Occassional nanny/babysitter

shopaholic2

I have been thinking about starting up an occassional nanny/babysitter service in my local area, and wondered what you all think,and what you would pay for this service?
I am NNEB qualified, with first aid, driving licence, and 2 kids, 11 and 5, and i have years of experience.

I thought of £6 an hour,then maybe £8 per hour after midnight, what do you reckon?
Both my kids are in school, so i can do any part of any day, so i'm flexible.
Would it work????

Feedback welcomed!!!!

affordmylife

sounds like a good plan. but most people going out to work arent earning £6 or £8 and hour so wouldnt be able to pay you that much.

around here (east anglian) something like a tenner for babysitting for an evening pretty much regardless of the time would be about right.

if you are talking about childminding and not babysitting then around here the going rate is probably about £3 per hour per child.

good luck with it tho.

p.s i am a working mother and have previously been a childminder.

liney

You get what you pay for. I'd rather go out half as often and pay the above person £6 an hour than leave my child with a teenager for a tenner. Each to their own, but i'd give it a go!

andan

I think around £6 an hour is reasonable, there are agencies round here who offer that kind of service and am sure last time i looked into it, they charged around that much.

Have you tried googling it and seeing how much these companies charge. Like i said, i know down here, its becoming more popular, i work with children so was looking into it at one point as additional income.

moo2moo

When you compare it to childminders its not that bad. During the day childminders here charge £4 per hour per child, rising to £5 per hour per child after 6:30pm. With 2 children thats £8-£10 per hour.

Would I be happy leaving my children with a total stranger and giving a total stranger full access to my home? No. If on the other hand you were someone I knew through school (or somewhere else) and my children were comfortable with you then thats a different story.

Only you know the area you live in. Ask around and see what the parents you meet day to day think.

hulagirl79

Hi
I am a nanny and i have to say i would not babysit for £6 per hour, i was registered with sitters and thats all they would offer. I dont know where you live but check out sitters, as most parents wont pay more than they charge for a baby sitter. I now only babysit for my current or previous bosses.
|I do hope it goes well for you
good luck

shopaholic2

Thanks to all of you for your comments.
Moo2moo I will be providing references, and i would prefer to meet the whole family together before the actual date they want me to sit for them, so they would get a feel for me and whether they feel they can trust me etc.

I also agree that there are people who would prefer to pay someone like me £6 per hour, than a teenager who will be on the phone to their mates all night!!!!
At the end of the day it's peace of mind as far as I'm concerned, and with me being CRB'd, first aid and qualified i feel i have alot to offer.
I think I will do some posters etc, seewhat feedback I get.

Thank you all so much for your help.
x

PasturesNew

This is one of those areas where you'll have to set your target market carefully.

Many people just want to use a 15 year old local person to babysit for them while they go down the pub, hence the often low rates.

However, if you can target more affluent areas and set your service provision professionally, then you can get a realistic rate for a fully professional service.

Check out this website for some prices/terms etc: https://www.sitters.co.uk/home.aspx

This page shows you rates in various areas:
http://www.sitters.co.uk/cost.aspx

What would boost your earnings would be if you could combine your babysitting with some online earning! If you've got a laptop/wireless, or they allow you to use their PC, you can double-use the time when nothing's happening to earn a bit extra.