Normally my mother keeps our children, so this is the very first time I have ever hired an outside sitter. She is the daughter of our preacher. We have 3 boys, 6, 5 and 16 months. The 6 and 5 year olds will go to bed at 7:30 PM. We will already have them ready for bed. The 16 month old will go to bed at 8:30. We are going to the ballet, we will be gone from 6:45-9:30. How much should I pay her? Do I need to call her and see if she wants something in paticular to drink? Any other little tips that I should know for babysitting etiquite? Thanks.
2006-11-07 03:54:10 · 18 answers · asked by Barbara C 6 in Pregnancy & Parenting ➔ Parenting
I babysit weekly for 3 children who are 9 ,4 and 5 months since we just normally watch movies and Im normally only their for 2-3 hours I get paid $30. When I start with a new family its always make things easier if the family is cool and is like help your self to anything.
I would advise against a nannycam. It might make the sitter feel uncomfortable. Also dont call every half hour or more than once I only sat once for a family who called so often that It felt that they didnt trust me. Once is good like if your running late or during intermission just to make sure everything is going well, or to mention something your forgot to mention before.
2006-11-07 04:54:22 · answer #1 · answered by .:AMIZZLE:. 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Depending on the age of the sitter I would start at $10/hour and also depending on where you live I would factor that in as well. Here is a good sitter rate calculator:
http://www.sittercity.com/index.php?pid=rate_calculator
That would be very nice to see if there is something in particular that she wants to drink...we always make sure that there are snacks and other food available for our sitter when she comes over. Let her know that she can help herself (if you're OK with that) to anything in the kitchen and tell her that she is free to watch TV (show her how to use the remote if it is complicated...every ones got different remotes for their TVs!) If I've got any magazines that I think my sitter would like I usually leave them on the coffee table for her to read. We also allow our sitter to use the computer if she wants once the kids are in bed (or if she brings a laptop we program the password for the network into it so she can work on her own computer. She's a student so after the kids go to bed it's useful study time)
Since it's her first time sitting just give her a quick run through of how the evening should go...make sure you tell her the little things about the bedtime routine (door open or shut? lights in the hall on or off? nightlights for any of the kids? bedtime stories? if so how many per child? nuks for the 16 month old? special friends and blankets that any of them sleep with? are the kids prone to getting out of bed? if so how should she deal with that?)
Hope this is helpful, have a good night out...it's always great to find a few good sitters to have around that you know you can count on!
2006-11-07 18:01:58 · answer #2 · answered by Michelle 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
YOu should at least pay her $5.00 per hour as she has 3 children to watch over while you are away. Ask her what she would like for pay rate. It doesn't hurt to give a little extra either as an incentive for a babysitter for the next time. If she works hard watching the kids and you underpay or she not satisfied with what you give her, you probabley won't get her to babysit again. I hope you have a good time at the ballet. I know I watched one child years ago and the people always gave me extra, so I never minded to watch that child over and over again.
2006-11-07 04:01:06 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 3⤊ 0⤋
I wouldn't worry too much. I think $12 would be about right for a baby sitter for three hours. The oldest kids will only be up for about an hour, and the infant, for two. Have some milk, cola, diet and regular, on hand, and she'll be fine. Enjoy the ballet.
2006-11-07 04:02:12 · answer #4 · answered by DavidNH 6 · 0⤊ 1⤋
i know how yu feel. we just hiried our first babysitter 2 weeks ago. We have 2 kids 4 years old and 17 months. We paid her 5 bucks an hour and also had some coe to drink. Also something to munch on like chips.
2006-11-07 04:19:16 · answer #5 · answered by becky r 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Depending on how old she is i would think that $10 or $11 an hour should be fine. With them going to sleep early, shes not really doing that much!!! As for getting anything special, i dont think it matters. Just make sure you tell her to help herself to anything she needs
2006-11-07 03:58:11 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
I would talk to her about how much she will make. She is not doing a whole lot for the kids with them going to bed so early. Let her know what your rules are in your house so she is not letting people in your home while you are gone.
2006-11-07 04:01:52 · answer #7 · answered by cNm114 2 · 2⤊ 0⤋
She should already have told you what she charges. That has to be known before she babysits. Ask her what she charges.
Where I live, $10 an hour is actually a pretty cheap rate nowadays so it really depends where you live. i suggest asking your friends what their babysitters charge.
2006-11-07 04:23:44 · answer #8 · answered by KathyS 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
You can ask her how much she normally charges, probably 5-10 dollars an hour. Sounds like she'll have it pretty easy. Yeah, ask her about drinks and let her know she can help herself to anything you have.
2006-11-07 03:58:11 · answer #9 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
well, let her know that she can watch TV if she wants, if she is a professional, she should know how much she should get for those hours, i think she should get around $30, after all, it is not like she will be doing much, the kids are going to be sleeping.
2006-11-07 03:57:13 · answer #10 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 1⤋