Babysitting - how much to charge?

scottishspendaholic

Hi there,

This is my very first post on MSE so please be gentle with me if I do anything wrong!

I have been lurking on MSE for a few weeks and already picked up some great hints, tips and freebies from lots of the forums.

One of the tips I would like to take up is to get a second job and I think that the best one for me would probably be babysitting.

Question for all the lovely parents out there - how much would you expect to pay for babysitting - is it an hourly rate or per evening and is there anything you would expect anyone to do/bring?

Also - I have recently moved to a small friendly village and don't know many people. Are people likely to respond to a poster or an advert in the local paper or something else (where would you find a babysitter?). Would you ever use someone you didn't know (but had the opportunity to meet with first)?

I have excellent experience with babies and children.

Thanks very much in advance for all your advice

Scottish Spendaholic x

funky-footprints

defiantely recommend putting up a little advert in the village post office/shop etc, that sort of thing is done a lot where i grew up, also state that references etc are available.

As a newbee to the area I am living in it was by word of mouth we found a teenager desperate to earn to some cash, and she has become a very close family friend, as have her mum & dad. If she cant baby sit her mum does it for free. she came up a few times to play with my 2 just so if they woke up they knew who was looking after them and she felt confident to be left with them. We pay her abour £15 for before midnight and £5 an hour after midnight. She puts them to bed now no probs. I realy would be lost with out her, as we have no family to hand.

good luck on your venture.

xx

freebie_junkie

about a fiver an hour is fair

when i was 15/16 i babysat and got lots of trade from leafleting, you could also try a notice at teh local mums and toddlers group, church, school etc.

with teh current climate it might be an idea to get a CRB check- it costs about £30 but well worth it so you can put it on your advert (it will prove youve no offeces against kids- parebts are understandibly worried about strangers nowadays)

good luck!

Al_Mac

We do £5, then £10 after, if it is late, tend to give another £5, you need to keep good ones sweet.

Latest has gone to Uni now:mad:

freebie_junkie

oh yeah i did charge a bit more after midnight, plus teh guarantee of being walked home/ driven if they hadnt been drinking.

*Louise*

My sis babysits and gets £5 an hour


Lucky thing...when I used to do babysitting it was £5 for a night. :rolleyes:

freebie_junkie

inflation eh?

im 22 now and my little sis is 15, if she babysat ahe probley get about £50 per night! shed need it to feed her clothing and designer make-up habits!!! (at 15!!)

iwanttosave_2

I used to get £10-15 a night, maybe a bit more if they came home drunk:D and always insisted on being able to get home safe

larmy16

Scottish you don't say how old you are but I am gathering you are not a teenager? If this is the case then in the area I live I understand the girls get about £6.50 - these are girls who work in the day nurseries. I know of a nanny who will not do it for less than £8.00 which is steep, but she seems to get work!

I think it is a good idea to get chatting to as many people as possible, and mention that you babysit. People really value getting someone they can trust with their kids. You could also ask at the local churches too if you could put an advert? These things usually snowball with personal recommendation.

freebie_junkie

iwanttosave wrote:

I used to get £10-15 a night, maybe a bit more if they came home drunk:D and always insisted on being able to get home safe

i had a posh family who were prper p*ss-heads!

i loved it, we never had choclate or crisps in the house and didnt have sky- but teh family did and teh little boys would go to bed at 6pm! hehe!

theyd come home and always give me more than i was due id tell them but theyd be too far gone to bother, then teh dad would walk me home and chat utter carp all teh way there!

hehe!

wendyl1967

I have two boys age 11 and 8 who are easy to look after. The girl that babysits in an evening gets £10 if she is there 2 hours or 4 hours. It is an easy job as the boys are easy to look after. We have not stayed out later than 11.30 up to now.


The minimum wage is £3.00 an hour for 16 years old where they probably work pretty hard in a shop to earn that.

To sit in someones house, watching dvds, eating crisps and chocolate I think £3.00 an hour is plenty. IMHO.