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We have a babysitting swap with two families in the neighborhood with whom we switch kids every Friday. All the kids are pretty much the same age, so they really entertain each other. Every three weeks, we end up having 9 kids at our house. We feed them dinner and let them play hard, put a movie on for the last hour or so, don't worry about the mess because it will keep getting messier, and then look forward to the next week when it isn't our turn. Each couple goes out from about 5:30-9:00 and does whatever they want.
So...I really haven't had to get a babysitter, which is fabulous, because who can afford to go out these days? Some friends asked us to go to the Hale Center Theater to see a play on Wednesday, so it was necessary to get a babysitter. It is the end of the summer, and I just hired my first babysitter of the summer. Is that amazing, or what? The play was a comedy and very good. I think that it was called "You Can't Take It With You."
The babysitter, I think, did a good job. The kids were all asleep, and the house was at least picked up when we got home. I just remember when I babysat, though, I always scrubbed their houses. I mopped or vacuumed, did the dishes, cleaned up, bathed the kids. It was a tough job! And, the going rate for a babysitter was $1.75/hour -- regardless of the number of kids. I remember watching a houseful of 7 kids for a minimal amount of money.
My number one concern is that my children have fun. I have had some nightmare babysitters in the past. I have come home to some of the following:
1. A babysitter who brought a friend along without my knowing.
2. A babysitter who decided to just play with my expensive label maker and waste all of the labels. The weird part was that she didn't even bother cleaning up the labels that she wasted. The labels were all over the floor when we got home with I Love _______ on them.
3. A babysitter who was asleep on my couch with the pizza and fruit and hotdogs just sitting on the counter ruined.
4. A babysitter who said to the kids, even before we left so that we could hear: "You play by yourselves. I'll just watch." She didn't play with the kids at all, didn't clean up, and according to the kids, just sat on the couch. And this girl's mother had told me that when they lived in Michigan, parents wouldn't go out unless they had one of her girls babysit. They must have been the only girls available to babysit, because I was so disappointed that I never had her come back.
I pay between $5-$6/hour for a babysitter. There are some in the neighborhood who pay $7-$8. (How much do you all pay?)
Am I the only one who has a hard time spending money on a babysitter? And...when I spend money on a babysitter, I want it to be worth every penny. I want my children to have a really good time, I want them to feed and put my kids to bed, and I want my house to be cleaner than when I left it. Is that too much to ask?
Gratefully, I had a good experience with this last one. She is one of my Mia Maids, and I absolutely love her.
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8 comments:
I never cleaned someone's house when I babysat- that just seems odd to me. I would like clean up the toys or whatever we played with, but I always figured they were paying me to watch their kids and play with them, not clean their house.
My cousin only charges like $4-5 an hour and she watches pretty much all the kids in her neighborhood. At one point, she was making like $300 a month babysitting. Sheesh- at least she is good and they want her back. I am lucky and have family that wants to watch Mya for free.
Oh babysitting woahs!! I totally understand. I am picky about babysitters and I am with you, I want my kids entertained, my house picked up and things cleaner and more pulled together than when I left. When I find a good babysitter I pay $6-$7 hour and maybe even $8 if the kids are awake most of the time. If the kids go to bed shortly after we leave I pay $5-$6.
Ahhh Jana I have a love/hate relationship with this. I want my kids to have fun, but at the same time I expect the babysitter to at least clean up.
Funny my friend and I were just discussing how we would cleanup the house and play with the kids too. Maybe that was the "old" days because it is very hard to come by.
We have had so many different babysitters and with our ward being so small it almost gives us no time to go out.
We pay about the same as you on rare occasion a little more. Depending on the awake/sleep time they have with them.
Doug paid the babysitter while I went to Utah $10 an hour and he came home to a total bomb! He was so upset. I had to laugh because he sounded like me. Grumbling over having to pickup the house after working all day.
I always think you have such a good thing going until I remember you have all the kids one night! I pay $2 an hour for the first child and another $1 for each additional child, which means I usually pay $6 an hour. I don't get my house cleaned for that but I don't really care because my kids are really played with and I refuse to pay more than that having averaged 6 kids a job for $1 an hour when I was a babysitter!
I used to be the super babysitter like you were, ultra responsible, totally cleaned their house all that good stuff for one low price. What a scam they had going with me, they must have joked how they had shnockered me into being their nanny and maid.
I've never had a babysitter before! We either don't go out or my friends or family cover us while we're out. We've never actually had someone come over to watch the kids. I don't know how anyone can afford to pay a sitter and go out though, surely it's not worth that much money. We just put the kids to bed then eat treats and watch a movie.
I remember getting (literally) 1 cent per minute which equals 60 cents/hour. Needless to say, I hated babysitting that particular family. I had to keep telling myself that I was doing service - argh!!
We usually pay $5 an hour. We just don't go out that much because it gets so expensive by the time you pay a babysitter and then do anything else. I haven't really found a good one yet, because my kids are usually still up when I get home! Don't they understand that that's the best part of going out -- not having to deal with bedtime? And cleaning up? Nope. The only good thing is that the kids have fun, but it's not a good deal for me.
I have a lot to say on the subject, but I will try not to... We have only used babysitters about 3 times and Jessica is nine. Twice were to go to the temple and the other just to dinner. I have never been impressed and my kids are better alone. For real. Babysitters give them an excuse to do things we would never allow and then say....she let us. I was a really good responsible babysitter but I don't feel like I have found that (or really looked for that matter).
My neighbors pay $7 and hour and my sister says where she lives you pay $8. Even if they are sleeping. We could never afford that so it's not really a temptation for us. I think it is a little crazy that a young girl has access to so much money. I don't think it is right... that's more than they would make at a real job and tax free. I think I babysat free at least half the time because people were always doing "good things" (temple, etc) but from what I hear the girls don't even offer that anymore - probably for fear they will get taken up on it. I was passing up $8-10 while they would be passing up $28-35. Crazy.
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