I think I got taken advantage of babysitting?

Question

Okay heres the story. It might get kind of long so bear with me. The family has 2 kids, One girl thats 7, and one boy whos 5 who has mild autism. The kids are SO difficult to babysit and they never listen. Oh and get this, they dont have a bedtime. So They just stay up to as late as they want. I got to the house at 3:30pm and the parents didnt get home till 1:00 am. Thats 9 1/2 hours for those who dont want to do the math. I only got paid $60. Is that right?

Answer 1

if you were working a real job...at your age you would probably get like....7.15 an hour.....for 9 and a half hours....but they would take taxes out. do the math. i dont think you got really taken advantage of.

Answer 2

I would think $60 is good, you made 6 dollars an hour which is better than minimum wage to sit at someones house and watch their kids, I know thier difficult kids, but be happy with what you get, my aunt gets paid $40 a WEEK to watch kids, you got lucky dont complain, I think they paid you well.

Answer 3

Babysitters these days have it SO much easier.  I babysat about 15 years ago and we would have to feed/play/bathe/bedtime and not to mention diapers and clean the house before the parents got home.  These days I can't even count on our 16-17 year old babysitters to remember to change our then 2 year old's diaper.  I have four kids (all pretty well behaved except the now 3 year old acting her age which is just difficult!) and we pay about 6-8/hour and a bonus for having the kids in bed when we get home. We can't be that cheap because we have no problem getting girls to babysit.  

I think you were well paid especially since the chances you just sat them down in front of a TV is pretty high.  If you babysat for us you would have to be happy for 4-5/hour (for having to watch just two older children)  so be grateful that you even have money coming in at all!

Answer 4

It is if you did not set a price in advance.  Next time, make sure you state your terms in advance and stick to them.  Babysitters are important and deserve to be treated like other employees in the work force.

Answer 5

talk to the parents about a bedtime. tell them they must be more firm and make sure the both of the kids get to bed at or before 8 o'clock, since they are so young. maybe 7-7:30 for the 5 year old. unless they eat late. oh and u said $60??? hmm...try for a raise of $75-80. when i babysat these 4 super annoying kids when i was 17, sadly, i only got paid fourty bucks.

Answer 6

you need to be sure to set the price ahead of time.  consider this a bought lesson.  bet you'll never let that happen again.

Answer 7

Lesson: Negotiate the fee BEFORE agreeing to babysit.  If it's the amount you agreed to, then quit your silly whining.

Answer 8

Make sure you tell the parents how much money you expect and get all the details from them ahead of time.  If you don't want to be out till 1am (which I don't blame you) then tell them that you need to leave by a certain hour.  If you are really upset, simply don't babysit for that family anymore!

Also, just because the parents don't use any discipline regarding bed-time or anything else doesn't mean that you don't have to as well.  Take charge of the kids, don't ever let them not listen to you.  Tell them there are consequences for not listening and enforce them (time out works really well... but never, ever hit a child!) and that when you are babysitting that you expect them to follow your rules.  I had plenty of kids that were perfect for me, but then horrible with their parents (the parents were always amazed and impressed at how I managed their children) you just have to show the kids that you won't put up with the behavior that their parents put up with.  

Good luck!

Answer 9

Well that all depends on what you agreed on up front as a price for babysitting.  If you didn't agree on a price, then they paid you what they felt was fair.  If you didn't feel it was fair, you should have spoken up then.  You should have let them know that the children were a little rambunctious (don't call them bad).  Tell them that you expected children that age to have a bedtime.  Don't say it in a judgmental way like you are second guessing their parenting.

I will tell you that if you worked for a local nanny service in the area I live, you made more than you would have for them.  They charge $10 per hour.  An extra $3 for special needs children, but that depends on what the needs are.  Since you said the autism is only mild, they would not have charged the extra.  They keep 40% of that.  Then of course Uncle Sam gets his 15 - 20%.  That leaves you with only $4.80 - $5.10 per hour.  You made $6.30.

I still think that considering your trouble, you should have made more.  You can choose not to work for that family again.  If you do, then set up what you are willing to work for and with ahead of time.  Tell the parents what you expect and agree on a price.

Answer 10

Over $6 an hour sounds decent to me?!  Some families cap after a certain amount.  FOr example -- $60/no matter the length.

The best thing to do is talk to your parents and the people you sit for to come up with a plan that fits both of you better.  Be careful, though, there are a lot of sitters who would be very happy with what you were paid and you may lose a job!

Answer 11

i think they should have paid you a little more since the one has mild autism. however, like the others have said, you need to make sure you negotiate a price before hand. as for the kids not listening, they probably just didnt listen to you because you arent their parent. so they figure they cant really get in trouble. as for the bed time. if you baby sit for them again, just make sure the kids know that you are in charge and they need to go to their rooms when you say. whether they go to bed or not doesnt really matter, as long as they are in their rooms and not running around the house eating ice cream