Do you provide lunch for your babysitter?

[Cynt]

Ok - I'm stuck on all she has for her OWN SON to eat is a lunchable. Seriously That kid is probably starving.

Maybe she doesn't have the money to feed your son. I couldn't imagine a parent willingly just leaving a lunchable for her son to eat for the whole day. It appears $$$ might be a little tight. Ask your son to ask the little boy is he hungry. Or ask him to ask him what did he have for breakfast.

Another thought - when my sis was young earlier 20s, bless her heart she did not cook. Her family went out for breakfast, lunch and dinner. I know sounds crazy but they can recite a fast food menu w/ no trouble. So maybe they go out to eat all the time and the days when your son babysits she just grabs a lunchable from 7-11/QT and knows your son lives next door and he can run and get him something to eat when he's hungry.

But the whole lunchable has me stumped. A lunchable to me is a snack not a meal. That kid is probably hungry!

 

[tzolkin]

I know the OP didn't want to turn this into a pay rate debate, but I really cannot comprehend some people's responses about how unfathomable it would be to pay a 12/13yo babysitter less than $10 or $15 an hour.


Most adults (myself included) make way less than $15/hour where I live.

If my DD is watching someone's child while they go to work, I certainly wouldn't expect them to pay her the same (or more) than what they are making. Sure, $20 or $30 for a few hours in the evening would be fine, but paying a kid $120+/day seems a bit ridiculous to me. That would be like $600 a week, which is way more than daycare for one child.

 

[mapmakerj]

Re: rates. My mom just retired from running her home daycare last year and she was only making $2 an hr per kid she watched. Most kids in our area only get 3-4 dollars an hour to watch kids at night and on weekends. I couldn't believe when I read some of the hourly rates these kids were getting. Some get more than most of the retail jobs in my area.

 

[Que_Sarah_Sarah]

When parents asked me what my pay rate was, I always just batted my lashes and said "I could never put a price on your children."

ROLLING in cash, lol. I think I was paid around $5 an hour because a) it was the neighbors and b) they only had one kid. When I started sitting for some other neighbors I got paid significantly more because a) they had three kids and b) they couldn't keep a sitter for more than a month because their kids were not well behaved (Except for me, mua ha ha!)

 

[jessica52877]

Once I graduated from high school and kept sitting full days I would pack my own lunch. I did not assume that I would be fed and looking back now my two regulars never offered me anything. I know once in a while I would have a bite or two of whatever I made the kids and often times I cooked them meals. I never once had them say help yourself to any thing.

Now, my regulars before graduating or the few I just did evenings for often said help myself to whatever I wanted. One would leave a few things out for me. If I was ordering pizza or taking the kids out they made sure to leave extra $ for me.

 

[anna_chronistic]

Wow, I'm stumped by the high pay some babysitters get, too! My first job was babysitting for a single mom -- summer job, more than 40 hours a week (b/c she worked 40 hours + her commute), and I got $1.50 an hour. That was, let's see, 1994? Of course, my family knew her situation, and it gave me more spending money than I'd ever had before (but little time to spend it ). It was at my parents' house, though, so we ate what I made there -- usually sandwiches, mac and cheese, etc. Hmm, that was an even better deal than I remember, since I fed them, too (well, my parents paid for it, really)! Again, we knew the mom couldn't afford much, though.

My other babysitting gigs were muuuuch more profitable. After that summer, I only babysat occasionally and always at the homes of the babysittees. I was always granted access to the pantry and fridge, and I never stated my rates or looked to see what they gave me when they paid me as I was leaving. I did once go back because I thought they had accidentally given me too much, but they said "you deserve it." Nearly $10 an hour. I was shocked. But I always left the house as clean or cleaner than I found it! Usually I was given anywhere from $5-7 an hour.

Now I babysit for free so I get to hang with my nieces and nephews ... but I'm always fed!

 

[MMitchell29]

I know the OP didn't want to turn this into a pay rate debate, but I really cannot comprehend some people's responses about how unfathomable it would be to pay a 12/13yo babysitter less than $10 or $15 an hour.


Most adults (myself included) make way less than $15/hour where I live.

If my DD is watching someone's child while they go to work, I certainly wouldn't expect them to pay her the same (or more) than what they are making. Sure, $20 or $30 for a few hours in the evening would be fine, but paying a kid $120+/day seems a bit ridiculous to me. That would be like $600 a week, which is way more than daycare for one child.

I totally agree. Your post is the only one that makes sense to me.

 

[tzolkin]

I totally agree. Your post is the only one that makes sense to me.

I'm assuming that paying someone $15/hour is not a hardship for most posters here since the Disboards are a place for people who travel to Disney often. So from that perspective I guess I could see where it's "criminal" or "outrageous" to only pay someone $4/hour to watch your children.

But, I'm looking at it from the perspective of a single mother who may only be making $7 or $8 an hour. She may feel that $4/hour is generous. (Since the OP and her child feel the rate is adequate, I'm sure that's the norm for their area.)

 

[mrsklamc]

Like food prices, child care rates vary WIDELY depending on where you live.

 

[krcit]

I always made sure to provide food/snacks for the babysitter. My dd babysits for 2 couples and she said they both leave food for her. She watched 2 kids last night at the last minute and got $50 for 4 hours which is high for that family but I think they gave her a little more because it was last minute and they got home an hour later than they said. She usually gets $8 from them(2 kids) and $10 from the other family (2 kids) My younger dd is just starting to babysit and in the OP's situation, I could see her getting 4-5 an hour in those circumstances.

 

[iheartdisney]

I have 3 kids, and my sitters all get $5 an hour. And yes, there is always food for them!
I even make sure there are good snacks and drinks in the house when we have a babysitter- above what I usually will have on hand for my kids.

 

[disfan07]

I have 3 kids, and my sitters all get $5 an hour. And yes, there is always food for them!
I even make sure there are good snacks and drinks in the house when we have a babysitter- above what I usually will have on hand for my kids.

$5/hour where do you live??

I charge $12 for 1 kid, $12 for 2 kids, $15 for 3 kids, and $18 for 4 kids. And I'm cheap!

I've never been paid less than $10/hour....even when I started babysitting at 12 years old...10 years ago. Most families pay me more than what I charge.

 

[iheartdisney]

$5/hour where do you live??

I charge $12 for 1 kid, $12 for 2 kids, $15 for 3 kids, and $18 for 4 kids. And I'm cheap!

I've never been paid less than $10/hour....even when I started babysitting at 12 years old...10 years ago. Most families pay me more than what I charge.

$5 is what my first babysitter asked for, so I use that as a guide when hiring other sitters. Though usually we use the first choice. And considering I was only making $8 a hour why would I pay someone $15?

Heck, you charge what a paralegal makes per hour. I guess I should quit pursuing my B.S. and just look for babysitting gigs if the pay is that great!

When I babysat back in the late 90's, I made $20 for a 12 hour day with 3 kids (2 still in diapers)

 

[cornflake]

I know the OP didn't want to turn this into a pay rate debate, but I really cannot comprehend some people's responses about how unfathomable it would be to pay a 12/13yo babysitter less than $10 or $15 an hour.


Most adults (myself included) make way less than $15/hour where I live.

If my DD is watching someone's child while they go to work, I certainly wouldn't expect them to pay her the same (or more) than what they are making. Sure, $20 or $30 for a few hours in the evening would be fine, but paying a kid $120+/day seems a bit ridiculous to me. That would be like $600 a week, which is way more than daycare for one child.

Also not meaning to make it any sort of debate, but to explain. This, like many financial things, is completely geographic. I used to make $15-20/hr babysitting when I did it occasionally in h.s. and college and that was years ago. I know someone used to supplement her income sitting a couple years back and she got $20 so it doesn't seem to have gone up much or she charges what she used to in high school herself, heh.

That's the norm here, I'd be shocked if I heard of anyone sitting for less than $15, and that price would be the cheap young teen who lives down the hall type of arrangement.

I really don't think it's about people being wealthier or not, but the area. Of course there are people here who make minimum wage but they're either only hiring single sitters for a special thing and doing like bartering sitting or finding someone who will do it for very low rates but... it's not the norm in general I don't believe. The jobs that pay under $15 here are traditional minimum wage type jobs, like fast food or cleaning. I also used to temp and even receptionist would pay $18/hr. Just to let you know the differing scale - it's not that it's wealthy people, it's that the whole scale of wages and housing (a tiny studio apartment here can easily cost $300,000) and etc. is different in different areas. It's fairly exreme where I live, so I'm sure there's plenty of middle ground.

As for the food thing - the norm was usually 'help yourself' or 'here's the menu stash and $$.' I agree that the OP lives right there may be at the root of the assumption that he can find food without it being provided - though I also wonder what else is there that she may assume he'll just find and eat.

But the whole lunchable has me stumped. A lunchable to me is a snack not a meal. That kid is probably hungry!

They're meant to be lunch - a meal - especially for a kid. The calories are fairly high in them (and the nutrition is awful), and the kid in question is small, I think it's plenty for lunch for a kid.

 

[wgeo]

Babysitting pay is very regional. We used to live on the East Coast and had to pay more for a sitter, of course our kids were infants then also. Now we live in Wisconsin and we pay $5 an hour for 2 kids, which is the going rate, if not almost a little high for our city. I'll also pay extra if the sitter is old enough to drive herself (and does drive) (which always seems to surprise the sitter and my hubby it's just nice not to have run them home after a night out) I also make a point of telling the sitter to eat whatever they want - we don't live anywhere where takeout food is an option, so they'll always need to find something in house.

In the OPs case it could be that she just assumes he knows he can eat, or that she really just doesn't have that much food in her house?

 

[mjkacmom]

$5 is what my first babysitter asked for, so I use that as a guide when hiring other sitters. Though usually we use the first choice. And considering I was only making $8 a hour why would I pay someone $15?

Heck, you charge what a paralegal makes per hour. I guess I should quit pursuing my B.S. and just look for babysitting gigs if the pay is that great!

When I babysat back in the late 90's, I made $20 for a 12 hour day with 3 kids (2 still in diapers)

Well, I don't know where you live, but I've been paying $10 an hour since my 15 year old was little. My sitters ranged in age from 13 - 16. I make $0 an hour. Now, back 20+ years ago, when I was a college graduate, in graduate school, I made $6 an hour to sit for one child, on a regular schedule.

 

[mjkacmom]

They're meant to be lunch - a meal - especially for a kid. The calories are fairly high in them (and the nutrition is awful), and the kid in question is small, I think it's plenty for lunch for a kid.

I thought the same thing - they average out at over 300 calories. I still remember a playgroup mom trying to get her 4 year old to eat an entire pp&j sandwich. A typical serving size for a preschool is 1/2 a sandwich. I usually eat 300 - 400 calories at lunch.

 

[krcit]

$5 is what my first babysitter asked for, so I use that as a guide when hiring other sitters. Though usually we use the first choice. And considering I was only making $8 a hour why would I pay someone $15?

Heck, you charge what a paralegal makes per hour. I guess I should quit pursuing my B.S. and just look for babysitting gigs if the pay is that great!

When I babysat back in the late 90's, I made $20 for a 12 hour day with 3 kids (2 still in diapers)

It's regional as other posters have said. My 16 year old gets $10 an hour and I expect that to increase in a couple of months when she is able to drive herself to jobs.

 

[chloelovesdisney]

Yes, the babysitter should get lunch. Pizza money is a good route here.

I got $10 an hour in high school for babysitting, another mom actually set my rate and made sure the neighborhood parents that hired me knew about it. I was always given money to pick up or order lunch/dinner as well. That was a good deal back then, I'm in my 30's.

 

[starry_solo]

Different states have different minimum wages it seems
http://www.dol.gov/whd/minwage/america.htm

Where I come from 4$ would be criminal but in say Wyoming..its a little less than minimum wage. I guess it would depend on where you are...but like i just posted I pay 15$ and always leave food, AND tell the sitter day one - "help yourself to anything in the fridge/cupboards!"

But if you look at the DOL website, babysitting is probably one of the excluded "minimum wage" positions.

See:
http://www.dol.gov/dol/topic/youthlabor/wages.htm

"Occupations such as babysitting are not subject to the minimum wage law."

As with everything else, it depends on location, location, location!