But it's still not very good pay. Hope that person expects the bare minimum work for that wage. 3 kids should be at least $10/hour.
If the sitter has to drive the children to pre-school and school, he or she should be compensated for gas plus wear and tear on the car or provided with a vehicle.
Hey, guys! Remember the look (and maybe even some words!) you got the first time you told your wife that you'd babysit the kid(s) so she could go do something?
No that is a weird and terrible deal. Two kids are not twice the amount of effort or time as that of babysitting one kid. It's more work for sure but not that much more. There is a standard to go from: minimum wage. Now you can go a bit below that on the basis that this is an informal affair where the babysitter isn't paying any tax on his/her salary. And non-monetary benefits like say you get a free dinner because you are cooking dinner for the kids and eating with them, could be seen as part of your salary aswell.
With these kind of factors weighed in to modify the official minimum wage you then have a basic system of modified minimum wage + some minor addition per kid. Say 5 dollars per hour no matter what, free meals included, and one extra dollar an hour per kid. That's a wage that is still terrible but atleast makes sense.
I think she is thinking about what a teenager might accept in payment. I know teenagers who will accept this kind of low pay for one off babysitting. This women is advertising a full time job, 6:30am to 2:30 pm monday thru Friday. This is a fulltime job. For this she needs to pay taxes, or if this is considered an independent contractor pay more to cover taxes etc.
Plus, given that this is a full time job, she will likely be taking a childcare tax credit on her federal tax returns. Which means that it would be wise for her employee to likewise pay taxes and file.
darkprincess Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > I think she is thinking about what a teenager > might accept in payment. I know teenagers who will > accept this kind of low pay for one off > babysitting.
In my area, even young teens won't babysit for that little. I got paid $2 an hour for watching two kids (sometimes paid a tip as well), but that was back in the late 1980s!
The responsibility alone for a newborn is really high. The pay for the one alone should be more than minimum wage. I bet the woman wants someone who will also do housework at the same time.
That's what I was thinking. An infant needs constant attention when they're not sleeping. That's a big job.
Paying a teenager below minimum wage to come over and watch TV while older kids are in bed is a different story. Kids that ask for big bucks to do nothing, just to be present with slightly younger kids that can take care of themselves, are ridiculous in my opinion. I'm not going to pay a 14 year old $50 to watch my TV while my kids sleep.
Newborns don't usually sleep with a sitter. Most have a 6th sense for when their parents are gone and scream their heads off.
Parents who think their baby will sleep and it's an easy job for a sitter, not requiring much pay, have no idea that the sitter will have to walk their baby and rock it constantly.
I haven't needed a sitter in 10 years or so (though I might again soon!). Back then, 10 years ago, I paid $10 an hour to sit for my two kids (8 and 4).
Doesn't seem like a job I'd want to go the lowest bidder...:)
The kind that will shake the baby violently when nerves get raw from listening to constant screaming.
The kind that will drop the baby accidentally and the parents won't realize until the next morning that something is wrong with their kid. How could that happen while they were doing God's work in the temple?
Sadly, I'm aware of two such cases. Parents are stupid to expect an immature sitter to do what they can't do themselves.
I grew up in Utah as a babysitter who made that kind of money. People started hiring me when I was probably 10. To care for their children!!! Luckily I never encountered a serious emergency or took out my frustration on a screaming baby.
As an adult, I have been very, very cautious about who I've left my kids with. When my youngest was a baby, I never paid less than $15 an hour and I always hired a college student or adult. That's a lot of money, so we didn't hire a sitter very often.
I don't think I've ever hired anyone below college age and I've never paid less than $12. It just amazes me that, growing up, people would hire me so young and barely even knowing me. Shouldn't we want to be picky about who watches our vulnerable children?