"Banty" wrote in message
...
In article , Kat says...


"Ericka" wrote in message
...
Kat wrote:

I'm just wondering if $10/hour for this is too much or too little to
offer for the job. I'm going to try and catch her today, or even leave
a
note on the door if all else fails. I just would like to be "fair" for
both of us with the amount paid.

I think it's about par for the course, at least around
here and for the older one. I think these things can vary a lot
by region, though. Yes, it is an easy gig, but on the other hand,
it does wipe out a weekend night. Around here, a popular babysitter
or a difficult night to place could run you significantly more than
$10/hour, so I'd go for it if I were looking in my neighborhood.

Best wishes,
Ericka

I wonder, though, what a 12 or 13 year old would have better to do on a
Saturday night... You never know, though.

Oh c'mon. It's time spent at your house watching your kids, rather than
something she'd normally do. That's why people are compensated for their
work.

Well, apparently she has no problem coming here as it's better than just
sitting at home.
At 12 or 13, I was too young for the bars and clubs, parties of any sort
weren't really there at that age (other than maybe the odd sleepover with
movies or something at my house or a friend's) I wasn't really allowed to,
or had any desire to, be out galavanting around. So, I just assumed, and
even when the mom said she was pretty sure her daughter would take the job,
I again just assumed she probably didn't have anything else to do, really.
At that age, I just assumed that a parent would - or should - be aware of
their child's plans, or have a basic idea if they are planning something.

$10/hour would be fairly normal around here, too. And, frankly I'd pay a
little
over the going rate to get access to a babysitter right next door if I
were you.
A reliable babysitter is gold. That she is 12 or 13 means you have 4 or 3
years
before she gets her driving license. At 16, any more, babysitters go
poof.

When I asked her how much she charges, or what she would expect, she didn't
really say much. That's when I said I was thinking $10 an hour and I think
by her reaction that was more than fair for her. She said definitely and
that $10 was real good and all that. She had no objections at all or
anything like that, and from her reaction of what I thought was 'fair' for a
rate, I think it was a good deal to her - and not totally off the wall for
me.

A friend said they found a babysitter online somewhere, and this was an
adult woman. She charged my friend $10 an hour for their 3 children...
And
this friend's children are basically the same age as mine - 2 preschoolers
and an older school aged child.
It does seem to vary from area to area, which seems to make it hard. Most
friends I have with little ones don't hire babysitters - they use friends
and family only.

So you do have friends with little ones? There's another option - trade
off.

Banty

I've done that every now and then. I called one friend and she said she
could come for a couple hours but she had plans that evening for about 10-11
or so. Another one has 3 little ones of her own and it would be silly for
her to find a sitter for her kids to come watch mine or to drag her 3 over
at night (or for me to drag mine to her)
I also find most of our tradeoffs with friends are saved for a day thing...
A doctor's appointment, a meeting, something that is best to go to without
dragging little ones around for. And it seems that an evening thing is more
for an emergency situation - I went to a friend's house to stay with hers
when her father in law was really sick in the hospital and not going to make
it very long. I was aware he was going in for some big surgery and that it
was a really risky operation of some sort and even my friend said she was
pretty sure he wasn't going to make it through the surgery, or much longer
after it. Maybe it's silly of me, but for an evening thing, I just kind of
feel that since I'm only asked in an emergency at night, I'd much rather
save my trade off of babysitting services in the evening for an emergency.