Hi. Just wondering what people pay for babysitters these days... having a friend's daughter look after DS while I go to physio appt and she says she doesn't want money, but I feel like I'm just 'using' her if I don't give her something iykwim
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Hi. Just wondering what people pay for babysitters these days... having a friend's daughter look after DS while I go to physio appt and she says she doesn't want money, but I feel like I'm just 'using' her if I don't give her something iykwim
How old is she? Around here the going rate would be $15 - $25 per hour, depending circumstances etc.
My brother pays our niece $20 an hour and she is only 16!! i wish i could have made that kind of money at that age.
$20 OMG!!! I'd do it for $20!!! LOL :lol:
I used to charge a family $5 an hour when I was 16, (althought that was 13 years ago. No wonder they'd be gone for 7 hours or more at a time!!!
Celsie. xoxox
I used to get paid per night. One girl I babysat I only used to look after for a few hours and I got $20 for the night. Another group of people I babysat for paid me $10 an hour and there were a few more that were a bit higher. If you feel bad not paying her and she says she doesnt want money why don't you buy her a voucher for a cd store or something like that after she has babysat a few times?
i pay an organisation $15/hr for the first three hours then $10 or $12/hr thereafter - min of 3 hours - so the carer would get less than this by the time the org takes their cut
Jaspen what organisation is that? I would love to be able to get some permanent babysitting but its just too exxy for us, the cheapest I've found is 18/h day 16/h @ night.
Yep, between 18/20 per hour... or 15 per hour if they are sleeping (the kids I mean). This is why we rarely get sitters :(
Cai - it is Nans and Grans but is only local to Townsville as far as I know so not much use to you in Melbourne I'm afraid.
By underlining organisation I suppose I was comparing it to a friend or relatives teenager for which I'd expect to pay less. (not that I'm keen on school age teenagers babysitting my kids as a general rule at this stage)
Even at these rates I use them rarely except for funcitons we have to attend without children but on the occassions have used them found them excellent.
It's $16 for a junior, $18 experienced and $20 is more like someone who has extra quals like childcare or teaching - thats what I have noticed in Melbourne for the last 3 years. I only have one day a week but its regular and I wouldn't be happy with a nanny less than $18 because everytime I have agreed to a cheaper nanny I haven't been happy with them, so I dont bother. $18 nannies are just right from what I have used, our 2 longest term nannies (over 1 year) have been $18! :) $20 for special occasions!!!
Yep, that sounds right for Melbourne Kelly. I don't use Juniors. Preferably I like my sitters to be mums themselves although we had a 27yo non mum last year but she was a teacher... People tell us that we could get our 13yo DD to sit the boys while we go out for a meal... but...nooooo. Sorry, that's not going to happen until she's at least 15.... and even then it will be only when we are in the same suburb.
Wow, what a variety, and I can't get over the effects of inflation since I reckon my parents paid our babysitters about $20 for the evening!... I might talk to her mum about it... she's 15, mum is a midwife and they live about 5 houses down the street so her mum is close by, plus I only need her for about half an hour or even less if DH gets his bum into gear and leaves work on time to get home by the time of my appt! Like all of you, certainly wish I'd earned that sort of money babysitting!
For what it is worth, I have a girlfriend who has a 15 yr old daughter who looks after my 6yr old sometimes. The agreement that we have with her is $50 per night. Flat rate.
My thoughts on the matter are that at 15yrs of age, they can either go and make their $7.50 per hour at Woolworths or McDonalds and have to deal with a snotty supervisor, pay tax and wear a uniform which they do not like, or they can sit on my sofa, eat my snack foods, watch my DVD's, and probably sit on MSN chatting to their friends all night, while only really watching a sleeping child for 5 out of 6 hrs...
The only reason that babysitters ask such high rates is because we keep paying them....
In your case, don't pay money. Buy her an eyelash tint or a mini manicure from a local beauty place.... Teenage girls love that sort of stuff... and it will not cost you more than $20.
Then offer her more regular babysitting gigs.....BUT YOU SET THE PRICE.
If she is not interested in working for what you are offering, then look elsewhere.
Ladies, lets take back some of the control..... At 15yrs of age would any of us questioned $20 per night???? I don't think so.... And it has nothing to do with inflation....it has everything to do with being greedy.
i use to babysit for $ 5 p/h when i was 14,15 worked in child care for not much more, $6/$7 ph untill i got to 18 then got paid like $13 ph lol and just this year i was gettin paid $15.50 per hour... working full time, and this was with a company that is huge! money wasnt the problem, i love kids, worked in childcare for 6 years, and thought it was time to have one of my own .i dont work there anymore though, decided to get out of the major stress environment, wasnt getting on with some workmates.
I have only just stopped babysitting as of this year. When I was at uni I would charge $15 an hour and if it required me to drive around and pick kids up, etc, cook meals I would charge $20 an hour. Mind you people were always happy to pay this as I would clean up the kitchen for them and any toys and things lying around. I live in Sydney. I think alot depends on where you are babysitting.
Also she may not have felt comfortable asking you for a certain amount. I know I never did. Maybe you can say to her how does $ an hour sound to you...I also liked Naomi's idea of buying her a beauty treatment. I know if I used to babysit for family my aunties, step mum would do this for me and I loved it as it is a little uncomfortable accepting money from ppl you are close to.
I think you pay what you think it's worth to have your child's life in someone else's hands.
My sister works in childcare, and she also babysits on nights and weekends, charging $15 per hour - more if there are more than 2 children. I understand what you're saying, but think of it from this angle: your babysitter has agreed to look after your children, presumably play with them for a while, get them ready for bed, read to them, put them in bed, and keep an eye on them while they're sleeping. All of this generally on a Friday night or on the weekend, when teenagers generally like to go out and have a good time.:
Add to that the fact that, while you can discipline you're children (whatever way you choose to discipline them), a babysitter can't - EVER. And some kids take advantage of that, and push the limits, coz they realise the babysitter can't do anything about it. I have known my sister to drop her rate when the parents get back if the kids have been really easy to look after - having a $15 per hour rate gives her the ability to be flexible, but still fair on herself if the kids end up being rotten, KWIM?
I babysat for a lady once who tried to pay me with a bag of Speed.
I turned her down...would have preferred the cash!
DD charges $10 per hour but she hasn't got her licence yet so she has to be driven home afterwards. I get her for free LOL
Wow that is crazy. I had no idea it was so expensive! My 15 yo dd works at macdonalds earning her now $8 an hour and she is happy with that. It allows her to appreciate the efforts of her work, and that nothing, is for free and a given right. It has allowed her to learn about the value of money, as she no longer receives pocket money for making her bed etc.
I cant believe it is costing that much money for a night out.
Jo
I pay about 15 per hour (i usually round it up) for evening babysitting.My sitter is amazing - she works in after school care, has done nannying and has all sorts of quals like paedeatric 1st aid etc. she usually comes when DS is in bed already but is great at settling him if she needs to or dealing with things that come up (like when he vomited on her). she also has 3 brothers under the age of 4 so is prob better with little boys than I am! LOL!! she is a uni student - 20yo.
When we were looking at nannies (ie full time) it was going to be $200 per day.
I used to work in a childcare centre and picked up a few babysitting jobs from there.
I charge $15 negotiable per hour for one child ($5 extra per hour per extra child). I've found that this is a lot less than other people I've spoken to about it and that the people I regularly babysit for often insist on giving me more than that. Not that I ever would expect that from anyone.
Paying extra for quality doesn't always work, I get asked repeatedly to babysit by the same people and they often recommend me to their friends(so I must be doing something right).
ETA - I am 21 though so maybe less would be appropriate. Although I think the skills are what should be rewarded not the age of the person.
HTH
I charge $20/hr in Brisbane if it's a cash day job. Nights, $15. Melbourne and Sydney I used to get more.
I charge that because no matter what the kids are doing (and I can handle pretty much anything, I've been doing it forever) I am away from my DH, not in my own home, perhaps I've given up a social engagement to do it. It's no different to a day at work for me.
For a teenager though, I'd say go for about what Maccas pays, that was roughly equivalent to what I got as a 14 year old. So, what's that these days, maybe about $9 or $10? Go for a bit less at night. Bear in mind that the better they like you (they're teenagers after all) the more likely they are to be available down the track.
For someone with no quals but a bit more mature (student etc) then maybe a bit more...
Hope that helps!
I don't think it's fair to pay the same as what Macca pays, or $7 an hour which some people were quoting. For a start Macca is also paying superannuation for them ontop of their take-home wage... and they can also claim some work related expenses... and if they can't work due to illness they will still get paid (if they are not casual). Add all that up and you should probably pay the legal minimum wage of at least $12 an hour. Ok so they are taking it as cash in hand and not making a tax claim... but just because someone is young doesn't mean you should take advantage of their labour. JMO.
So where does one *find* a babysitter?
I pay $24 an hour for in-home care for a fully qualified childcare person but get 50% of that back from Kev.
I pay the same person $15 cash if we want to go out for the night and we've been too disorganised and not arranged care through the childcare centre and left it to the last minute.
DSD babysits for friends of ours and they pay her $12 per hour in the evenings - but she basically doesn't have to do anything. Gets there when the kids are in bed and would call them if one of the kids woke and couldn't settle.
How does that work? I didn't know you could get the 50% rebate for in-home care... how is it through the childcare centre? Does the centre do the booking or something? This sounds very interesting to me as I'm trying to get work as a nanny since having my son and I've come out of childcare - and if there is some kind of assistance scheme where the carer works 'for' the childcare centre, but obviously can be booked out to provide in-home care, I'm pretty sure my old boss would take me on in a heart beat. She was horrorfied when I told her I was charging $12 an hour for baby sitting and she's only JUST okay that I'm charging $15 - if the family I was working for was getting a rebate then I could charge $20 an hour and it would only be $10 for the family.:
Or am I totally misunderstanding what you've said?
findababysitter.com.au is pretty good, there are lots of baby sitters and nannys to browse, so you can be a bit picky. I think there is a regitstration fee for parents though, but I dont think its much. Otherwise you can pay more and go through an agency, which will have a level of quality control - otherwise you can check out gumtree.com.au it totally free, and it CAN be good, but sometimes not so much!:
I'm Melanie and live in Manor lakes, Wyndham vale. (not too far from Melbourne!) I am British and was a nanny for 20+ years in the UK. I now have 2 adopted kids attending Manor lakes College (g6 and b8). Was wondering what to do with some of my days and having just found this site, has given me an idea. What about private day care?? Just a thought, if anybody would be interested then contact me and we could always chat and go from there, plenty of references etc.
Sorry chel - I meant to respond to your questions earlier.
In-home care is a federal government scheme and childcare centres apply to be providers. What the means for the consumer (me) is that I can I access in-home care if I meet certain criteria. We qualify on the basis that DP is a shiftworker which means our childcare needs vary from week to week. Some weeks we don't need any childcare - others we might need a full day, others we might need two afternoons - so normal childcare options aren't great for us as we'd have to pay for three full days to keep our place but never use the full three days. Other criteria are three children under school age or running a business from home.
So, we basically filled out some forms for our provider (our local childcare centre) and provided some proof (letter from DP's employer verifying he was a shiftworker). Then we just let them know on the Friday what care we need for the following week.
As I said, we pay $24 per hour but we get 50% of that back from the government (just like you would for normal childcare).
Unfortunately in-home care is not widely publicised and I don't think there are that many providers at present but have a chat with your prospective employer and alert her to that possibility. There's more information aimed at providers here:
http://www.dest.gov.au/NR/rdonlyres/...200809FINA.pdf
I hope that answers your questions - if not, let me know and I'll try to reply more promptly this time!