What does your college-educated babysitter do when kid is sleeping?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm a new poster on this thread. I moved to this area not long ago, and not knowing that DCUM has its own ideas about what to pay babysitters, advertised a job that paid what we paid in our old city: $10/hour. It was only babysitting, nothing else. I had about a dozen applicants for the job.

Isn't the market supposed to set the price? If there are people who want to work for this rate to take care of my 5 year old, why am I supposed to pay more? Because of their cost of living? $10 is what I could afford to pay based on my own income. Is that a factor?

I am a nanny and I can afford more than $10/hr for my occasional babysitter. Are you talking about an occasional sitter or a FT nanny? I make very little but when I have a babysitter come to my house, I pay what the market calls for. For $10/hr, I might find someone who doesn't speak English (nothing wrong with that but I need someone who can speak English) or a teenager. If you are okay with those candidates, go for it.

[Anonymous]

I love that: "If you are okay with a teenager..." like, "If you are okay with a meth addict..." Teenage babysitting is a grand old tradition in this country. Of course they get paid less and are less experienced than professional nannies. Yes, I am okay with that.

I can't imagine paying $17 an hour, like the PP does, to babysit sleeping children after bedtime. That's the easiest gig ever.

I don't ask my sitters to do anything while the baby is sleeping, OP.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:As someone who was a part-time nanny through grad school for a family I love very much, I would have been appalled if I was asked to do housework or cooking (other than preparing food for the little one I was watching). I also can't imagine that the mom or dad would ever ask me or anyone else to do anything other than watch the child, especially not for $12 an hour. She is there to give her full attention to your child when you can't and that is why you are paying her for her time even through naps.

As we know from so many Nanny threads, not working every minute you are on the clock for DCUM MBsis a concept they cannot comprehend. OP, I doubt she will look at the wall. Aso, "menial tasks" as has been pointed out we all do menia ltasks. Do you think that college grads are above getting their hands dirty? You're a doodle!

[Anonymous]

I pay my nanny $13 which I know is on the low end and it does not occur to me to ask her to clean the house or cook while my child is napping (2h). If I paid $20 and hired a professional nanny it would be a different story.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm a new poster on this thread. I moved to this area not long ago, and not knowing that DCUM has its own ideas about what to pay babysitters, advertised a job that paid what we paid in our old city: $10/hour. It was only babysitting, nothing else. I had about a dozen applicants for the job.

Isn't the market supposed to set the price? If there are people who want to work for this rate to take care of my 5 year old, why am I supposed to pay more? Because of their cost of living? $10 is what I could afford to pay based on my own income. Is that a factor?

Of course the market dictates the price. I think people were just saying that in this area, the market sometimes dictates more than $12 an hour. Which is true to some extent, but not as much as the DCUM nannies would have you believe. If you can find someone you like for $10 an hour, go for it. The sitter wouldn't do it if she didn't think it was worth the money.

[Anonymous]

OP I think you are getting confused between a nanny and a babysitter. A nanny is someone who works for you a set number of hours each week, usually 20, 30, or even full time. The nanny gets to know the child and your home, and a full-time nanny is normally responsible for baby laundry, cooking for baby, keeping baby's room clean, etc. Some nannies will also do light housekeeping. The going rate for a nanny around here is in the $14-20 range, and usually includes guaranteed hours, paid vacation, and sick time.

A babysitter is someone who comes occasionally for the sole purpose of watching the kids for a few hours. She only gets paid for the hours she works and there's no guarantee of continued employment. I would not expect her to do anything but keep my kids happy and safe, and I would expect the house to not be in worse shape when I got home than when I left.

[Anonymous]

OP, it is pretty difficult to find reliable, occasional babysitters for backup, sick child care for infants. Gnerally such care is very expensive, not because it is all that hard to do, but because the work is very inconsistent and people don't need you for very long.

If you have found someone who is likely to be available to you in the future, and she's happy with the $12/hour you are paying her, I wouldn't suggest trying to ask her to do any additional work while she's there.

You aren't paying for her hourly work in this case -- you are paying for her availability, when you need her.

[Anonymous]

I was a high school teacher and babysat on the side for one child at $10/hr (6 or so years ago) and I definitely didn't do anything but watch TV, read, surfed the net while the baby was sleeping. I would clean up toys, books, etc. first but nothing beyond that. I would never expect a babysitter do anything more than watch the kids and clean up after them.

[Anonymous]

If you think you may want her to sit again for you I would HIGHLY recommend not asking her to do anything more than watch and clean up after herself and the child.

By the way, I am really disturbed by your thought process around having a sitter who is college educated vs. not and whether that fact makes a difference in what you ask of that person. You really need to take a step back and go over this in your head again. I won't even go into it because....well, you aren't worth my time.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If you think you may want her to sit again for you I would HIGHLY recommend not asking her to do anything more than watch and clean up after herself and the child.

By the way, I am really disturbed by your thought process around having a sitter who is college educated vs. not and whether that fact makes a difference in what you ask of that person. You really need to take a step back and go over this in your head again. I won't even go into it because....well, you aren't worth my time.

Thank you!! I read this thread earlier and didn't have time to respond. First of all, I was disgusted by the OPs thought process regarding her work expectations of a babysitter that was college educated vs. not. So somebody who has taken a different direction in life... or who did not have an opportunity to go to college, doesn't deserve time for relaxation? What a fucking crock you are OP. Secondly, I was surprised that there had been no remarks or replies of disgust to OPs bizarre thought process. I almost found the lack of response even more disturbing. So thank you PP for saying something.

[Anonymous]

OP, FWIW, we have a sitter that is not educated in this country, speaks okay (not great) English, is older (but perfectly capable and healthy) and not energetic, refuses to help with many reasonable tasks while the kids are sleeping, I could go on. We have children of independent age, where they mostly do for themselves, but are still required to have care and still require minimal guidance. She has opted to work as many hours at the highest rate possible per week, days, nights, weekends, you name it. All in the name of the bottom line. She owns several properties and things that most sitters do not, which is fine with me. She is preoccupied with what we do with our money, for some reason. Obviously we do not tell her. But what PP said about not maintaining their standard of living for them is spot on. Point being, it is not 2005 Washington D.C. where sitters are paid top dollar for calling South America. Do not get taken for a ride. I wish someone had told us the same thing.

OTOH, I don't think many of us are able to find (or would pursue with good conscience) $10. an hour, but if the little ones are asleep, its not a huge issue. In this area, you will find many teens do not need to work, and the parents aren't into pushing Bobby or Sally teenager into work (egads!), so you will likely be harder pressed to find cheap labor here than other metropolitan areas.

We have had near perfect sitters for a much smaller hourly rate than the "seasoned", yet entitled ones.

[Anonymous]

When I used to baby sit many years ago, I sometimes had to feed the kids dinner, read them a couple of stories, listened to their prayers and tucked them in andI could wat TV, read, study, paint my figerand toe nails. Most of th e time thay had already been bathed. But if anyone would have asked to clean up their kitchen, do their laundry I would have thought them crazy.

Baby sitters are not nannies, I would put any dishes, glasses, flatware used by kids and me for dinner and straightened up kitchen.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:As someone who was a part-time nanny through grad school for a family I love very much, I would have been appalled if I was asked to do housework or cooking (other than preparing food for the little one I was watching). I also can't imagine that the mom or dad would ever ask me or anyone else to do anything other than watch the child, especially not for $12 an hour. She is there to give her full attention to your child when you can't and that is why you are paying her for her time even through naps.

So what did you do, sit there and stare for hours at the sleeping child? I find that a little bizarre.

Your response amazes me. We've always paid babysitters to watch and play with our children while they're awake. When our kids fall asleep, we're glad to have a responsible person in the home--that's why you're paying a babysitter. I wouldn't expect a babysitter to clean or do other housework--except to pick up toys.

[Anonymous]

For a babysitter -- at WHATEVER level of education -- I would not dream of assigning chores. The notion of asking a babysitter to prepare meals or fold laundry or balance a checkbook is downright ludicrous. This is not a scullery maid or even a nanny who comes regularly and helps out in the household. This is a BABYSITTER. Research carseats? Deal with financial accounts? Are you out of your mind?

Ask yourself: What is this person's responsibility in my home? Where should her attention be? If there were a problem with my child, how quickly should she react? Immediately, or five to fifteen minutes later, after she comes up from the basement with the laundry, puts away the fancy lettuce, and turns off the garbage disposal?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm a new poster on this thread. I moved to this area not long ago, and not knowing that DCUM has its own ideas about what to pay babysitters, advertised a job that paid what we paid in our old city: $10/hour. It was only babysitting, nothing else. I had about a dozen applicants for the job.

Isn't the market supposed to set the price? If there are people who want to work for this rate to take care of my 5 year old, why am I supposed to pay more? Because of their cost of living? $10 is what I could afford to pay based on my own income. Is that a factor?

No, it's not a factor. What you're asking for in an applicant is a huge factor. If you want someone legal with lots of good references who works in DC, expect to pay more than $10.