Taking care of children is not an easy job. Any parent will tell you that, and they love their kids. So if someone is taking care of children that don’t belong to them, there should definitely be some sort of compensation involved.
But one mom decided that her teenage niece could babysit seven children on Halloween in exchange for a few slices of pizza without even asking her if she was available. Now, one of the teen’s parents is asking the internet if it’s a good idea to share her babysitting rate in the family group chat.
This parent was shocked when their sister-in-law volunteered their daughter to babysit for free
kaboompics.com (not the actual photo)
Now, she’s wondering if it would be appropriate to demand payment for her work
kaboompics.com/Pexels (not the actual photo)
There’s no question that babysitting is a real job
While some parents are lucky enough to have parents or friends who are willing to watch their children for free from time to time, that’s a huge privilege. Because according to Kidsit, babysitting is definitely a real job.
It requires discipline, maturity, and responsibility. Babysitters must show up to their shift on time, follow the rules provided for them by the parents, and keep their focus on the children the entire time.
Babysitters also have to be prepared for emergencies. Ideally, they will be CPR certified and know how to administer first aid. And if anything goes wrong, they have to be able to act quickly and appropriately.
They may have to cook the child meals, change diapers or help them in the bathroom, get the child ready for bed, and tidy up the house a bit. Depending on how many hours a sitter has to spend with a child, this kind of work can be extremely exhausting.
Running around and playing tag for hours feels like nothing when you’re a kid, but it can take a lot out of you as an adult. And only a child’s parents are obligated to take care of them, so anyone else should receive some sort of compensation for doing so.
According to Parents.com, the average hourly babysitting rate in the United States in 2024 was $23.61 for one child and $26.57 for two children. Parents who hired babysitters for 8 hours each week were spending around $200 per week on sitters.
When it comes to deciding how much to pay a sitter, there are several factors to consider. Parents should keep in mind where they live, the babysitter’s level of experience and education, what exactly they’re demanding of the sitter, how many children they’ll have to watch, the ages of the children, and first aid and CPR certification.
“Those on the higher price end are typically our enrichment leaders who are often college-educated sitters who lead kids in certain activities like art, music, acting, dancing, and homework help,” Yi-Hsian Godfrey, co-founder and CEO of Apiari, told Parents.com.
Using family members for child care can get messy
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Some people might assume that it’s easier to just ask a relative to help out than to hire a professional babysitter. But Care.com notes that there are pros and cons when it comes to using family members for child care.
On one hand, it’s nice to know that your children are in the hands of someone that you trust. This can also be a great way for the children to build strong relationships with family members, and parents don’t have to worry about cultural differences between their kids and their sitter.
Plus, parents might even be able to save money by utilizing the help of relatives, as some might refuse to take any payment or be happy to charge a below-market rate.
On the flip side, however, there can be challenges that come along with having a relative watch your children. There may be generational or ideological differences, so you’ll have to ensure that the sitter knows your household rules about sleep schedules, screen time, food and sugar, and discipline.
It can also be harder to enforce boundaries with a loved one than with someone you’ve hired to work in your home. Past issues may resurface if you’ve had a tense relationship with this family member in the past, and you may even feel guilty for taking up a family member’s time.
Above all, it’s important that everyone is on the same page and comfortable with the arrangement. Otherwise, it’s only going to lead to family drama.
We would love to hear your thoughts on this situation in the comments below, pandas. Do you think the author should send their daughter’s babysitting rate? Then, you can find another article discussing similar babysitting drama right here.
Readers assured the parent that they had every right to share their daughter’s babysitting rate
