread, but did she discuss her rate up front? I babysat a TON when I was a teen and I had everything from the regulars who payed me an hourly rate to the ones who tried to rip me off. The worst customer I ever had had me babysit for 8 hours, handed me a $10 bill and told me I "owed her a few more hours" Needless to say, I never babysat for these people again.

I think if your DD has a decent relationship with these people, and is interested in babysitting for them again, she should call them up and explain to them that she was shorted. It IS possible (although unlikely) that it was just an honest mistake. I'm guessing they just underpaid her because they're cheap That being said if it was MY DD I'd probably suggest she just never babysit for them again.

 

[NeedaVacation03]

Thanks for following this. My DD has left messages and no one has yet to return her call. I have gotten the husbands email address and I think I will have her email him tomorrow. We will see if they ignore that also.
It does not look too promising. We may just have to mark this as a learning experience.
If we do not hear back from them, my girls are done babysitting for them. I didnt want it to come to this since we see them so often, but such is life.
Still, I am hoping they contact her.

 

[vicki_c]

Thanks for following this. My DD has left messages and no one has yet to return her call. I have gotten the husbands email address and I think I will have her email him tomorrow. We will see if they ignore that also.
It does not look too promising. We may just have to mark this as a learning experience.
If we do not hear back from them, my girls are done babysitting for them. I didnt want it to come to this since we see them so often, but such is life.
Still, I am hoping they contact her.

Wow that sucks! If neither ever called back, it seems pretty clear they won't be paying up. But maybe I'm wrong.

I'm surprised and kind of disappointed - mostly for your daughter. What a crappy lesson to learn. Well tell her for me (and probably lots in this thread) that I think it stinks and MOST people are definitely not like that.

Make sure she warns her friends that do babysitting about that family.

 

[froggy5657]

It isn't worth bringing it up, just don't babysit for them again.

Also, she is 16 and should be earning MUCH more than 5 dollars an hour. When I first started, my rate was at $7 an hour. That has been bumped up to a range of 8-10 dollars an hour. Some of my friends are earning $15 an hour (which I find a little excessive).

 

[dzorn]

I think I would be tempted to send them an invoice for services rendered.

Denise in MI

 

[portlyn]

I probably wouldn't want to babysit for them anymore. When I was younger and babysitting I started out at $5 an hour back when the min. wage was around $5.15, so I think now that the min. wage is $7.25 that she should probably be making more than $5 anyways. I've babysat for families that would pay $10 an hour. I never told families how much I wanted to get paid, I just let them decide what they were comfortable with, but I do have a right to refuse to babysit for them in the future if I think I am being unfairly treated, which I think is your daugters case. Perhaps give the family one more chance and if they do it again, then she needs to voice her opinion about the manner to them, or not babysit for them in the future.