After-school babysitter -- what's your system?

[Anonymous]

DH and I both work full-time. We finally realized that we need some help with the kids (7 and 3) after school so we can stay at work an extra hour or so. So, we're going to look for a sitter to pick them up two to three days per week, get them started on dinner, and maybe even take them to the older one's after-school activity on one of those days. But I haven't the slightest idea how this actually works.

If you have an after-school sitter for young ES kids, what is your arrangement? For example, my older kid is still in a booster and the younger is still in a 5-pt. harness. Are any sitters actually willing to have carseats installed in their cars all the time (thereby giving up their back seats, basically)? What else am I not thinking about? What should I expect to pay per hour?

[Anonymous]

So you expect the sitter to pick both kids up, take them to an activity, drive them home, and then cook them dinner?

[Anonymous]

I have an after school sitter for my 3 and 5 yo and I have extra car seats that I keep in my garage that my sitter has access to. She swings by our house and puts them in her car before picking the kids up and then puts them back in the garage when shes done for the day. The hardest part is finding someone reliable that will commit to such few hours. GL!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I have an after school sitter for my 3 and 5 yo and I have extra car seats that I keep in my garage that my sitter has access to. She swings by our house and puts them in her car before picking the kids up and then puts them back in the garage when shes done for the day. The hardest part is finding someone reliable that will commit to such few hours. GL!

Sounds like a pain. Buy her her own seats.

[Anonymous]

We have someone who does this. We just have an extra set of boosters that she keeps in her car. It is great to have dinner, baths, activities, homework done by the time we get home.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:So you expect the sitter to pick both kids up, take them to an activity, drive them home, and then cook them dinner?

We did this for YEARS (three kids, first two 23 mos apart, then 20 mos between second two). When kids were 2-1/2, 4 and 6, our long-time nanny retired, and we shifted to older 20-somethings sitters who had grad school or work schedules (one was an actress!) allowing them to pick up at 2:45 (nursery school) and 3:15 (elementary) each day, drive to activity (not too many of them at that stage) and handle lunchbox clean-out, snacks, and kid-friendly dinner, and start baths.

Sitters used our station wagon with built-in booster seats and installed car seat, as well as rear-facing third-row seat for extra kids coming along for playdates. As kids got older, we began using American University undergrad students (we live in DC) - again, always using our station wagon. DH and I used the other car which is manual shift which sitters don't seem to know how to drive, plus I have an old Miata that I could use if needed - or else we walk/bike (me) or taxi/uber (DH) or traveled a lot for work (both). A few of our sitters began having their own cars and didn't mind having an extra booster seat in their car as going directly to the school without coming to our house first to get the car was often more convenient. Downside of college students is winter and spring breaks, but we usually managed (other students who grew up locally were home on break), and our AU student sitters often had friends who babysat and were taking summer classes.

Some nanny-type sitters have their own cars/minivans because they have their own kids or grandkids, and you can specify you need a sitter with her (his) own vehicle. You do limit your available pool in this case, and you may need to pay a higher rate or provide a stipend to cover vehicle costs. We were fine with making our one automatic transmission car the one that always stayed with the kids, and we knew it was current on safety and service. Sitters all had keys to our house and would go there first, get the car key and then do the pick-ups. If a child was left at an activity that extended into dinner hour, DH and I would often do that that pick-up so the sitter could keep the routine in motion at home.

Kind of glad those days are (mostly) behind us - we do carpools a lot more, our tweens take Metrobus to activities, we have used Uber, and our 5th and 3rd graders walk home from school on their own each day.

[Anonymous]

I have been lucky so far. DD is not in school yet ( she is 4) but we need childcare 10 days a month from 2.30-6.30.
During the summer last year when this schedule started we found a HS neighbor willing to do those hours. We paid her $10 an hour to come to our house. She was only 15 so wasnt driving, it was an issue maybe twice but we worked it out. Her Mom actually took our DD somewhere once in their car and used a spare booster we have.
During the school year a SAHM friend of mine who has a 5yo watches her. She picks her up from our house because its on the way to her older childs school and then I pick DD up from her house at 6.30. DD has dinner at their house. She only has to drive DD to an activity twice a month and she takes her 5yo with her. We bought her her own booster to keep in her car for this.
The HS sitter is going to do it again next summer then my friend will take over again for the school year and pick up both our kids from K.
I pay my friend $10 an hour as well, I realize this seems low but she has her own child with her so I feel like its more like a share. Anytime they go anywhere that costs money we always pay for that and even if she doesnt have DD some of the pre-arranged days we still pay her.

[Anonymous]

We have a high school sitter pick our kids up from the bus 3 days a week and stay with them no longer than an hour. She gives them a snack, gets school work started and plays with them a bit if there is time. We pay $12 an hour but rarely is she needed a full hour. I still pay for an hour. Activities are rarely before dinner so the sitter doesn't need to drive.

[Anonymous]

We have a sitter do this. We keep the booster and carseat in her car and pay her mileage in addition to her regular pay. She picks the kids up, watches them at our home or takes them to their afterschool activities twice a week. We don't ask her to do baths, but she does sometimes warm up dinner that I've premade. It definitely helps a lot.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We have a sitter do this. We keep the booster and carseat in her car and pay her mileage in addition to her regular pay. She picks the kids up, watches them at our home or takes them to their afterschool activities twice a week. We don't ask her to do baths, but she does sometimes warm up dinner that I've premade. It definitely helps a lot.

OP. Great, thanks. I can definitely tack on mileage pay. That's a good idea.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We have a high school sitter pick our kids up from the bus 3 days a week and stay with them no longer than an hour. She gives them a snack, gets school work started and plays with them a bit if there is time. We pay $12 an hour but rarely is she needed a full hour. I still pay for an hour. Activities are rarely before dinner so the sitter doesn't need to drive.

You only give her $12? Damn, you're cheap as hell. You should really be paying her $20.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have an after school sitter for my 3 and 5 yo and I have extra car seats that I keep in my garage that my sitter has access to. She swings by our house and puts them in her car before picking the kids up and then puts them back in the garage when shes done for the day. The hardest part is finding someone reliable that will commit to such few hours. GL!

Sounds like a pain. Buy her her own seats.

It sounds like the seats are "her own seats" but this way she doesn't have to keep them in her car all of the time.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We have a high school sitter pick our kids up from the bus 3 days a week and stay with them no longer than an hour. She gives them a snack, gets school work started and plays with them a bit if there is time. We pay $12 an hour but rarely is she needed a full hour. I still pay for an hour. Activities are rarely before dinner so the sitter doesn't need to drive.

You only give her $12? Damn, you're cheap as hell. You should really be paying her $20.

Sorry, but I am snickering at this too. Wouldn't it just be easier to give her a $20 and send her on her way?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have an after school sitter for my 3 and 5 yo and I have extra car seats that I keep in my garage that my sitter has access to. She swings by our house and puts them in her car before picking the kids up and then puts them back in the garage when shes done for the day. The hardest part is finding someone reliable that will commit to such few hours. GL!

Sounds like a pain. Buy her her own seats.

It sounds like the seats are "her own seats" but this way she doesn't have to keep them in her car all of the time.

It's not a pain. She's welcome to keep them in her car if she likes, but she prefers not to, and I imagine many people would feel the same. The seats are lightweight, harness seats I got from Target, so it's not like she's switching out heavy, cumbersome Diono or Britax seats.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have an after school sitter for my 3 and 5 yo and I have extra car seats that I keep in my garage that my sitter has access to. She swings by our house and puts them in her car before picking the kids up and then puts them back in the garage when shes done for the day. The hardest part is finding someone reliable that will commit to such few hours. GL!

Sounds like a pain. Buy her her own seats.

It sounds like the seats are "her own seats" but this way she doesn't have to keep them in her car all of the time.

It's not a pain. She's welcome to keep them in her car if she likes, but she prefers not to, and I imagine many people would feel the same. The seats are lightweight, harness seats I got from Target, so it's not like she's switching out heavy, cumbersome Diono or Britax seats.

OP here. My hesitation with doing something like this is that, at least for my youngest who still uses the harness, the seat really needs to be installed correctly and tightly to be safe. I would worry about the sitter putting it in and out on a regular basis rather than, say, DH installing it once, tightly, and it just staying in. I'm hoping someone will be willing to leave the seat in.