What would you pay?

[rentayenta]

A little info: DH and I are going to Mexico for a full week this March (Sun-Sun). We had a few different childcare options to choose from but decided on the following.............................

Our good friends' DD (20) is going to come to our home and tend the kids, we have three ages 13 girl, 11 girl, and 8 boy. My oldest DD is only going to be home Sunday night, the next weekend, and then one hour daily after school- she is going to stay with her best friend and their family (as offered by them) during the week Mon-Fri. The other two go to school via the bus and will be gone daily from 8:30- 3:30. There will be one day that my DD11 will need to be taken to gymnastics and then on the Sunday we get home the kids will need to go to religious school in the morning. Of course there will be homework, meals, some general cleaning like dishes after meals and maybe some laundry but I do not expect any real cleaning like vacuuming or bathrooms. The dogs will be at the kennel and she may have to water a plant. My middle DD does take a medicine via injection BID but is well versed and can self-administer.

Her weekdays from 8:30-3:30 will be hers to do what she wants but will need to be reachable and local in case one of them gets sick or needs to come home from school.

I will leave money for food and make some meals so she doesn't have to get creative. I will also give her some gas money but she really won't have a ton driving to do.


What would you pay or what have you paid?

 

[tink_lover]

My initial thought is $300 + money for gas/groceries/misc. Even though it doesn't seem like much, if you are 20 and have never taken care of 3 kids for an extended period - it will still be a lot and very tiring for her. What were you thinking would be fair to pay her? We pay $10/hour right now for just plain babysitting.

 

[mom2val]

I'd pay her $500. It's still alot for someone her age to handle.

 

[java]

My sister was going to do this for someone- They had only 2 kids. And she was going to be paid $500 for a 4 day weekend. (I do think she was going to cook for them)

I would be thinking closer to $500 vs. $300. My daughter (12) made $100 babysitting one night a couple weeks ago. A week with 3 kids is no picnic for someone that doesn't do it everyday. (I have 4 kids so I know!)
What were you thinking of paying her? Or better yet what does she expect to be paid. Lay it all out before hand so there are no hurt feelings.

 

[tinkarooni]

Hmmmm, this is an interesting question. I'm just thinking that to kennel my dog costs me about $25.00 per day so that's $175 just for a dog.....so I think a fair price for a 20 yo to watch 2-3 kids is more than $300. She may be sort of free during the day but not really as she will be on deck so to speak. Of course if you use the price PP stated that she pays of $10.00 per hour that would be cost prohibitive.

Does she live with her parents otherwise? Is she taking off work to do this? I guess it sort of depends also on what the value to her is.....I remember once I was 19 and house sat for a family friend for free just to get away from home for awhile. So I guess part of it depends on her....of course she'll obviously be eating for free at your house too. This is tricky, I'm curious to see what you decide to do. I think about $400 - $500, depending on a a lot of the answers to my questions. Good Luck and have a great trip.

 

[momxx5]

For meals and overnight babysitting, I would suggest $100 per night. But that added to the vacation would be extremely expensive.

Whatever you decide, I would def talk with sitter ahead of time, so that it is understood. That way there would be no hard feelings at the end.

Once DH & I spent the night away and I told the sitter what I needed her to do and how much I could pay....she could take it or not. She gladly did.

Good luck.

 

[jessica52877]

Atleast $125/day and possibly more depending on if she took the week off from her regular job. $125 is what I got paid 10 years ago so in reality I am thinking more! And that was for one child. She will have her days free which does help but really it is alot of work and her days aren't that free to be able to do as she wishes.

 

[Hannathy]

I would have to agree with the $500 range plus money for expenses/gas.

You are asking her to either be working or be on call for 7 days 24 hours a day that is a lot of work and a lot of hours!

Heck my DD got $20 last night to watch 2 kids for 2 1/2 hours and they were asleep when she got there and never made a peep.

 

[jessica52877]

I want to add that I got the worst suprise one week when I took the week off work along with the agreement that I would skip picking up the 3 after school kids I got daily. I got $250 for the after school kids and about $300 at work so gave up $550. I only got paid $700 for 10 days and that was for an infant (9 months old) and a 9 year old. It was not discussed beforehand what the pay would be but I had done it so often for other families I wasn't concerned.

I also did it for lady that paid me $50 to sleep and $10 for each waking hour I had the children. They went to school and daycare so I was not paid for those hours but I also was able to work my regular job.

 

[rentayenta]

She has tended kids before and is great with them so that's a good thing. She has two younger siblings. She also knows my children well.

I was thinking $500 for her and then extra for fun and groceries ($150?) and a little for gas. The fridge will be full when we leave and milk gets delivered.

If I come home to a clean house, I will gladly pay extra.

 

[rentayenta]

Let me add that she lives at home and works very part time as a banquet server, maybe 3 days a week. If she wanted she could pick up a lunch shift as my oldest gets home at 3 and could easily stay with my 11 and 8 y/o for an hour or two.

 

[SandrA9810]

wow, 500 bucks for a week??? I'll take that.

Any case i guess if she's still living at home, then this is more for fun money than say bills and household expenses.

Your kids also play a part in how much her time is worth. Kids can be angels or little devils when it comes to some one else being in charge. For the most part, they'll act up in front of mom and dad to push their buttons, in front of other's they're completly ok with each other.

I know you said your oldest was staying at a friend's house, but are the other two ok with taking care of the dog??? Kennels can be stressful for them, and it seems like a lousy way to spend a week when they could be at home. My dog would think i'm the worst person in the world if i left her in the kennel.
This is probably a big boost for her to make that kind of money. So she probably wouldn't mind the extra responsibilty to get a few more bucks. But thats up to her if she would want to help the kids on that. And you can reward the kids too for helping out, which will intice them to be extra good for the sitter.

I like the idea of paying her per hour she's with the kids and if an emergency pops up, you can pay her for that time as well.

 

[rentayenta]

She did not grow up with dogs so leaving the dogs is not an option for me. We have a HUGE Black Lab puppy (9mos) and a Mini Schnauzer (5 years). By kennel I should elaborate: near us there are a set of brothers who own a few acres and have a word-of-mouth boarding service. They are amazing! For $18 per night per dog they take great care of our pups. Their areas are HUGE and indoor/outdoor. Our dogs don't seem to mind and come home smelling sweet (they bathe them too). They are true animal lovers and I trust them.

 

[DVCBELLE]

I would agree that $500 would be the minimum I would pay her. You are going to be paying around $250 for the dogs - so I would think that anything less than double that for your kids would be unfair.

Think of it this way - the rate of $500 pays her $3.75 and hour for the hours the kids aren't at school. If you take off the hours she is sleeping - the she is making $7.93 an hour for when she is actively engaging your children.

Your kids are at an age where they shouldn't be much trouble and if she can work her regular job - she will probably think this is a great deal!

 

[kaytieeldr]

Any case i guess if she's still living at home, then this is more for fun money than say bills and household expenses.

Disagree. Whatever the OP decides to pay needs to be based on the value of the service to the OP, and not what the caretaker intends to do with the pay.

 

[jackskellingtonsgirl]

I would break it down into blocks.
Determine a flat rate for the block of time the kids are at school and she is on call. Be clear about whether or not she is allowed to work a lunch shift - if one of your kids is ill or injured she will have to be able to go get them.

The hours between the time they come home and the time they go to bed would be the next block.

The overnight hours while the kids are asleep is the next block.

Add the rate for the 3 blocks to make a 24 hour weekday rate, multiply by the number of weekdays.

The weekend rate needs to be higher because the kids will not be in school.
You might phone a sitting service and ask what their caregivers charge for 24 hour duty.

I can tell you my rate for that many days/hours would be higher than $500, but I am a full time professional nanny with 16 years of experience so it isn't really an equal comparison.

 

[fac]

Disagree. Whatever the OP decides to pay needs to be based on the value of the service to the OP, and not what the caretaker intends to do with the pay.

agree.

Last year, I paid my baby sitter $250 per week for 2 kids from 3:00 pm to 6:00 pm Monday to Friday. $500 is around $62 per day/night. I think it is fair that to look into a daily rate. I suggest a minimum of $100 to $125 per day.

 

[AuntMinnie12]

About 5-6 years ago, I paid $100/night for a 3 days weekend for two kids (ages 9 and 7). That was the going rate in my area and I was happy to pay it! We also had a small older dog!

 

[kawing123]

I, personally would not leave three children of those ages for such a long period with a young adult. While that age may seem alright, many are not mature enough yet, especially if an emergency was to occur. I would reconsider and try to make other arrangements. Be certain since you will be out of the country, that a legal notarized document exists for emergencies. Perhaps the children, could stay with a friends family that is well trusted for that time, but a twenty year old with three kids heck alot of parents cannot even handle that.

 

[Whistle]

I just wanted to add (although I am sure you are doing this), make sure you leave a copy of your insurace cards with her and a letter giving your permission for her to transport them for medical care if necessary and that you would be responsible for the payment.