If I'm just looking for a sitter for a weekend night, I don't need a $30/hr nanny who can also drive. The kids will mostly be in bed and she's not driving them anywhere so an older teen, young college student who can baby sit for $20 hr fits the bill. The nanny is overqualified for a few hours on the weekend.

Anonymous wrote:I would rather have a first year college kid who wants $16 an hour (going casual babysitter rate in my town) than a middle aged mom who is looking for hourly jobs in that same price range. The college kid is likely to be more responsible, middle class or higher background, have a car or other reliable transportation and most importantly, low drama. I'm not really looking for someone in their mid 30s, not in school, hustles on various hourly jobs, has kids, etc. When i've used a few of them, they don't have a car, their ride bails, their kid gets sick, they don't present as much professional or responsible, etc etc. That's the other reason to specify college kid.

Mid 30's is not "middle aged."

Anonymous wrote:When people on dcum say anything is for “a college student” they usually mean they don’t want to pay the market rate. I think it’s usually a fantasy about an employee who wants to work weird hours for a low rate. But in your case perhaps a dog whistle.

It’s not a fantasy. My neighbor’s son was home for college, but taking an online class that met mid-morning and it meant he couldn’t get a “regular job”. My other neighbor has kids who are home from camp at 3pm. She hired him to pick up her kids and watch them for a few hours. It’s a very niche thing to only need coverage for 90 min to 3 hours a day. No one would commute for that job.

A different neighbor literally needs coverage from 4:30-6pm daily because her husband is a reporter who is often filing stories at 5pm. She found a preschool teacher who works a mile away who gets off work at 4pm and then comes over on her way home.

College students and people who work at businesses that open late or close early often have 2-4hr chunks of time they want to fill with paid work.

A PP mentioned car seats. What is the answer to that with a college kid? Who drives around with 2 cars seats they don't personally use? Who installs them and takes them out everyday and is the OP paying extra for that?

If I am looking for a college student home on break or a HS student, I am looking for -

- Someone who lives in the neighborhood and/or comes with a personal recommendation so I can save my time vetting them. Additionally when someone is from the neighborhood, sometimes my kids know them from swim team or know their siblings. The babysitter knows the pool, playground, neighborhood and quickly understands our rules on where our kids can or cannot go alone.
- Someone who is not a professional nanny / childcare worker who I can pay $12-15/hr while my kids sleep instead of someone who wants $25/hr.
- and this is controversial, but yes, I want someone who speaks fluent English so I don’t have any communication issues. I find it helps when the babysitter shares a cultural background because then they understand our parenting style and rules. At In-home daycare, center daycare, and preschool, I’ve had differences in how we handle things like eating vegetables or “cleaning their plates”. When it’s a long term relationship like a year long class, I don’t mind. When it’s one evening for a few hours, I just want to have a quick chat and leave.

I would rather have a first year college kid who wants $16 an hour (going casual babysitter rate in my town) than a middle aged mom who is looking for hourly jobs in that same price range. The college kid is likely to be more responsible, middle class or higher background, have a car or other reliable transportation and most importantly, low drama. I'm not really looking for someone in their mid 30s, not in school, hustles on various hourly jobs, has kids, etc. When i've used a few of them, they don't have a car, their ride bails, their kid gets sick, they don't present as much professional or responsible, etc etc. That's the other reason to specify college kid.

My mom would post advertisements for babysitters at GW/Catholic/American when I was a kid (pre-internet). Are you suggesting she should have just posted on telephone poles throughout the city and hoped for the best? Same concept.

Perfect for high-achieving high schooler.

Anonymous wrote:That’s not what dog whistle means.

Thank you.

Please lets not let this term lose all meaning, like we've done with so many other

Anonymous wrote:On our community FB page I’m frequently seeing people post looking for a part time nanny or date night sitter and then announcing it would be a perfect fit for a college student or a teacher looking for extra money on weekends or perhaps a local stay at home mom looking to make some extra money. It always rubs me the wrong way, as if they’re blatantly stating “I want an UMC type of white woman to babysit”. Is it just me? Like why not just state the job you’re offering without adding that you think it would be a great fit for an educated young woman who lives in your neighborhood. And by “great fit” meaning, “this is who I want”.

It would tell me that they are cheap. Many people think college students will accept $10-12/hr.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don't think it's a dogwhistle, I think it's people who realize that PT and occasional babysitting jobs are not appealing to people who need a FT income, so they are listing people who might be interested. Students often look for work they can do in the evening or weekends so it doesn't conflict with their class schedule. Yes, SAHMs who want extra money might be interested in being a date night sitter or even doing a PT nanny gig with a child the same age as their own, and there are not that many other options for a SAHM to make income.

I don't know if you know this, but many college students and SAHMs are not white and not UMC. Hard to believe, I know.

This. These ads are appealing to people who are looking for just a few hours of work per week. A professional nanny needs full time employment.

+1

Anonymous wrote:I would assume they say that so applicants have no expectation of full time hours or health insurance. They’re specially calling out that they want someone who has another job/isn’t looking to work full time.

+1

Anonymous wrote:I don't think it's a dogwhistle, I think it's people who realize that PT and occasional babysitting jobs are not appealing to people who need a FT income, so they are listing people who might be interested. Students often look for work they can do in the evening or weekends so it doesn't conflict with their class schedule. Yes, SAHMs who want extra money might be interested in being a date night sitter or even doing a PT nanny gig with a child the same age as their own, and there are not that many other options for a SAHM to make income.

I don't know if you know this, but many college students and SAHMs are not white and not UMC. Hard to believe, I know.

This. These ads are appealing to people who are looking for just a few hours of work per week. A professional nanny needs full time employment.

I don't think it's a dogwhistle, I think it's people who realize that PT and occasional babysitting jobs are not appealing to people who need a FT income, so they are listing people who might be interested. Students often look for work they can do in the evening or weekends so it doesn't conflict with their class schedule. Yes, SAHMs who want extra money might be interested in being a date night sitter or even doing a PT nanny gig with a child the same age as their own, and there are not that many other options for a SAHM to make income.

I don't know if you know this, but many college students and SAHMs are not white and not UMC. Hard to believe, I know.

Babysitting is so much easier than being a nanny or working retail. Our Friday night babysitter comes at 7pm. By 9pm, all the kids are asleep and she does her homework and watches Netflix until midnight. From 7-9pm they play games or small activities (like legos, clay modeling or hotwheels). It's not the same hard work that a nanny does (teaching, discipline, feeding, bathing, cleaning up after them). And if my babysitter has an event on Friday night, dh and I easily can go out Saturday or Sunday night instead. Good luck getting Target to change your schedule last minute.