When my kids babysat they never charged a per hr rate, they let the parents decide how much to pay. My kids were always booked for babysitting jobs, sometimes months in advance. And they never charged for church/calling related meetings the parents went to, including going to the temple. But, if the parents went out after the meeting/temple to eat then the clock started. By not charging a per hr rate my kids made more money then the kids charging per hr. All the parents my kids sat for loved that my kids didn't charge by the hr, it allowed the parents to go out on a cheap date when finances were tight and the parents always made it up to my kids when finances were better. Only one dd was ever taken advantage of, but she didn't let it go on for very long, she just didn't book the parents very often (they finally got the hint and started paying her more).
Just a brag, my kids also cleaned the house after they got the kids in bed, not just pick up the toys clean, I mean they did the dishes, vacuumed, etc. Plus, my kids played with the children, rarely turned on the tv for the kiddos, changed diapers (you'd be surprised how many of their friends that babysat wouldn't). That is one reason why my kids were always booked. We also homeschooled, so my kids were available during the day which a lot of the moms loved if they had doctor/dentist appointments and couldn't take their kids.
It's been 7 years since we've had to pay for a sitter.... once your eldest turns twelve you're gonna love it.
Now I'm looking forward to the day 7.5 years from now when our youngest is 12 and can go to a sibling's home.... I dunno, maybe by then I won't care anymore.
It's nice to get a break from the kids every now and then...
... I just love all seven of those little darlings.
anxious for the first letter from the MTC next week.
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no unhallowed hand can stop the work from progressing... the truth of God will go forth till it has penetrated every website, sounded in every ear, till the purposes of God shall be accomplished and the great Jehovah shall say the work is done
For us it's been about 10 yrs for us... BTW, Mahonri that first letter from the MTC is pure heaven. Our baby boy is 17 and we manage a few nights away from home every year now. It's nice to have "us" time in a more extended way. I remember that when the kids were all little it seemed like that time would never come though...
Hubby has the next 2 nights off so we are going to the temple tomorrow. We'll go down tonight and stay with a cousin, sometimes we get a hotel room. Our actual kids (3) are all at home again for a while. The 2 oldest are working and going to school, attending the singles ward in our stake and they watch out for Son2 when we are gone for the night, though sometimes he stay with a friend from the ward too, cause that is more fun for him. All in all, it's the good life... BTW, we have traded "sleepover breaks" with a couple other ward couples for the last few years, cause we are all at about the same stage kids wise. When the 2 oldest were both gone for a few months while Son1 was on his mission and Daughter was in China, we just hung out in our empty nest, and it was cool! I love my kids completely... utterly... I love hubby just as mich, if not more completely and utterly. Certainly it is a different relationship we have now as our children become independent.
When they were little, we sometimes had dates on the front lawn with the baby monitor to warn us of problems... We were pretty strapped and babysitters were a luxury we couldn't often afford. If we managed to find the money for the sitter (back then it was about $10-15 for a night, depending on how long we were gone...) we had to do something free, like going to the temple or the FH Library. So we tried to do stuff at home and put the little ones down first. As they got older they made that into a game. They knew that we could hear them with the monitor so they had to be a lot sneakier when they got out of bed!
We tend for some of the young couples in our ward... cause I remember... I never charge, but we accept cookies. Wish I was closer to help out Ray...
crazy: those are the babysitters we love! I wish all the young women we hire would do housework... we'd probably have a babysitter every week, if that were the case... :)
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I'm not slow; I'm special. (Don't take it personally, everyone finds me offensive. Yet somehow I manage to live with myself.)
My inlaws live nearby so we generally have free babysitting. If my niece babysits we usually pay her about 15 to 20 dollars for an evening babysitting all the kids. I also have free babysitting privileges for life from my little sister. When she is in town or I go to visit I generally take advantage of this. I earned this privilege because when she was a teenager she called me about being stuck in the neighbors field. So I go out to the field and she has my dad's pickup burried in mud up to the doors with water seeping into the cab. She and her friend decided to put it into 4wd drive and do a little mud racing in the newly irrigated field. I had to get the tractor and pull her out before my parents got home and I as a result earned free babysitting for life. It was much easier to explain to dad what happened with the truck in the driveway being washed than it would have been had dad gotten home and found his truck in the field next door filling with water. She also had to apologize to the farmer and took him a cake. He teased her for a few years and told her that anytime she wanted to bring over a cake she could go for a drive again!!!!
My daughter is almost old enough to babysit so we should be in good shape. I will probably pay her a something but not the full market rate. Just enough to keep her in Hillary Duff branded cosmetics.
Room, board, clothing, expenses, transportation, daily sustenance, an occasional spiritual teaching moment, and valuable experience.
Helps to have a daughter old enough to babysit. It is part of her duties as a family member, so typically, there is no "special" treat given unless it really is an above and beyond call to duty.
When she is unable, we swap watching kids with other couples.
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It seems to me the only thing you've learned is that Caesar is a "salad dressing dude."
When I need someone during the day, I pay my neighbor who's a babysitter by profession, $2 per kid per hour, which is her "going rate." There's usually 5-6 kids over at her place at a time so it's fun for my toddlers.
If it's in the evening, we'll leave them at home (oldest is 12) or my mom will come up to the house to help, or they may go down to my mom and dad's. Haven't used any youth from the ward or neighborhood.
REMEMBER??? I'm PARANOID!!!!!
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Life is tough but it's tougher if you're stupid. -John Wayne
Catherder- just remember to give your daughter hugs,e tc for babysitting! I still remember the stress I felt one evening when I was a high school junior. I was babysitting my little sis, then a newborn, she was crying. And at the v e ry same time, my grandmother, visiting from India, was calling for me to come and press her head (we would have to gently pound her head for 45 minutes for headaches). Meanwhile, I was trying in vain to study for a test and my parents and 2 siblings were off at a sports banquet.
Anyway, thank your daughter- esp if she has difficulties watching your son who has the autism. I don't mean this to sound holier than thou or judgemental. Please know this isn't the intent of my comments. My understanding from what I have observed is it can be hard to be the sibling of somone w/special needs, sometimes adult responsibilities are cast upon them, so I hope you do all you can to thank your daughter and make sure she knows she is appreciated.
RAY- can you and your wife join some sort of babysitting co-op? I know lots of sisters do this, where you take turns sitting or "earn hours" by sitting for other people's kids. I don't know ex actlyhow the logistics work, but it might be something to consider, so long as you make s ure everyone keeps their committments.
I always let the people choose what they pay me. Usually if I don't like the kids, they don't like me either, so I always ended up just babysitting the kids who decently behaved (I never understood how kids could be perfect, serene angels around their parents, and then turn into Tasmanian devils the instant the car is out of the driveway!)
This past semester I got paid $10/hour for 2 kids while their mom was at school. Best payment I've ever gotten, which is nice because I could afford the time away from studying for a part-time job, but a max of 6 hours a week at $10/hour was perfect for my schedule!
I think in high school it averaged out at $3-5/hour for like 3-4 kids. I didn't mind because I was just playing the whole time anyway. I would always make sure and clean up at LEAST the mess made while I was there. Sometimes I wouldn't know where the other stuff was, but if I had time I would try to load the dishwasher and such. What else do you do after the kids go to bed? I have a bad habit of falling asleep when I watch tv or movies, so I would feel irresponsible if they got there and I was sleeping.
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Ordinary riches can be stolen, real riches cannot. In your soul are infinitely precious things that cannot be taken from you.
— Oscar Wilde
Um... what makes you think they're perfect angels for their kids? It's just when the two of you are together... perhaps it's a numbers thing.
--Ray
PS> My kids love babysitters. Often they say, "Dad, Mom, isn't it time you went out?" They also are really well behaved for them... as compared for us.
-- Edited by rayb at 14:28, 2007-05-19
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I'm not slow; I'm special. (Don't take it personally, everyone finds me offensive. Yet somehow I manage to live with myself.)
Or the sitters could just be unwilling to admit they can't handle the kids... I am actually not totally kidding... we learned from one sitter years later after Son1 was already on his mission that our kids when they were 6/4/2 were the most "creative" troublemakers she had ever tended... She didn't want to admit that a few times she was over her head with our brood, since there were only 3 of them... but our three were masterminds at working together and thinking stuff up!
The ONLY way to combat their genius was to keep them busy!
roper- You pay for their missions and college outright?
Well, actually they're expected to help with missions by working summers and after graduation. But realistically, Sister Roper and I will be contibuting the bulk. And they're expected to help with college through scholarships, etc. But realistically, we also have 529 plans for them.
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The ability to qualify for, receive, and act on personal revelation is the single most important skill that can be acquired in this life. - Julie Beck
It's possible. There were times I sure didn't tell the parents I sat for what went on (can you say children barricading bedroom door with dresser?).
However, if they're not well-behaved...where are the carpet stains and mayhem to prove it? I'm not sure I believe the sitter knows how to run the steam vac. And the kids are usually in bed when we get home, which is usually a more reasonable hour than we can usually manage it. Usually.
Your kids are so adorable,I doubt they are any trouble at all for your sitters... That was more like a good excuse to RAT on MY hooligans! (I used your word... he he...)
Nah my four girls are all good for strangers. It's the same at school. It's only when they're with their parents that they throw fits, and from what i hear from others, I'm lucky even then, cuz they're all relatively good-tempered.
I don't know how my young son will take a babysitter, but we take him with us currently.
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I'm not slow; I'm special. (Don't take it personally, everyone finds me offensive. Yet somehow I manage to live with myself.)
