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Infant childcare cost - mild vent.


Murphy101
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Sure. I would never want to do in-home childcare for many reasons, including low pay and the headaches you described. My point was just that figuring out the hourly rate for regular daycare is not an appropriate guide for what to pay a babysitter, in my opinion.

Sure. I can agree with that.

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I don't know... babysitting wages were always less than minimum wage.... I was early 80's and earned $1/hr/child (double after midnight and also double for new years eve) and minimum wage where I lived was about $3.00/hour. But I yhink that $40 for 6 hours is Very Reasonable.

 

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I don't think teens under working age (presumably 16) should expect minimum wage. I also don't think teens that young should be responsible for an infant that young for that long and certainly not on a regular basis.

 

But I hire young-mid teens for babysitting and I don't pay $8-10 an hour. I do round up generously but come on. They are 12 or 13, not old enough to work and they are just making sure my kids are safe for a few hours. That isn't a $10-hr job.

 

For a regular babysitter/nanny especially over 16, then that is totally different. My daughter made $10 for that at 17/18 saving for college and I think that was totally reasonable. But I don't think the same about a few hours for a date night for a 12 year old. If I hired adults for that (I don't need to) then I would pay them more.

 

ETA: my son makes less then $10 repairing instruments, a trade he's been training for for almost 2 years. Watching a movie with my kids and eating pizza is just not the same value as something like that for a YOUNG teen.

Edited by busymama7
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Babysitting, like Any market, has its going rates. Dd started babysitting at 12 for less than the going rate because she was learning and was willing to work for a lower sum. Now that she has an excellent reputation and good references, she can afford to be picky. She gets the better jobs for more pay. Someone else can take the lower paying jobs. And she's not 16 yet.

Edited by Jean in Newcastle
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I don't think teens under working age (presumably 16) should expect minimum wage. I also don't think teens that young should be responsible for an infant that young for that long and certainly not on a regular basis.

 

But I hire young-mid teens for babysitting and I don't pay $8-10 an hour. I do round up generously but come on. They are 12 or 13, not old enough to work and they are just making sure my kids are safe for a few hours. That isn't a $10-hr job.

 

For a regular babysitter/nanny especially over 16, then that is totally different. My daughter made $10 for that at 17/18 saving for college and I think that was totally reasonable. But I don't think the same about a few hours for a date night for a 12 year old. If I hired adults for that (I don't need to) then I would pay them more.

 

ETA: my son makes less then $10 repairing instruments, a trade he's been training for for almost 2 years. Watching a movie with my kids and eating pizza is just not the same value as something like that for a YOUNG teen.

Equal pay for equal work. Someone should not be paid less just bc of their age.

 

I have heard that claptrap before. My daughter recently learned to sew. Everyone wants her to make them things. No one wants to pay for it or pay a decent amount. Well too bad then. "But she's 16!" So what? You aren't doing her some wonderful favor by "letting her" do ___ work.

 

I have no idea why you are going off about 12 yr olds babysitting. I made it clear this is a teen daughter. She is of legal working age.

 

I never made any claim about sitting around eating pizza and watching tv. But regardless, if someone doesn't want to pay, our feelingns aren't hurt.

 

I don't expect minimum wage for babysitting. I was never paid minimum wage. My starting pay was $20 or $1 for out of diapers and $2 if in diapers per hour. That didn't come out to minimum wage for most of my clients. And I made really good money consistently. I made less when I took a minimum wage job at 16. But it was a regular paycheck and I never had to wipe butts, so I considered it a step up. $40 for 6 hour is still not minimum wage either.

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Babysitting, like Any market, has its going rates. Dd started babysitting at 12 for less than the going rate because she was learning and was willing to work for a lower sum. Now that she has an excellent reputation and good references, she can afford to be picky. She gets the better jobs for more pay. Someone else can take the lower paying jobs. And she's not 16 yet.

Yep. Good luck finding cheaper. Friend's daughter ended up just taking off work instead bc she thought $40 was nuts. Instead she got written up at work for not going in. She just returned to work from maternity leave this week. She didn't have any time off left to take. So maybe she will lose her job I guess. She's had 11 months to figure out how to get sitters lined up and apparently has done nothing at all in that regard. She just assumed everyone would babysit for free.

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Yep. Good luck finding cheaper. Friend's daughter ended up just taking off work instead bc she thought $40 was nuts. Instead she got written up at work for not going in. She just returned to work from maternity leave this week. She didn't have any time off left to take. So maybe she will lose her job I guess. She's had 11 months to figure out how to get sitters lined up and apparently has done nothing at all in that regard. She just assumed everyone would babysit for free.

 

Reality bites.  I notice that your friend (who I assume is Grandma) isn't offering to rearrange her schedule so that she can do it for free. 

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Reality bites. I notice that your friend (who I assume is Grandma) isn't offering to rearrange her schedule so that she can do it for free.

Nope. She isn't. They made arrangements months ago to go scuba diving and they aren't canceling it. They told her over a week ago that they were not going to babysit. She asked other grandma, but that grandma is at a funeral. And though my friend doesn't mind watching the grandbaby 2-3 days a week, she made it clear many times right in front of me that she's not reliable. She has seizures sometimes. So far only at night but it can take her 3-4 days to recover. Her mom is living with her due to Alzheimers. Her husband is a military vet on disability for injury and PTSD so they have many Drs spots for him. Odds are good that there's going to be many days she has to find another babysitter. I kind of want to smack my goddaughter upside the head that she just can't expect her mom to keep up with all this for much longer. And to be honest, much as she adores grandbaby, she openly admits she hated the infant years. She went back to work as fast as she could bc she hated being a SAHM even for the first 6 weeks. lol

Edited by Murphy101
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This last bit makes me look at it a bit differently. From the original post I thought Grandparents were raising their grandbaby and needed a sitter for the 6 hours. I would have done it for the $20 if that had been the case as I know the added stress and expense of raising extras.

 

Given that the mom has custody and is just failing to plan ahead for day care for her child that changes things.

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Other than the rich people my kids have baby-sat for, 6 hours for $20 would be about right...

Same when I used to babysit...in 1995.

 

Geez, inflation people. $40 is cheap for an infant, especially considering you just can't leave him or her alone. Even while sleeping, an infant needs to be monitored for reflux, SIDS, breathing issues, etc., especially when in a new environment.

 

That's 6 hours of constant vigilance. If someone offered to watch my baby for so little, I'd have reservations about what kind of effort they'd put into his care.

 

You get what you pay for. And childcare is already a generally undervalued sector of labor.

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Equal pay for equal work. Someone should not be paid less just bc of their age.

 

I have heard that claptrap before. My daughter recently learned to sew. Everyone wants her to make them things. No one wants to pay for it or pay a decent amount. Well too bad then. "But she's 16!" So what? You aren't doing her some wonderful favor by "letting her" do ___ work.

 

I have no idea why you are going off about 12 yr olds babysitting. I made it clear this is a teen daughter. She is of legal working age.

 

I never made any claim about sitting around eating pizza and watching tv. But regardless, if someone doesn't want to pay, our feelingns aren't hurt.

 

I don't expect minimum wage for babysitting. I was never paid minimum wage. My starting pay was $20 or $1 for out of diapers and $2 if in diapers per hour. That didn't come out to minimum wage for most of my clients. And I made really good money consistently. I made less when I took a minimum wage job at 16. But it was a regular paycheck and I never had to wipe butts, so I considered it a step up. $40 for 6 hour is still not minimum wage either.

And yet, if she was running a lawn mowing or detailing cars or something similar, I bet she'd be offered quite a bit more.

 

Or maybe not - she is female, so...

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I think you are super wise for nipping this in the bud now.

 

I just find bargain hunting for a carer for your baby... sad. I know it's often necessary, but, poor baby.

Either she'll look around and find someone for what she's willing to pay (in which case your daughter doesn't need to sit) or she'll be shocked by how cheap your daughter is and be willing to pay the going price.

 

I got $5/hour - when I was 12 in 1992 to watch a single kindergartner. By the end of high school it was $12-15/hour. 

 

Now I pay $15/hour. I just tell sitters, "I have five kids, three of whom basically take care of themselves, and I pay $15/hour" and figure they are free to take the job or not. I'm not offended either way. It is an economic transaction and if we don't agree on wages we both can look for other people to work with. I want to treat sitters with respect (because I literally earned thousands of dollars sitting many children) and I only want sitters I trust and respect.

 

OTOH, I don't get sitters often because it is so expensive!

 

Emily

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Yeah the going rate here is usually $8 an hour plus $2 for each additional kid. I think your counter of $40 was rather generously low, to be honest!

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And yet, if she was running a lawn mowing or detailing cars or something similar, I bet she'd be offered quite a bit more.

 

Or maybe not - she is female, so...

Exactly. No one has ever said my boys should charge less for lawn mowing or carpentry or pet care or anything because they are teens. But a teen girl babysitting someone's kids? Well don't you know they are doing her a favor giving her that experience? And don't I know I should be teaching her to serve others in Christ?

 

YeahNo.

 

Oddly enough, or not, it is only women who say this stuff ime. I have never had a man say such nonsense.

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