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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]While $10 sounds reasonable, I just dont think my daughter would interrupt the plans for her day for a job that was for only an hour for only $10.  I guess if she had nothing else to do, why not....but its a tiny amount of time and money....

$10 an hour sounds like a good hourly rate for babysitting in general.  But I guess unless the hour a day was an hour EVERY day (like every day in the mornings or something?) for the summer, its not really worth it, I dont think....

Just a perspective.[/quote]

I guess work ethics have changed or the person who posted this lives in one of the wealthiest suburbs of DC. When I was growing up (in what is now considered an affluent area, but it wasn't as affluent back then) we didn't feel entitled to be paid what someone with more experience was paid. I worked jobs in highschool and college and I "interrupted plans for the day" so I could pay for things like eating out, gas for my car and clothes. I didn't snub an opportunity to make some money doing something I actually enjoyed.

This may be an opportunity to teach your daughter or son about working her/his way up. I have noticed some of the new college grads interviewing for jobs feel entitled to be making more than the level of experience would allow and they are not as willing to do the grunt work one does at an entry level position. Consequently, they were overlooked for positions or if hired, didn't last long. If my own child scoffed at $10 and hour for what is usually a pretty easy job, I would be concerned and I would have a long talk with her or him.

Just another perspective.[/quote]

I'll offer another perspective.

I babysat a lot in high school and college, long enough ago that what I got paid isn't relevant.  Sometimes I babysat for a few hours, sometimes longer. I earned a fair amount of money doing so, paid for my books, and food, and saved enough to travel pretty extensively.

But if someone called me and offered me an hour, I'd be hesitant to accept.  An hour job generally meant about a 2 hour commitment if you added in time to walk there and back. It also meant that if someone called up with a 8 hour job for the same day I needed to turn it down.  Given that, a 1 hour job wasn't that desirable.  If it was something that I could fit into a routine (e.g. I had a job doing Sunday a.m. childcare at a church for 2 hours a week, but Sunday morning isn't a time when a lot of things come up, or a job that fit between 2 different classes) then that was fine,

I'm a parent of a young high schooler now.  He works a job for 4 hours a week.  Those hours are consecutive.  If he was offered a job for 4 1 hour blocks instead, say Monday through Thursday for an hour after school, I'd be very hesitant.  That would be 4 days he couldn't stop at the library after school, or take a temporary job with more hours, or sign up for a volunteer commitment, or say yes if a friend asked him to the movies.

I'm not saying that I wouldn't have taken a 1 hour job, or that I wouldn't let my kid take one, but I do think it's reasonable to expect that people pay a little more when they're offering a position with such a drawback.

My kid is at the beginning of HS, and he'd probably be delighted to take an 8 hour babysitting job for $50, which is under minimum wage.  But for just one hour, I think that $12 to $15 isn't unreasonable.  [/quote]

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