should immediate family charge you 4 babysitting?

Answer 1

No, whether it's once in a while or on a regular basis. Family are supposed to help you out. How can a person charge their own family for watching their own family? It's never made sense to me.

Answer 2

No it is not unfair to charge family members. You are saving them a bundle from a daycare and they know they can trust you. Since this seems to be an ethics question it doesn't have a clear cut answer. If they were struggling financially and were in desperate need of your assistance then I would say, no don't charge them except to cover for food. However being a stay at home mom is a full time job. I'm sure you don't just lay around the house counting ceiling tiles all day. You work to care for your home and care for your own child. If they are going to add to your workload you should be compensated. (This is with the understanding that they are not struggling or having severe financial difficulties.) Watching three kids is difficult and makes it hard to clean the house or get pretty much anything accomplished that you would otherwise be able to do. I know you love your family but you are being asked to provide a very valuable service. *Daycare would be much more expensive. *You are a trusted family member so they have peace of mind. If they can afford it I would say charge them $50 a day plus money for food. That is still an incredible bargain. I was paid $15 an hour to watch three kids and $12 an hour to watch one baby back when I babysat for some of the Nurses I work with. At the end of the week you will have some extra money in your pocket to spend on something for yourself that will naturally make you feel a bit better for the extra work you did. Loving your niece and nephew aside, it is a lot of work to take care of children. You are currently getting paid under $2 an hour, and part of that goes towards food.

Answer 3

In my case, yes. They charge me for eating all the food in the house!

Anyone you agree to babysit for should offer something for your time. If this is "immediate family" and you feel burdened by watching the kids for free after you have asked for a return, maybe you should suggest they hire a babysitter and say you have something more important to do.

It's difficult with family, in many cultures and countries it is normal for anyone in the family group to keep an eye on the little ones without any compensation. In the US babysitting has become a normal form of income, but many immigrant families don't understand that.

It is also important to the family altogether that whoever does spend time with the kids likes them and enjoys doing so. Uncle Strange is not always a good babysitter, and the parents should be aware that they are responsible for leaving their children in the care of a reliable sitter, family member or not. Open communication is important!

Answer 4

Like all things it really does depend. If your child is being watched on a regular basis by this family member then you need to consider the expenses that this person has added on just having your child there. For example, how many meals does your child eat there? Consider the snacks and drinks throughout the day as well. Then, if this person has to bring your child to doctor/dentist appointments, school activities or other after school events consider how much money it takes for the gas. With the prices nowadays it adds up! Those two things alone can put a person past their normal monthly budget while you get to save on childcare, gas, and food cost. Basically, they would be practically paying you to babysit your child and do you a favor! Doesn't sound so fair.

If this family member's only issue is the amount of money they are spending to run your child around and furnish food then offer some money for gas and bring snacks, drinks and food for meals. If you don't act like you expect them to regularly watch your child for free and offer up something they will more than likely be reasonable about the payment.

Now, if you ask a family member to watch your child for a couple of hours, just one time, then I would think they wouldn't mind doing so without payment. However, still bring food for the child.

Answer 5

In my opinion it would depend upon how often they are called upon to serve as a babysitter and their financial situation.

If you are asking for babysitting for a night here and there to attend a meeting or go out once in a while--no charge.

If you are asking for babysitting during working hours while school is out for the summer--you should offer money even if it is only enough to cover the cost of snack food and extra water and electricity the child/children will use.

If the family member is stinking rich and you are barely making rent--maybe they should help you out for free as long as you dont abuse the privilige and actually show up when scheduled to pick up the child/children.

Answer 6

That would depend on how often and for how long they babysit. If it is just for a few hours every now and then, then no, no charge. But if is a steady thing, then yes, maybe not as much as you would normally pay but something.

Answer 7

Yes. If you want a family member to babysit, you should pay that person. They can always refuse payment. You need to remember that when they babysit for you that means they can't do what they planned to do originally. They use their time for your kids and the only fair (and nice) thing to do is pay them for their time.

Answer 8

Yes. It doesn't matter who is babysitting. They should be paid for the job. Payment could be money or a return favor. Whatever it is should be agreed upon before the babysitting takes place.

Answer 9

It all depends on who is babysitting. If it is a teenage family member, by all means they should be paid for babysitting. If it is the grandparents, aunts or uncles, NO BUT then, if this is a full-time babysitting while you work, then it would be appropriate to give them money for caring for your child(ren).

Answer 10

It's up to your family culture.. All families do different things, and that's ok.

I always paid my younger sister to babysit when my sons were small. But I didnt pay my parents to babysit if I were just going out to do something fun. If I was going to work, I always offered to pay them, but they most often declined.