How does your busy teen make $$ babysitting/other jobs?

[Anonymous]

My 13y DD has wanted to start babysitting for years, and I think after going through training she's responsible enough and ready to be a babysitter. She loves working with kids and is really good with them. She also wants to save up for an iPhone (instead of her "junky Samsung", which I had just upgraded her to over this summer after she had a Gabb). The problem is, like most other kids in this area, she's extremely busy with sports and other ECs that take up most of her weekday time and some of her weekends. So far we've had no success in finding families that didn't already have a sitter, didn't want to pay a decent rate (we're talking $5 a hour, vs DD's suggested $15), or who needed a sitter during times she was available. She's now thinking about other ways to make money, even though babysitting is what she really wants to do, but so far hasn't really come up with a better idea (she's scared of dogs and cats so petsitting/dog walking is a no-go). How does your busy teen make money if they barely have any time to work?

[Anonymous]

She needs to offer babysitting at a competitive price (lower) because she is new and has not earned anyone's trust. If anything she might want to try being a mother's helper first so the parent is right there if a major issue comes up.

It doesn't matter if she is extremely busy and wants to buy things. If she wants to earn the money she needs to work her way up.

Does she do garden work? She could winterize gardens now and in the spring do weeding, planting and mulching, but again her price needs to be so low that if she messes up or is just OK people will still be OK with it. Then as you build trust and a "business" you increase your fee.

[Anonymous]

What sports does she do? 13 year olds can start refereeing soccer.

[Anonymous]

No way I’d pay a 13 year old $15/hr.

[Anonymous]

What is she doing on Friday and Saturday nights?

[Anonymous]

$15 an hour for a 13 year old with no experience not paying taxes is absurd. Start at $10 an hour and offer to be on standby in case of an emergency.

And, no pet experience, hard no. You can get an experienced walker for slightly more.

[Anonymous]

My 12 year old is also busy and hasn’t tried to get babysitting jobs yet but she would happily take $5 per hour to babysit. And little kids love her so I’m sure she’d be a hit. She is also always willing to do random stuff around the house for $1-2. Your kid sounds entitled. 5 years ago we had a 19 year old babysitter who had been babysitting since 12 and asked for $10 to $15 per hour.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What sports does she do? 13 year olds can start refereeing soccer.

She's a dancer and cheerleader.

[Anonymous]

Welcome to the world of the upper middle class kid, who realizes that beginner jobs don't pay much and aren't actually worth their time!

My oldest had a dog-walking and boarding business during the pandemic, made possible by virtual learning and canceled activities. It was a way to get out of his own head. He was happy to earn whatever the neighbors wanted to pay him, which was below market rate for a professional dog walker - the reason they hired him instead. My youngest is asked to cat-sit - she does it because she likes cats, not for the money. Sometimes she's not actually paid, they just write a nice thank you card. That's fine. The neighbor kid does yard work for a pittance, because he wants to build a client base.

There's no way my teens are interested in an actual job for money. They're going to go to college, get internships, and go up the ladder, just like all the other upper middle class kids. They ARE interested in volunteering and hobbies. My oldest is in college now. No kid in our circle has meaningful work experience before going to college.

In this area, families will be leery of a 13 year old babysitter, but she can build trust by doing the first months of work for a low fee and showing how responsible she is. Up to her to determine whether that's actually worth it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What is she doing on Friday and Saturday nights?

She has dance and cheer on Friday nights and some Saturday nights

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:She needs to offer babysitting at a competitive price (lower) because she is new and has not earned anyone's trust. If anything she might want to try being a mother's helper first so the parent is right there if a major issue comes up.

It doesn't matter if she is extremely busy and wants to buy things. If she wants to earn the money she needs to work her way up.

Does she do garden work? She could winterize gardens now and in the spring do weeding, planting and mulching, but again her price needs to be so low that if she messes up or is just OK people will still be OK with it. Then as you build trust and a "business" you increase your fee.

She's had experience babysitting her siblings for probably 2 years, but we don't pay her as it's expected that she looks after them, I just think she's particularly ready now to start doing it for other people

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:She needs to offer babysitting at a competitive price (lower) because she is new and has not earned anyone's trust. If anything she might want to try being a mother's helper first so the parent is right there if a major issue comes up.

It doesn't matter if she is extremely busy and wants to buy things. If she wants to earn the money she needs to work her way up.

Does she do garden work? She could winterize gardens now and in the spring do weeding, planting and mulching, but again her price needs to be so low that if she messes up or is just OK people will still be OK with it. Then as you build trust and a "business" you increase your fee.

She's had experience babysitting her siblings for probably 2 years, but we don't pay her as it's expected that she looks after them, I just think she's particularly ready now to start doing it for other people

Forgot to add that she only does it when we need her to, probably only about once a month

[Anonymous]

1) She has no experience.
2) She’s unavailable when parents need her most.
3) She charges the same rate as people who have experience and availability during peak times.
Really, OP, what is so perplexing here?
I would recommend that DD get a certificate from a babysitting course offered at a local hospital and start off charging $7.50/hour as a mother’s helper on weekends.

[Anonymous]

My 13-year-old has a successful babysitting business and is paid $10 an hour for one kid, $15 an hour for two kids. She is in high demand because she promotes herself, is a wonderful communicator, is always on time, and rarely says “no I’m too busy.” She will skip time with friends or any other social activity in order to babysit because it’s the only way she has money to spend at Sephora (I refuse to pay for any makeup or outlandish skincare products.)
There are plenty of families who want a reliable sitter, so I do not believe most of the responses here are accurate. Lots of families think they hit the jackpot if they can lock in a 13-year-old because then they have that teen for the next six years until they graduate high school. That’s what we are being told by all my daughter’s clients anyway! She is CPR certified for children and infants, which impresses the pants off of most of the clients she works for. Tell your daughter to find creative ways to spread the word about her services because it also teaches her about advertising.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What sports does she do? 13 year olds can start refereeing soccer.

She's a dancer and cheerleader.

If she has an established relationship with her coach/teacher, she can ask to be an assistant for teaching younger kid classes or camps. She can offer her service for free for a while and then I’m sure it would turn into a paying job.