My dd (who will be 13 this summer) may be watching my 6 year old niece for 7 weeks this summer at our home. What do you think she should ask her Aunt and uncle to pay her? Bil/sil were going to take her to a daycare center paying $120/week or $960 for the summer. Dh thinks that $150 for the entire summer (7 weeks) is enough. I know that they are family but that is less than $25/week and she will be at our home from 7:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m M-F. What do you think?

By Karen~moderator on Friday, May 5, 2006 - 12:35 pm:

I think $150 for the entire summer is ridiculously cheap. That is 10 hours a day, 5 days a week - LONG, tiresome hours when you are taking care of a child - and I am willing to bet your DD is going to work for her money! LOL At half of what they were going to pay for daycare - $60 a week - that is only $1.20 an hour for the 50 hours a week your DD is going to be *working*. I would think $60 a week, which would be $420 for the summer is a bargain for them - let them try to find anyone else to take care of their child for $1.20 an hour!

Sorry, but I have to disagree with your DH. Even if you go with $50 a week, that's $1.00 an hour for your DD, and that's quite a bargain. If your DH is worried about your DD learning about the value of money, then why don't you tell her that she MUST put X amount into a savings account before she can spend any of it. Period.

BTW, are you suppying the food, drinks, snacks, etc. for this child? Because that in itself will add up.

I still say that $60 a week would be more fair. At the rate your DH is talking about, your DD will be making about $.43 - that is 43 CENTS an hour.

By Karen~moderator on Friday, May 5, 2006 - 12:37 pm:

BTW - when I was a 13 y/o babysitter, *I* made $.50 an hour for daytime/early evening, and $1.00 an hour after 10 PM. And I was 13 a LONG time ago - like........in 1968! I used to babysit very regularly, at night, on weekends, and during the summer for 3 particular families.

By Tayjar on Friday, May 5, 2006 - 01:04 pm:

150 for the entire summer? Way too cheap. I'd tell them $60 a week and make them pay for any activities that you go on - swimming, etc.

By Yjja123 on Friday, May 5, 2006 - 01:26 pm:

I think it should be $100 per week. Your daughter is giving up her summer to watch a child. The least she should receive is close to the going rate. They are receiving reliable, dependable and loving care. Your daughter deserves to be paid accordingly.
Just my opinion.

By Vicki on Friday, May 5, 2006 - 01:32 pm:

I also would say around 100.00 per week. I agree that she is giving up her whole summer to do this and honestly, I don't know if I would even allow her to commit to it if she was my dd. LOL I would be afraid that she would really be into it for a few weeks, then want to be with her friends etc and I would be stuck doing it. LOL I am not at all saying that could happen in your case, but I would worry about that. I agree that if she makes the commitment, she should be paid accordingly. Why should she be so much cheaper? Just because she is family?? She will likely be getting better care and definately one on one care, if anything, that is worth MORE imho!!

By Bemerry84 on Friday, May 5, 2006 - 01:39 pm:

I agree with Karen and Dora, $60.00 a week plus food and any activities/field trips you may go on. Is your BIL/SIL doing this to save money or to just have her with family instead of daycare? My 8 yr old goes to the daycare two days a week for $50.00 and my 15 yr old watches him the other 3 days at our home and I give him $50.00 a week. Younger DS likes the daycare because his friends go there. Just remember your DD will pretty much be bound to this child and that limits her social life. That's the reason I send my younger one to the daycare for two day so the older one can make plans with his friends on the off days if he wants to. It is a huge responsibilty for a 13 year old even if the money is alluring to her.

By Conni on Friday, May 5, 2006 - 01:43 pm:

I pay my almost 14 yo $3.00-$4.00 per hour for babysitting. These are his rates that he came up with. The neighbor boy has worked for us for $3.00 per hour as well. This seems to be a fair rate around our area. I do know a girl that is more in the $4-$5 per range. DS has had the Red Cross Babysitting course and knows CPR. My middle ds is next in line to take that course- but we missed. argh! I was out of town and couldnt take him.

If I paid my ds $3.00 per hour for 10hrs a day that is $30 per day. $30 x 5 days = $150.00

I'd say $100 per week is quite a bargain and would probably charge them that...

;)

By Claire on Friday, May 5, 2006 - 01:57 pm:

My daughter charges 6-8 dollars an hour depending on the number of children.

By Reds9298 on Friday, May 5, 2006 - 02:00 pm:

I haven't read all of the posts, but I also think it's way too cheap! Family or not this is a job and a big one for a 13yr. old. I would charge $100/week.

By Mommyof5 on Friday, May 5, 2006 - 02:08 pm:

Thanks! I also felt it was WAYYYYY too cheap but wanted to verify it with others first.

By Crystal915 on Friday, May 5, 2006 - 02:45 pm:

Ditto Karen and the others!!!!

By Mommmie on Friday, May 5, 2006 - 02:54 pm:

I wouldn't even let her do it (what a HUGE obligation) or else I'd say 2 days a week and the kid can go to daycare the other 3 days. Even in daycares that shift would require 2 people to cover it. Going teen rate around here is $8-10, but that's for short term care.

A coworker did this and they realized real quick that 7-6 was too much for the teen, so they changed it to 9-5, which meant my coworker wasn't here 40 hours a week so they fired her. Eek!

By Dawnk777 on Friday, May 5, 2006 - 03:03 pm:

I made $2 an hour, usually, when I babysat, way back in the 70's! .43 cents is not enough. 1.20 is barely enough.

Even $2/hr, adds up to $700, though, but that is still cheaper than the daycare.

10 hours a day is a long time to keep paying attention to someone, when it might be more fun to go to the pool with your friends, or sleep late in the morning.

By Kernkate on Friday, May 5, 2006 - 03:20 pm:

JMHO but I have to agree with Mommmie and Mary on this one. For a 13 yo I think this is a hugh obligation. I would have to really sit down with DD and see if she really wants to do this for that many hours a week and for 7 weeks. I know myself if it was my DD I wouldn't want her to do it everyday for the summer. Maybe 2 days a week. But IMO your DD will miss out on alot with this babysitting.
If she does want to do it I wouldn't go any less then $100 a week.

By Tarable on Friday, May 5, 2006 - 03:24 pm:

I totally agree that $100 a week isn't very much but during the summer I take my daughter to the School run daycare and it is only $70 a week from 7 am to 6 pm M-F (that does not include many activites and I have to bring a sack lunch everyday). But since the daycare wants that much maybe you could do somehting like 75 a week.
My older daughter helps my sister out with her 3 boys during the summer and she get 20 a week just to play with them and her her pick up toys, so 25 is not nearly enough to babysit all day long 5 days a week. That is just my opinion though.

By Colette on Friday, May 5, 2006 - 04:07 pm:

I wouldn't let my dd do it either. Not for 7 weeks. That's way to long. If you do let her do it, I wouldnt let her charge anything less than $100 per week.

By Dawnk777 on Friday, May 5, 2006 - 07:26 pm:

My kids, 16 and 14 both said they wouldn't want to be THAT tied down. A 10-hour day is a LONG day. That would be 7 weeks of a 50-hour week!

Maybe they could split the time between the daycare and your family, so she doesn't have to spend her whole summer at the day care and your daughter wouldn't have to spend her WHOLE summer babysitting.

We have vacation June 10th - June 16th
Sarah's nursing camp June 18th - June 21st
Emily's horse camp June 25th to July 1st
Sarah's mission trip July 16th to 22nd.

Neither one of them would be able to commit that much time, anymore! (Yeah, June is shot!)

By Marcia on Friday, May 5, 2006 - 11:02 pm:

I would not let my 13 year old give up her summer for that small amount of money!
I babysat for full summers when I was that age, and that was in the 70's. I made $20/day for one family, no matter how many hours it was. For the other one I was paid an hourly rate, and I think it was whatever was minimum wage at the time.

By Paulas on Saturday, May 6, 2006 - 01:25 am:

I agree with the $100/wk. I used to scoop blueberries and pick strawberries for money at that age but they were in two week stints. I don't know if I'd want her to commit to that either.

By Tripletmom on Saturday, May 6, 2006 - 08:29 am:

I have to agree with everyone also.Family or not this is a job for her and she should get paid fairly.I also think maybe 2 days a week in daycare would free up some of her time.She is only 13 and she has the rest of her life to work.