how much to pay a weekend babysitter

[disfanforlife]

I asked my 19 year old dd who has done a lot of babysitting in the past but not much for the last two years. She said it really depends on the kids if she would do it or not. If they were well behaved she would do it and be fine with $350, but if she knew they were bratty she would not even do it for $500.

 

[kirstenb1]

True! As if maybe this kid might be willing to do it for less so let's see how low I can get away with.


My kids (17 &14) both went to home daycares and I always paid them what they asked for (instead of trying to negotiate down) and even paid them for their vacation weeks & holidays when they said we didn't have to. (I get paid for my vacation days & holidays, why shouldn't they?) I've always given them generous birthday, Christmas & then retirement gifts when our kids moved on to elementary school. This is not because we're wealthy & have money to burn.


I want the people taking care of my children to know that:
1. I think it's an important job.
2. I value the great job they're doing & I'm grateful to have them.
3. If I want THEM to take their job seriously, it should start with ME taking their job seriously & give them pay & respect they deserve.
4. I want them to feel secure that I'm not going to yank my kids out at the first opportunity to find cheaper care.

My kids spent most of their waking hours with these ladies. They were like a 3rd/young grandmother to my kids & partly shaped who they are now.

Sure, most babysitting isn't this big of a deal but it just irks me that people would cheap-out on child care.
3 full days has a lot of potential to go wrong with 4 kids. Is the 16 yr old a rebel? Will she run off with her boyfriend? Will the baby be crying for his mommy half the time? This isn't just a night of watching some movies and having popcorn with 1 or 2 kids. Even if everything goes super smooth, it's a lot of work.

jmho.

Thank you and totally agree!! Although we have 2 kids, only one was in daycare at a time. I always wrote a one week bonus check at Christmas to the primary teacher, and gave a gift card to her assistant. Plus, just random things, like bringing in a sub sandwich for lunch or some other small recognition of our thanks throughout the year.

Anyway, I got a bit off topic there. Our family has never been in the position to contemplate paying someone hundreds of dollars over a weekend, plus spending hundreds of dollars over same weekend away from the kids.

However, it is 3 days, times 4 kids (or 3 if you exclude the teenager), and that's a lot of work. OP, I hope your dd gets paid a fair value for the weekend!!

 

[OZMom]

True! As if maybe this kid might be willing to do it for less so let's see how low I can get away with.


My kids (17 &14) both went to home daycares and I always paid them what they asked for (instead of trying to negotiate down) and even paid them for their vacation weeks & holidays when they said we didn't have to. (I get paid for my vacation days & holidays, why shouldn't they?) I've always given them generous birthday, Christmas & then retirement gifts when our kids moved on to elementary school. This is not because we're wealthy & have money to burn.


I want the people taking care of my children to know that:
1. I think it's an important job.
2. I value the great job they're doing & I'm grateful to have them.
3. If I want THEM to take their job seriously, it should start with ME taking their job seriously & give them pay & respect they deserve.
4. I want them to feel secure that I'm not going to yank my kids out at the first opportunity to find cheaper care.

My kids spent most of their waking hours with these ladies. They were like a 3rd/young grandmother to my kids & partly shaped who they are now.

Sure, most babysitting isn't this big of a deal but it just irks me that people would cheap-out on child care.
3 full days has a lot of potential to go wrong with 4 kids. Is the 16 yr old a rebel? Will she run off with her boyfriend? Will the baby be crying for his mommy half the time? This isn't just a night of watching some movies and having popcorn with 1 or 2 kids. Even if everything goes super smooth, it's a lot of work.

jmho.

^^^THIS is exactly what I was thinking reading this thread. I have 2 boys, 5 and 3...I know how much work it is to care for them. If it's someone I can trust to meet my expectations and not be on their cell phone all weekend while my kids run around like lost boys...that is worth every cent.

 

[SEA333]

Good lord! You all talk like these kids belong in juvenile hall or something. Teachers barely get paid that much money for 3 days worth of TEACHING 25-30 kids daily.

I know I'm also in the minority, but my life situation at age 12, 13, and the rest of my teenage years demanded that I provided the majority of care to my 10, 6, 4 year old sisters, and a few years later, newborn baby brother. I'm talking doing everything a mother would have had to do had she decided to stick around. And $500 for a weekend still does not seem like a reasonable amount to demand.

I I were asked even today in my middle age years to watch three kids and a teen who the parents obviously (I hope, since the OP didn't elaborate) trust in the care of a 21 year old, I would do it for free. If my over-18 teenager/early 20-something was asked to do it, I wouldn't expect him to be paid more than $200 for the weekend. And we live in the ridiculously overpriced west chicago suburbs.

Of course, like most said, though, it would all depend on the behavior of the kids. And since the OP didn't say, I am kind of assuming that the children's behavior isn't an issue.

Ive never thought it was that hard to take care of kids. I was an in home provider for several years when my kids were babies/toddlers/etc, and pretty much after 2 years old, it really wasn't very hard. If its going to be so hard for an inexperienced 21 year old that only $500 will make it "worth it", the mother of the kids should rethink her choice of sitter.

$500 seems very greedy to me.

 

[2Kds2K9]

For $500 she's roughly getting $8.70 per hour. That's based on 57 hours for the weekend. In many states that's a bit above minimum wage. I think $500 is a steal for that family and if it was me I'd pay every penny just for the three youngest alone. To really put it in perspective, my friend has paid about the same to board her four dogs for a three day weekend.

 

[rsschneck]

I would have her stick to her $500.00. My daughter (almost 18) makes anywhere from $8-$20 per hour depending on how many kids (she also takes into account the ages of the kids and if she is going to be "crazy" by the time she returns home). I think for 4 kids for a weekend $500.00 is very reasonable. That is a lot of responsibility for a 21 year old.

 

[Iowajes]

$500 is a lot of money. If that's what it is worth to her, then she shouldn't come down.

But quite honestly- $350 is a lot of money too. In a typical job, it takes a lot of hours to earn $350. You really can't look at babysitting as a typical hourly job and rate it the same way; overnight, chances are you'll be sleeping, for instance. (I worked as a camp counselor where it worked out I made 72 cents an hour if I considered all the time I COULD have had to help children, and many times I didn't sleep at night because of emergencies...)

If the family won't go up from $350 the babysitter in question needs to decide what it is worth to her. Me, personally, I'd do this for a neighbor for $350- because that's $350 I wouldn't be making that weekend, and I know that even with a good paying job, it takes me about 15 hours of weekday work to get that as take home pay (and chances are, this remains unreported, untaxed income).

So what would she do with the time otherwise? Does she have plans? Or is she just going to sit on the couch? It's it's the couch- I'd go for the money; but that's just me.

 

[luvsmickeymouse]

I would have her stick to her $500.00. My daughter (almost 18) makes anywhere from $8-$20 per hour depending on how many kids (she also takes into account the ages of the kids and if she is going to be "crazy" by the time she returns home). I think for 4 kids for a weekend $500.00 is very reasonable. That is a lot of responsibility for a 21 year old.

I agree with this! She deserves every penny.

 

[JanaDee]

The mother offered her $350 for the whole weekend, early Friday until late Sunday after dinner. DD asked for $500. The mom is "thinking it over", DD told her she will keep the weekend open.

She needs to take the $350.

 

[FairestOfThemAll37]

She needs to take the $350.

I think the girl considering the job is the only one who can decide this.

 

[JanaDee]

Good lord! You all talk like these kids belong in juvenile hall or something. Teachers barely get paid that much money for 3 days worth of TEACHING 25-30 kids daily. I know I'm also in the minority, but my life situation at age 12, 13, and the rest of my teenage years demanded that I provided the majority of care to my 10, 6, 4 year old sisters, and a few years later, newborn baby brother. I'm talking doing everything a mother would have had to do had she decided to stick around. And $500 for a weekend still does not seem like a reasonable amount to demand. I I were asked even today in my middle age years to watch three kids and a teen who the parents obviously (I hope, since the OP didn't elaborate) trust in the care of a 21 year old, I would do it for free. If my over-18 teenager/early 20-something was asked to do it, I wouldn't expect him to be paid more than $200 for the weekend. And we live in the ridiculously overpriced west chicago suburbs. Of course, like most said, though, it would all depend on the behavior of the kids. And since the OP didn't say, I am kind of assuming that the children's behavior isn't an issue. Ive never thought it was that hard to take care of kids. I was an in home provider for several years when my kids were babies/toddlers/etc, and pretty much after 2 years old, it really wasn't very hard. If its going to be so hard for an inexperienced 21 year old that only $500 will make it "worth it", the mother of the kids should rethink her choice of sitter. $500 seems very greedy to me.

I agree with everything you said.

 

[JanaDee]

I think the girl considering the job is the only one who can decide this.

Actually, the mother asking has all the power. You refuse what I am offering and ask for what I consider an outrageous amount of money, my response would be your time is no longer needed.

 

[Iowajes]

Actually, the mother asking has all the power. You refuse what I am offering and ask for what I consider an outrageous amount of money, my response would be your time is no longer needed.

That seems to depend on whether she has a back up option for another sitter. If there is no other option, the mother may have to cave and pay the $500.

And if the sitter doesn't really want the job (and saying you'd only do it for a high price tells me that she isn't desperate for the money), then saying "your time is no longer needed" doesn't really yield power.

 

[kymom99]

For $500 she's roughly getting $8.70 per hour. That's based on 57 hours for the weekend. In many states that's a bit above minimum wage. I think $500 is a steal for that family and if it was me I'd pay every penny just for the three youngest alone. To really put it in perspective, my friend has paid about the same to board her four dogs for a three day weekend.

That is really not comparing apples to apples. The kennel has overhead to take into account when keeping someone's pet. They need a facility, insurance, possibly employees, cleaning supplies, etc. The sitter just needs to show up.

Also, the money earned is tax and deduction-free. So it is really more than $8.70 an hour.

 

[Sevenfifty]

I would say that $500 + food/gas money seems very reasonable for that amount of time.

If you figure:
5 hours Friday 3pm-8pm $75
Friday overnight 8pm-8am $100
12 hours Saturday 8am-8pm $180
Saturday Overnight 8pm-8am $100
6 hours Sunday 8am-3pm $90

Total: $545

Also, $15/hour for 3 kids under 5 seems super cheap. We pay $15/hour for 1 kid.

Actually, the mother asking has all the power.

How do you figure? It is the mother that needs the service provided, not the other way around.

 

[rsschneck]

Actually, the mother asking has all the power. You refuse what I am offering and ask for what I consider an outrageous amount of money, my response would be your time is no longer needed.

Who needs who?

The 21 year old did not ask for the job, the Mom did.

 

[Skatermom23]

If my 21 year old DD turned down a weekend babysitting job that paid $350, her and I would be having a serious talk about earning money! This isn't about how much per hour she will make. Rather that come Sunday night she will be $350 richer! Seems to me that people are not willing to work for money anymore.

 

[jensen]

If my 21 year old DD turned down a weekend babysitting job that paid $350, her and I would be having a serious talk about earning money! This isn't about how much per hour she will make. Rather that come Sunday night she will be $350 richer! Seems to me that people are not willing to work for money anymore.

I just read this whole thread and didn't really want to jump into the fray... but, this is exactly what I was thinking. The next time that girl asks her parents for money, I hope they remind her about the $350 she walked away from.

 

[JanaDee]

If my 21 year old DD turned down a weekend babysitting job that paid $350, her and I would be having a serious talk about earning money! This isn't about how much per hour she will make. Rather that come Sunday night she will be $350 richer! Seems to me that people are not willing to work for money anymore.

Yup.

And for all of those saying the girl is the one that is needed, no, she really isn't. Plans can and do change.

 

[kamik86]

If my 21 year old DD turned down a weekend babysitting job that paid $350, her and I would be having a serious talk about earning money! This isn't about how much per hour she will make. Rather that come Sunday night she will be $350 richer! Seems to me that people are not willing to work for money anymore.

One thing to remember is there is always a balance of alternatives.

I'm sure you could work another job you might have to give up some things you love buy you would have money money. Is it worth it?

You may have been able to go in a different direction with your career and make more money, but if you like what you do would it have been worth it?

There are some jobs I wouldn't do no matter how much money you offered me at this time. Myself and my family are at no risk of being homeless or hungry so those things aren't worth it.


I'm not sure $350 would be worth me giving up my weekend for. Even if the kids wouldn't be hard to watch. That still would mean not having my weekend to unwind and working during it. There were other times in my life that I was broke enough that it would definitely have been worth it.

As for who needs whom more. If the daughter doesn't need the money she doesn't really need the job and if the mom is ok changing plans she doesn't really need someone to work it. Its all a matter of what things are worth to different people.