Babbysitting Advice?

Question

I am a teen that wants to open up a babysitting service in the neighborhood that I live in. Do you think that these people will trust me with there children? And, how much do you think that I should charge?

Oh, yeah, and I am not the only black person in the neighborhood although it is fairly white. Thanks for the advice.

Answer 1

You have to prove yourself trustworthy and the way to do that is to get to know your neighbors and the neighbourhood children, take a babysitting and first aid course. When you go around the neighbourhood to distribute your flyers, make sure it is child friendly, fun and error free. When you drop the flyers off in the mailboxes, try to meet the families and introduce yourself, let them know where you leave, what you do and plan to do. Find out if they have kids and the kids ages and try to meet the kids. Be very friendly and natural with the kids. Let the families see you interact with the kids in a naturals setting.

Fees depends on where you live but I think flat rates are nice, if its overnight and $5 - 10 an hour depending on tehnumber of hours. Try to negotiate flat rates though. If you have to feed the kids meals, then a little more is normal. $30.00-50.00 a day etc.

Answer 2

Well... it depends. If you know your neighbors well, you shouldn't have a problem. Unfortunately, if you are the only black in your neighborhood and they don't know you well, you might not get the greatest response. I babysit around my neighborhood, but it took me three years to gain enough visibility around the neighborhood so people would trust me. You should also introduce yourself to neighbors. One of the best ways af doing that is selling something. For instance, Girl scout cookies, band candy, etc. It gives you a reason to introduce yourself. I generally charge $6 an hour, but in special cases like with families with more than three or more kids, i bump it up to $8. and in extreme cases of 5 kids or more, $15.

Answer 3

I think they will trust you if they know you. You should charge 6 for 2 kids or less and 8 for 4 and less and 16 for 5 or more. i also think it depends or the childs age because if it is a newborn the children might be a bit cautious

Answer 4

i think the people will trust you. just show them that your really good with children. you know what they want when their crying, you know what toys they like, you know how to put them to sleep, etc. i don't think you should charge very much if you want to establish yourself in the community. probably between 5 to 10 dollars an hour sounds about right.