what should the pay be?

Christina - posted on 10/05/2011

thank you all. It's not really a bad situation. I just say yes all the time. I need the money. She is a friend as well. Half the time I don't feel like I am underpaid, but the other half I do. She also asks me to clean as well. And she will pay me. One time it took me 6+ hrs to clean her house because of the size and how many bathrooms and how dirty it was. I got paid 120. I was sweating, scrubbing, etc. Now I don't clean as much, but I still do a real good job. I just feel caught in the middle because she is a friend and she pays me to do these things

Julia - posted on 10/04/2011

That pay seems really low to me. We live outside of Washington DC and have one boy who is 2 1/2. We pay $15/hour while he is sleeping and $20/hour if he is awake. We feel incredibly lucky to have a wonderful and reliable sitter - they are extremely hard to find around here. We expect our sitter to be 100% focused on the child and do not include any other duties like laundry, food preparation or pet care. That being said, the pay and the duties should be negotiated. Like everything else, the cost should reflect supply and demand. If you can't get anything else, take the $10 per hour. If you have other options, walk. To me, it sounds like you're not in a good situation - but you don't have to take it. Speak up for yourself.

Candi - posted on 10/04/2011

Salary is negotiable directly with the family, but could range anywhere from $10-$15/hour on average. It varies depending on duties, experience and geographic location.

Donna - posted on 10/04/2011

i dunno but i know the going rate for child care is 20 bucks a day per kid

Heather - posted on 10/04/2011

The amount of time she wants you to spend with the dogs is nuts. Maybe half of that would be sufficient, especially if they are crated.

Christina - posted on 10/04/2011

I've been doing this for about 3 years. I usually only babysit on fridays during the fiscal year, but if needed I do extra. Also, they will go away and I will get $100 for watching the dogs for 3 to 5 days. But she wants me at the house at least 4 times per day and stay there for at least 2 hrs per visit to play with the dogs as well as feed them and take them out. I have my own 2 kids and I feel like that is a lot of my day to stay with dogs when I have to take my son to soccer, attend bday parties, etc.

Heather - posted on 10/04/2011

Christina I would say that's fair pay for the kids. As for the dogs maybe add another $2 an hour. Dogs can be a pain in the ass especially a puppy.

Now with her being your friend are you watching the kids and dogs as a favor or is this your full time job? And how long have you been watching all of them? If this is a full time job and you've been at it a while then maybe ask for a raise. I wouldn't ask for 2 bucks right off the bat but would ask for another dollar an hour and then say in 6 months ask for the other dollar.

Christina - posted on 10/03/2011

I get $10 an hour to watch 2 kids and 2 dogs. One dog is a puppy that I have to either keep in crate and listen to him cry, which I do not like to do, or I have to make sure he is in my sight at all times because he will chew everything and pee and poop in the house. The kids are usually good. But sometimes they give me a hard time with going to bed. Lately, it's been more often than not. This person is my friend as well. I just want to know what going rates were.

Heather - posted on 10/02/2011

How many hours per week do you work for this family?

Traci - posted on 10/02/2011

That's kind of a loaded question. It all depends on what the family can afford and what you are willing to accept for pay and how much your required to do and how long you are "working" in a day for them. Also do you have experience, children of your own, do you have expenses related directly to your job.

Christina - posted on 09/26/2011

I babysit a 6 yr old and a 9 year old. A puppy and a dog, along with driving at least one child to and from soccer practice. North andover MA

Rebecca - posted on 09/24/2011

totally depends on what area of the country you live in and the children's ages....the smaller the kids, the higher the pay.