Is this offer respectable?
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Anonymous
| I just need an input, I would like my babysitter to travel with us, and I am paying all her expenses (flights, meals etc..), she will have to share a room with my two kids and a total of $400 for the trip. Its a 7 day trip to the East Coast. About her, she is a 23 year old grad student. Do you guys think it is a respectable offer? That is what we can afford. Thank you. |
Anonymous
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I personally would never do it for only $400 but I'm also a nanny, not a babysitter. When I travel with families, I ALWAYS get my own room, all my flights/lodging/meals are paid for and I am paid my normal salary plus overtime for anything over what I normally work PLUS a travel bonus (depends on the family but usually between $300-$500).
Are you expecting her to work all 7 days? How many hours a day are you going to be having her work? If she's just a part-time babysitter and doesn't work many hours normally for you, she may be okay with it but to me, $400 seems very low. |
Anonymous
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I think since you are requiring her to share a room with the kids, she will never be truly "off" and you should really pay her A LOT more. If you are able to provide her with her own room, and have her work just a part time schedule with lots of free time to do her own thing, then $400 might be reasonable.
Why can't the kids share a room with you? |
Anonymous
| That sounds insanely low considering she has to share a room with the kids. Is that on top of her regular hourly and OT rates?! |
Anonymous
| I would suggest bringing their grandparents for free. |
Anonymous
| OP- here. She Will be working 3 days out of the 7 and 3 nights. The kids (2 year old twins) go to bed by 9, and usually sleep through. We try not to get them When they Wake up as they have to learn to sleep through the Night. So un less they are sick, she Will leave them in their beds until morning. We normally Pay her $16 per hour, so realistically we migh use her for about 25-35 hours, but we are doing the Bulk rate because it is more manageable for us. I said she was a babysitter because she comes Only 2 Times a week for 5 hours each and for date nights. I was reading things about per diem and overnight fees. I am wondering if i should include That too. I want to be able to give her a good package without insulting her, and without breaking our budget. Please input Would be greatly appreciated. Thanks. |
Anonymous
1) You need to clarify her hours. You say she will be working three days, let's say 8 hours per day at $16/hr is $384. (Please note we are almost to $400 already and I'm just getting started). Then say she does two date nights, let's say 5pm-11pm, so another 12 hours at $16/hr is an additional $192. Current total: $576. That is for her working hours only. 2) If she is sharing a room with your children she absolutely must be paid for each night. Just because you leave them in their beds (cribs?) when they wake doesn't mean she'll be able to sleep through it and if there was an issue (major poop, coughing fit, inconsolable nightmare) she will be expected to handle it. She won't be able to watch tv or talk on the phone after they go down (presumably many hours before she does) and she won't get proper rest that entire week. You know this (hint: it's why you don't want them to sleep in your room). An overnight fee of $75-$100/night would be appropriate. If this is a six night trip you should offer her no less than $550 for the overnights, in my opinion. 3) Yes, you are responsible for providing her meals. This could include providing groceries, if her accommodations include a small kitchen, plus covering any meals eaten out with the family. As you can see, we are at a minimum of $1,076 for the work/availability she's offering plus paying for her food and any family activities she's invited to (things like water park admissions). |
Anonymous
| *Obviously I overlooked that she was working THREE nights, so add an extra 6 hours x $16/hr = $96 to the $1,076 I calculated above for $1,172 for her working hours. |
Anonymous
| That is not ok. Your kids should be in your room. If they wake and you do not tend to them, how is she supposed to get any sleep. The trip is not for her, it is for you. That pay is very low for that kind of trip and living situation. |
Anonymous
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I agree that the pay of $400 is very inadequate. The worst part for her is that the children must sleep in the same room as she does.
Since they are so young, only 2...Can I ask you OP, why can they not just sleep in your hotel room so she can have her own room? Because if she has to share a room w/them, she is technically "on call" the whole night and thus should be compensated for it accordingly. They will be in a new place and may not sleep comfortably like they do at home. They may wake up a few times and she will have her sleep interrupted to care for them. Also, she will most likely have to go to bed when they do because she will most likely not be able to watch any T.V., read or even use her cell phone or laptop computer while the children are asleep. In fact, she has to keep the lights turned off the whole time. So many restrictions for such low pay doesn't sound like much fun to me. |
Anonymous
| I presume that the children will be staying in her room for 3 of the 7 nights? I understand wanting to have quality time with your husband while on vacation, not sure why that is hard for others to grasp. You certainly should not be expecting the children to sleep in her room the entire time. You absolutely need to clarify hours (a higher price would grant he 10 hour flexibility that you're looking for) and increase the pay. $16/ hours for waking hours plus $75 for each overnight. You should also give a small stipend for foods and expenses while she's on her own time. |
Anonymous
| OP- here, thanks for all the reply. This our first time doing this, so we are kind of novice. taking into consideration what all of you said, we will have to go over budget to make this happen, but we love our babysitter, and we were thinking of just redoing the offer this way: a total of $1000 for the 7 days. So it is about $140 per day which also includes the overnight. We will talk to her this week about compensation, and see where she stands with this offer. Thanks. |
Anonymous
Better but kids should not be in her room every night. They are two and need assistance. Also offer gas and tolls if she takes her own car as well as food, activities for the kids and hotel. |
Anonymous
| We took our nanny and she didn't share a room with the kids. She worked all day and we gave her 2 nights off our of 4. We paid her 100 dollars a day on top of salary. Travel doesn't matter unless she gets to enjoy where she is. In this case it is all work and no play. |
nannydebsays
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I think if she truly only works 3 10 hour days and 3 6 hour nights, the $1000 is still low, considering she is on duty every night. If she is paid $16/hour, you should offer her about $80 each night in addition to the night work pay, simply because she will be limited so much in her ability to read, use her phone, even shower, once the kids are sleeping.
So to be fair, I would suggest $16 x the total working hours (48 in my example) plus $500 for the night time room sharing. |