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It's funny to me that you have to pay a teenage babysitter $20-$25 per hour, yet fast food places in some states might only pay $15 per hour.
"In the old days" babysitting was a first kind of fill-in gig with the lowest pay (in cash).
Of course taking care of kids and flipping burgers aren't comparable, so it makes sense that the pay has increased, but the sitter will have culture shock when they try to get an unskilled job that will pay much less.
In the past, kids weren't considered as valuable as they are today and just being a teenage female was enough to get a babysitting gig. I remember I took care of four kids - one a baby - and I had no idea what I was doing and there was no concern about that! It was considered normal!
It's funny to me that you have to pay a teenage babysitter $20-$25 per hour, yet fast food places in some states might only pay $15 per hour.
"In the old days" babysitting was a first kind of fill-in gig with the lowest pay (in cash).
Of course taking care of kids and flipping burgers aren't comparable, so it makes sense that the pay has increased, but the sitter will have culture shock when they try to get an unskilled job that will pay much less.
In the past, kids weren't considered as valuable as they are today and just being a teenage female was enough to get a babysitting gig. I remember I took care of four kids - one a baby - and I had no idea what I was doing and there was no concern about that! It was considered normal!
Kids weren't considered as valuable in the past? Wut?!
Additionally, you're not looking at certain things. Sure that CNA is making less money, but they're getting a consistent full-time schedule. Their employer is paying half of their payroll taxes. Their employer is potentially subsidizing their health insurance, paying a match on a 401k plan, offering PTO. All kinds of things that you're not doing for your babysitter but are a form of compensation.
Not sure I follow...are saying they might have to deal with a medical emergency or fire? The odds of that happening are low. Babysitters are making more money than CNAs and caregivers of elderly in many situations...like people who are changing adult diapers and giving them baths...let that sink in
YES!!! I do not see why it hard to understand or follow. I am saying that a babysitter may have to deal with an emergency. Yes, the odds are low, but I do not think they are as low as you might think they are. As for comparing wages, I know real estate agents that make significantly more money than firefighters or police officers. Are you suggesting that the world sets wages by comparing different jobs, because I would ask what world you are living in. The wonderful caregiver who helped my mom in the time before her death was indeed a minimum wage earner. I chose to tip her for her services, but the choice to work in that job was hers. Maybe she could not find steady work as a babysitter for more money. I have no idea. I just do not know many people who choose to be underpaid, the market sets wages. So I'm not sure what exactly you want to sink in. Is it the very obvious fact that there are job that make less than babysitters. Is it that exotic dancers in NYC make more than teachers? Is it that lawyers make far more than garbagemen? I am not sure I understand your comment on letting something sink in. Here is something you should let sink in, many people think their wages are not fair compared to the work that they do, and those people are free to find other work at higher pay. When no one does the work, the pay rises.
Kids weren't considered as valuable in the past? Wut?!
I'm old. It's a general perception. If babysitting paid 50 cents per hour (yes, at one time, that was the going rate) and fast food jobs paid $2.25 per hour, then the facts were that caring for children was not as valued as flipping burgers. It's just the way it was and it's changed, so that part's a good thing.
You hope she will sit and watch TV. But that is not what you are paying her for. You are paying her for what to do if your child tries to climb out of their sleeping are, falls, screams in pain, and she ensures you are promptly notified and medical attention is called. She is there if your 3 year old has a nightmare that scares the child to a shaking crying mess and she can put the child's mind at ease. She is there in case there is a fire or some other emergency that can save lives and you from property damage. She is there for the things you hope she will not need to do. Just like the car insurance on your car that you hope you never need to use. If you want a baby sitter that watches TV and ignores all of external factors, I would tell you $15 - 20 is too much. But if you want a sitter that can handle all those unimaginable situation, and the imaginable ones, it might be light in 2024.
Sorry, but I truly hate it when a parent says they are paying a sitter to watch TV. I hope and pray that is all she needs to do. If so, pay her well and count your blessings. But you are paying for the things you hope that she does not have to do.
^^ Looking back, I am actually horrified that I, at 12 years old, was trusted to know what to do in an emergency situation. I don’t think the parents thought twice about what might happen if their kid was choking on a nickel or broke an arm trying to climb out of their crib (true story). All that mattered was I lived nearby and worked for cheap. My younger daughter does a lot of babysitting and she demands a certain wage. However, she is CPR certified, she is a summer camp counselor, she plays with and interacts with her charges, she doesn’t put up with their shenanigans, and won’t be inviting over gentleman callers. People pay a premium for the peace of mind of knowing their children are well taken care of.
Sounds about right. I remember making flyers that I put in neighborhood mailboxes offering babysitting for $1/hr when I was a pre-teen in the late 80s. I'm sure there was the rare occasion where a parent gave me a $20 bill and it was like hitting the jackpot!
$25/hour is nuts and I sympathize with single parents. I was a single parent 20 years ago and every once in a while paid one of my daytime sitters an extra $40-50 to let my son sleep over on a Friday night so I could go out on a date without stressing over a curfew. No way could I afford $25/hr, then or now.
I am saying that a babysitter may have to deal with an emergency.
I took a "Babysitter Safety Class" probably around age 11 or 12. A lot of girls did. It covered things like CPR, Heimlich maneuver, how to call 911, etc. You got a certificate to show parents that you had taken the class.
i remember the going rate when i was a babysitter, was 50 cents an hour. The family that had 3 children paid 75 cents an hour. It was like a gold mine. On New year's Eve they paid me $20 to sleep over and drove me home in the morning. That was in the 1970s
of course the house we were living in at that time, i remember cost my parents $15,500. A new 3-bedroom house. That is the home i grew up in until we moved across country when I was in high school. yeah, try buying a 3-bedroom house somewhere for that amount.
OP, it's not so much about how much "free" time the sitter will have after the kids go to bed. The pay isn't based so much on whether your employee is actively working, or not, engaged in productive activity of some sort. It's the level of responsibility involved; should anything go wrong, you'll have someone on hand to handle whatever it is; get the kids out of a burning building, or call the doctor, or call you. But if you want her to do more to earn her keep, have her fold laundry, or wash the dishes, or something.
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