Harvest02
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Jan 25, 2006
- Messages
- 1,568
$10 an hours? WOW! We must be getting a bargain in Indiana! All of the girls that have babysat for me only charge about $5-6 an hour. Granted, I have 2 boys that are 9 and 5, so they don't require much care. I have a suggestion though..if any of you have kids in elementary school, ask around there. Quite a few of the teachers in my kids school have kids that are babysitting age. In fact, my 9 year old had a teacher in 3rd grade last year that has a daughter that babysat for us a few times. He already knew her since she spent lots of time at the school with her mom, so it worked out great!!! I also check with neighbors and friends to get recommendations. I am in the minority, I guess...I feel that 12 and 13 year olds are fine to babysit if they are mature and have taken one of those safe sitter classes. IMHO, I feel better with the younger ones because they are not that much into kids of the opposite sex, and they don't drive yet. High schoolers never seem to be available. Another idea that I have done in the past, trade off with another family that has kids the same age as yours. You and your siginificant other can go out one night and they watch your kids, then another night they go out and you watch their kids! And it is FREE!!! 
