Do you provide lunch for your babysitter?

[Judique]

We talked about sending a lunch with him, but I really thought it was just an oversight. Like she had forgotten to mention anything about lunch, and he was too timid to ask. That's why this time, I had him specifically ask what he should make for lunch.

The thing that bugs me though as a mom, is that she sees him walk into the house empty handed, he asks about lunch, and she doesn't even give him a second thought.
I do tend to think she just doesn't know, and is kind of flighty. Anyway, its not that big of deal. He will just bring a lunch from now on, in his very obvious lunch box. I won't say anything...my very self-concious DS would be too embarrassed.

I don't think rate of pay should have anything to do with this, really. He is paid $4 an hour, which he is happy with. He thinks its a pretty sweet gig, since the little boy is easy to care for and a "really funny little kid".

If he is getting paid and is happy with the amount, thats what counts. And, it seems he's enjoying the time spent. As far as rate of pay having anything to do with it, I was wondering if she were sketchy there as well, but it seems all agree on the amount, which is great.

 

[marthachick]

If you are at my house, meal time or not, regardless of circumstances, you are offered food. No matter what age you are. And I feel really bad if I even THINK you might be hungry & don't eat. And I offer several times. It might not be gourmet, but you are always offered something!

 

[dzorn]

DS13 has babysat occassionally for our neighbor. Sometimes just in the evening for a couple hours, twice now all day while she is at work. She is a teacher in another school district, so the days off from school are sometimes different.
The last time DS babysat all day (6:45am-4:30pm), I asked him how it went for lunch. He said the little boy had a lunchables and there was only one, so he didn't know what to do. He just ate a cup of yogurt from the fridge and that was it.
DS is babysitting again all day today. I told him to ask her what he should make for lunch. He texted me before I left for work that he needed a lunch. I brought him over a sandwich and some crackers. I asked him what she said when he asked what he should make for lunch, and she told him there was a lunchables in the fridge for the little boy.
I'm not sure if things have changed, but don't you usually have something on hand for the babysitter to eat if they are feeding your kids a meal?
Maybe she has never had a sitter before, or never babysat herself as a kid.
We will just have DS pack a lunch next time...

It's been a while since I baby sat but it was alway help yourself to anything in the fridge sometimes was even given money for pizza delivery.

Denise in MI

 

[peanutsmommy10]

you're ds is paid $4 hr to babysit? I'm sorry buy isn't that LOW? I pay my sitter $10 hr plus tip? I don't know but I value my sitters here. Even my friends I make sure I take them out when they refuse to take money for a short trip watching my kids so I can run up the street. I always make sure I let them know they are welcome to ANYTHING in the house and usually pay for pizza or something so they don't have to cook. This ladyt seems to be taking advantage imo.

 

[rentayenta]

When I hired babysitters I always had food for them, my fridge/pantry were wide open for them to have what they wanted. When my kids babysit for others they are always fed.

People are weird.

 

[mjkacmom]

you're ds is paid $4 hr to babysit? I'm sorry buy isn't that LOW? I pay my sitter $10 hr plus tip? I don't know but I value my sitters here. Even my friends I make sure I take them out when they refuse to take money for a short trip watching my kids so I can run up the street. I always make sure I let them know they are welcome to ANYTHING in the house and usually pay for pizza or something so they don't have to cook. This ladyt seems to be taking advantage imo.

Dd15 gets between $8 - $10 per hour - the lower number if it's on a regular scheduled basis.

 

[MSSANDRA]

Most of the time, if a couple finds a GOOD sitter, they are going to try to keep him or her happy any way they can and for teens that means FOOD.

Been many years since I sat but I was always give at least a specific meal and most times free reign of the kitchen or pizza money. We always use DS as our sitter but even for him, I leave him pizza money and a few junk food items.

If DS is happy or has no other choices for a sitting job right now, just pack a meal. As he expands his customers, he will find families that are more appreciative of his care that he may choose to work for instead of a thoughtless family.

 

[chaoskids]

My step daughter lived with us and we have four boys. She is now 26 and our youngest is 10. We've had several sitters over the years. We would never expect them to bring their own food. My daughter did babysitting when she was a teen and she ate whatever the kids were eating.

 

[fakereadhed]

If all there is to eat in the house is one lunchable and a yogurt I am not surprised. More going on there.

I used to babysit 6 kids while their parents both worked two jobs in the summer and it was tough to find enough food in the house to feed them one meal, let alone two or three while they were gone. It was really sad, but that's all they had.

Maybe there are financial issues in that household too.

 

[Lucky4me]

Holy cow! What a deal she is getting for $4 an hour and I can't believe she doesn't provide food. Teenagers can eat. I always made sure I had a supply in of snacks and meals for my sitters. I paid $5 an hour for one kid 15 years ago!

 

[DianeV]

Wow I agree $4 an hour is waaaay too low! I think I made that when I was a teenager or close to it anyway and that was a while ago

I thought most kids get at least $7 an hour to babysit these days and then to not include food? She is definitely taking advantage

 

[disprincessatheart]

Sounds like maybe she is really broke! $4 an hour is about half the going rate around here. I have used two sisters and one was 15. I paid them $8 an hour and even then I worried it was too low.

 

[pigletto]

Anywhere dd babysits she is offered food. She babysits for three families and is always told to help herself. I reminded her when she started that "Help Yourself" does not mean "Eat copious amounts of junk food all day". She probably didn't need the reminder though. She'll have a soda or a bowl of ice cream with the kids.
On her full days she watches two kids and eats whatever they are with no restrictions.
I do daycare for these same children, and all meals are provided when they are at my house. If you are here, you eat with us. It seems to work the other way around too which I am thankful for

 

[HugsForEeyore]

I used to babysit for years and it was not uncommon to have food set aside for the kids, but have nothing for me to eat. I wouldn't dare touch anything in the fridge without permission. You sort of have to read the parents and get a sense of their attitudes on this stuff. I find many parents want the sitter to "know their place" as paid help, and making them bring their own lunch is part of that.

The other thing is I know parents whose main way of knowing if you did a good job babysitting was that you left NO SIGN that you were ever there. Basically, never leave anything out, leave the house spotless, and never use dishes for yourself (then they would clutter up the dishwasher and leave signs that you existed). The sitter is to never create "more work" for the parent, and eating their food is part of that (basically if the sitter eats some food, then the parents have less for their families and would need to buy more next time, therefore a sign that the sitter existed).

Fortunately I knew many parents who were wonderful and treated me as part of the family. But there were others whose attitudes made it clear I was hired help and not to intrude my presence on them in any way. Just how the game is played.

 

[sksjasams]

I really never intended on going down the rate of pay road, although I do appreciate your concern

She asked him how much he would charge before he started babysitting for her. I told DS I thought he should say $5/hr, but he thought that was too much, so he decided to tell her $4. I am fine with that really. This is his first babysitting job. He had just turned 13. He is watching a 6 yo boy...no diapers and apparently no cooking (haha!). In a 10 hour day that's $40...which would be $200/wk if it were fulltime - that seems comparable to daycare. DS13 is pleased with the money he is making. I think if he were charging $7/hour ($70/day), she would just send him to daycare instead. The little boy asks if he can stay home and have DS babysit him instead of going to daycare.

She defintely isn't rich. She is a single mom and we rent opposite halves of the same duplex.

My real issue with the situation is that she knows he will be there all day, and does not have any inclination to provide food for him, or too even ask if he brought a lunch. That was why I was asking if that was odd, which based on the response, it definitely is.

 

[VAfamily1998]

We rarely hire sitters, but when we do, we provide them with dinner (we've only hired sitters in the evening, never daytime). I also go out of my way to purchase "teen friendly" snacks (soda, chips, oreos, etc)--these are things that we don't typically keep in the house--and tell the sitter to help themselves to those. I can't imagine hiring a sitter and not offering some food...and not offering a meal if they were there during a meal time.

 

[MomToOne]

She defintely isn't rich. She is a single mom and we rent opposite halves of the same duplex.

This changes things for me - slightly. Maybe she just figures your son will just go home for lunch, bringing his charge with him, since you are right there? Hence the lunchables, which would be easy for him to carry along.

Not what I'd do, but I can see the thought pattern a bit better...

 

[purplepixiedust]

When having a teenage neighbor babysit for me I try to make things as easy as possible for her. So maybe the mom thinks the lunchable is just an easy lunch for your son to feed her child. However, I have always made sure if I got pizza, etc for dinner that I got enough for the sitter too...

I would suggest having your son pack a lunch. Easiest way to handle the situation. I used to babysit for one of my friends at her home half days and I packed my lunch and snacks for the day.

 

[lizabu]

I used to babysit A LOT when I was a teen and one of the perks was the free for all on the fridge. Some people would even order pizza or KFC when they knew I was coming over. The better you treat your sitter the more likely he or she will be "available" in a pinch.

 

[bigbabyblues]

We rarely use a babysitter, but last summer, there were two different days that we did. The first day, I made sure that there were a couple of frozen pizzas, makings for sandwiches, chips, fruit, etc., and told the sitter to fix whatever they wanted and if it wasn't that, she was welcome to whatever she found. She was 14 and didn't drive, so they were staying here. Second sitter a couple weeks later had already graduated and drove. We left the same things here they could fix, and I left her some cash in case they went out. They went to McD's and then to the public pool to swim. FWIW, I left enough money to cover her lunch and pool also, and I told her so.