Babysitting

phunkles

I started babysitting the summer before I was 16 at the Xmas.
I was getting paid £4 an hour which is going back 11 years now *gulp* I feel old.
I still do occassionally babysit for the same family now - will be this weekend - however ill be getting £6 an hour. The way they saw it - they are both professional people so I should be paid a fair wage - think theyve always sat it at just over the minimum wage. And I got extra for after midnight a whole pound an hour extra.
I think at 16 I was slightly disappointed that my first real saturday job paid less than babysitting for the neighbours at £2.85 an hour!!!
The only reason I babysat at 15 was they lived literally 2 minutes from my house - my parents where on standby (mutual agreement by my parents and them) their children and myself already knew each other really well - know they are practically like my little brothers we are very close and the youngest has asked would I have a baby and could he babysit it *gulp*!!!

Quite a long post but - its not recommended by some but if your prepared to agree as backup and be on hand should an event arise - the parents have a means of contact with your daughter (even a checking in text once a night after bed times) and they agree to provide a safe means home for her. I say go for it - i found it incredibly rewarding and I think it made me grow up quite a lot - and put me off babies for quite some time -(they not so cute when they need changing and you cant pass them back to someone else!)

SandC

Another reason I used to like doing it is that they'd always have some goodies left out for me specially. Choccy biccies and stuff.

phunkles

SandC wrote: »

Another reason I used to like doing it is that they'd always have some goodies left out for me specially. Choccy biccies and stuff.

Oh yeah there was that and that they had the full sky package and the internet long before we did

Money_maker

I used to babysit from the age of 12. Was 75p hour, £1 hour after midnight - many years ago. Had 2 or 3 families so mum or older sister would do if double-booked. Seemed a lot of money then, much better than the £3.50 for 6 mornings paperound.

Watched tv & ate goodies left out for me. Never had any probs. Would be driven home in the jag or rolls!

Jet

If you leave your child with someone under 16 (or is it 18?) then the responsibility for your child still lies with the parent, so in theory, if anything was to happen then you are liable.

However, if you choose a responsible 14 yr old who has contact numbers and his / her parents close by, then I really think the risk is minimal and for those of us who don't have family, it's the only way to get an occassional night out.

Jude123

I used to pay £4 an hour to a fifteen year old, now have an older girl to babysit and pay £5 an hour. Have only left them now that they are a bit older (youngest now over 2). Would not leave a baby with a young babysitter though.

HTH

Robert_Sterling_3

tryinghard40 wrote: »

her rate at the moment is £3.00 an hour and she has only worked past midnight once and that was pre arranged.

That sounds reasonable to me. It should be affordable and so she should get opportunities that might not come if she was already charging more.

SandC

phunkles wrote: »

Oh yeah there was that and that they had the full sky package and the internet long before we did

Lol, it was that long ago for me that they didn't exist!

I do remember my neighbours had NOW 3 before I did though, so I was happy being able to listen to that on a Friday night.

freebiequennie

I run babysitting courses for young people aged 13-17yrs and we suggest they charge 13-15yr olds around £2.50 an hr and 16-17yrs olds around £3.50 an hr obv depending on what other experience they have and they would have completed this course.

we suggest the under 16yrs dont babysit after midnight and only do 2-3 nights max a week as they have homework and no later than 9pm on a school night.

obv it is only advice and they can do as they please

last course i did to some 13 and 14yr olds we did a session on looking for work, personal safety, rates etc and some of them thought they should be paid £7 an hr!!!!!

I am a an experienced and qualified childrens nurse and have nanny experience also and babysit and charge £10 an hr and thats in the east midlands.

Pee

I first babysitted less than a mile from home when I was about 17 and a half and the fuss my mum made about how could someone leave a child with me, you'd never have guessed the child's parents were also less than a mile from home, were well known to me and I wouldn't have thought twice about ringing had there been any problem.
I would say that I didn't have any experience of children, although I had worked with old people. It's a vicious circle, you can't do it, you don't have the experience, well, how am I ever going to get the experience?!!
I think it's good that your daughter wants to make a few pounds. Good luck to her.