Mother's Helper, bringing children to a museum? Pay?

Question

hi,

i have a mother's helper who just helps me out once in a while with my kids (1 month old triplets, 4 yr old, 6 yr old, 8 yr old), and now that it is summer vacation, I want to bring the children to a local children friendly museum. My husband needs to go to work, and because we have a great bond and she loves my children, I am comfortable to bring her. If I usaully pay her around 6.25 a hour, usaully with a tip :) and I pay her admission to the museum, should the pay go up or down; just for the museum day. Im not quite sure ?

Thanks !

Jen

Answer 1

From the position of someone who looks after children once and awhile, I wouldn't think my pay should increase or decrease. I think you should keep it at 6.25 for that day.

Answer 2

Going to the museum is work for her. You definitely shouldn't pay her any less. I don't really see a reason for a pay increase either. Just pay her as you normally would. You should pay for her food and beverages on your outing though. If she was helping at your house you would let her eat and drink your stuff, right?

Answer 3

WOW! I wish I could get someone to help me for such a small amount of money!  

If she is going with you to help you, then you should pay for her day.  That means entrance into the museum, lunch, car fare, whatever she requires for the entire event.

Why is there a question here?  These are your kids, and she is going so she can help you, do you expect her to bring her lunch when she helps out at your home?  

My suggestion would be, rather than give her the regular pay amount would be to offer her a lump sum of some sort, pay for her lunch, and care fare on top of that!  I would calcuate the approximate amount of time that will be required for this excursion, then double the pay!  So if you think you will be gone for 4 hours, then if you would usually pay her $25.00 for those hours, then I would ask to go with you, and offer her $50.00 for the time!  If you want to give her a tip as well, that is your choice, but it will be a nice bonus for her.

Good luck.

Answer 4

I think you should just pay her what you usually do, it's only fair to pay her entrance fee because she is really going to be helping you out, it's not like she's just tagging along for fun, this is her job so don't pay her less because you think you are doing her a favor by taking her to a museum to watch you kids. I'm sure she'll appreciate it!

Answer 5

I guess I would just pay what you normally pay plus her admission. How old is she?

Your pay is really cheap to be honest. You practically pay $1.00 per child per hour. I was a mother's helper for three children and was paid $12.00 an hour. Where abouts do you live?

EDIT: according to one of your other questions you are only 13 years old. I get so tired of teens making up children on here. get a new hobby!

Answer 6

No, her pay should stay the same AND you should pay her entrance fee.

I imagine this is a children's museum, and she would not be going if you hadn't asked her to come help. Therefore, you cannot subtract her museum ticket from her rate of pay! If you buy her lunch, agree in advance whether or not that will be come out of the pay, but the museum admission should definately be covered by YOU.

Answer 7

As a private nanny myself...  You pay her admission (and any other costs associated with the day), her regular wage, and then I would suggest maybe an extra tip for the day.

Answer 8

Any little offereing helps.  Maybe pay for her lunch and at the end of the day give her a lttle tip to say thanks.  If you have  a great bond, then I think you will know what feels right.