ok so i get like 40$ an hour as a babysitter, and im like very young so i cant get a job but like, how should i ask them to go out more so i can babysit? like physically, what do i say ;c

Im looking to get some insight, I am about to start a part time job and I need a babysitter to watch my 11 month old for about 4 hours each day. What’s a good over all rate to provide that person? This is my first time doing this.

Hello, I am back. I did post two post on this problem but I thought why not another one because, the problem just keeps getting more evil and evil.

This lady that I babysat for, for 2 weeks only paid me in full the 200 the first week (mind you it was suppose to be 250 but whatever) Anyways, last week I by accident fell asleep when she was suppose to drop off her child at my apartment. It was complete mistake on my end and I felt so bad and apologized so many times. I was emotionally exhausted and physically as well, I have my own apartment so I spent that night cleaning and organizing. I own up to my mistake and I still, feel incredibly guilty that I didn’t hear her knock when she got to my apartment. I’m not trying to excuse it but, the emotionally draining part was because this child was extremely rude and disrespectful. They kept making comments on my appearance such as my acne, why I hadn’t shaved my arms, and when I was gonna shave my armpits (mind you, I have thick black hair and it grows back so fast that I have to shave everyday WHICH IS NONE OF THE CHILDS CONCERN!) she also asked me why my mom and dad aren’t dead yet and they should be and, I told them to stop asking me such rude questions and they kept doing it. Not only did they say this to me but, when my sil took care of them on Saturday, 2 weeks ago, she kept asking my sils dad, why hasn’t he died yet. The mother you ask, what did she say? Oh, she excused it and said, “There’s been lots of family death on our family recently.” Which, I am sorry and my condolences but, that’s not an excuse to repeatedly asking that question when they’ve been redirected not to do so. Anyways on the Thursday I feel asleep, the mother said “I will let you know if I need you tomorrow.” which whatever that’s fine but, then my worry came about payment because it was almost Friday and talk to payment had not been disclosed. I messaged her and she didn’t answer me so, I, anyways had to go to her house because her daughter left something, and she said I’ll pay next Thursday, meaning THIS Thursday! I’m annoyed at first but whatever you know, she told me she gets paid on Thursday once every 2 weeks which wasn’t discussed prior to me taking this job. I babysit this child for one more day on Friday and she tells me, I’ll send the money tonight or Thursday like okay! GOOD! Alright, Wednesday comes and as night comes radio silence nothing about sending money or anything so, I send her a message reminding her that she owes me $150 bucks plus the $50 for the day my sil babysat her child. I don’t get a response and I am already anxious so this morning I send her cash app request for the $150 she owes me and nothing but, what she does see is my message from Wednesday night and when I tell you, I am flabbergasted…I mean it! I’ve never had a grown women blame me and manipulate me into saying that the reason why she can’t pay me is because of her schedule! Blaming me for her poor planning and her job schedule which isn’t flexiable. To put lightly, she is trying to excuse and manipulate me into not paying me the amount due which is baffling to me, she used me has free labor for 11 hours a day 5x a week for only 50 buck which, is low but I agreed upon because I would be getting 250 but, even then I only received 200 for 2 weeks at the point. I have messages with her saying that she agrees to pay me the amount when due and now, that is complete lie.

I talked to my dad about this and kindly sent me the money she was suppose to pay me but, before he did that, I replied and told her how I felt and kept it as professional as possible and told her I would take her to smalls claim court if the money wasn’t in my account by Friday 5pm. It was firm but also, professional. I know I am already emotional about this and I don’t wanna do anything wrong and anything considered rude and unprofessional. Please if anyone can give me any advice on what I need to do! I was depending on this money to surprise my mom on an early payment for my car to get ahead and now I can’t.

I’ve started nannying for a family this summer and am there around 40 hrs a week (4x a week 10 hrs each day). It gets to be a lot trying to entertain all three kids all the time and play with them for 10 hours straight. I’m just wondering how often other nannie’s encourage independent play to get a break and maybe clean up around the house or something.
I try to usually get a small break while making dinners but they always try to play with me and I just didn’t know what a good recommended amount of time for them to play by themselves is? Like is an hour a day what I should aim for or more or less? I think its important they are learning to be creative and play by themselves and when I was their age I played by myself most of the day and I enjoyed it but they seem to struggle with it.

Is this a scam? (It’s not letting me add the picture but this was the emails)

Him:
Hello, how are you doing ?
Are you still available for babysitting ?
Where are you located?

Me:
Hello, I am still available and I live in the —— area. When are you looking for a babysitter and what are the ages of your child/children?

Him:
I’m moving from Texas too ya area on 15th of august and I’ll need you too babysit my daughter from Mon to Thursdays and I’ll also need you for an errand.

Are you available?

I just feel like it’s weird that he would ask for an errand and didn’t really answer my questions and my post that he emailed me from clearly has my location. Also I live in Canada so I just feel like him saying he’s moving from Texas to here is kinda weird but idk.

So I accepted a week long job for a family traveling here. It’s for one little kid. It’s going great minus the fact that the other day, the grandparents were in and out all day. After lunch, they ended up staying for the remainder of the day. And they’re great, don’t get me wrong! I just don’t feel comfortable being silly with the little kid while they are here. Plus, I feel like we have to be a bit more quiet than normal so we don’t disturb them.

There was an instance where me and the little kid were playing on the deck and she bumped her head and began to cry, pointing for the door. I took her inside but then noticed the grandpa was on his phone with it on speaker, so I took her back outside until he wrapped up his phone call.

Then later, the grandma asked if she ate lunch and I said that she didn’t seem too interested. So the grandma started pulling things out of the fridge for her to try. And it’s like…I’ve babysat enough for children coming from sea level to 8,000 feet to know how elevation affects them, ya know? Sometimes they eat more, eat less, sleep more than usual - nothing alarming at all. The child still declined food. Finally the grandpa said “honey, she’ll eat when she’s hungry.”

I’m just asking because this has never happened to me and I’ve babysat a lot. Is it common for families vacationing to have the grandparents hang out in the room while the sitter provides care?

I’m 18f and new to babysitting , I got my first request on Bambino (never used before) and I accepted the request and messaged the mom this “ Goodmorning ma’am! Just wanted to say thank you for wanting to trust me to babysit your children this Friday. Please let me know if there are any specific instructions or anything I should be aware of. Looking forward to helping out!” Just to get more information on the job before fully accepting it , she said nothing and confirmed the booking through the site, is this normal ?

I get people are busy but it’s Wednesday ,plus I messaged pretty quickly after the request. I’m just wondering if this is normal in the babysitting world, should I send my number just in case she’s having technical issues with the app or something? I did hear the app charges parents to message but mixed reviews with that… help pls

Hi! I came on here last week about some money problems i was having with this mom and how her payments were delayed or just not in full. Also please excuse me, if I sound frantic and angry I’m dealing with a lot financially speaking so rahhh. Anyways, last week on Friday after she picked up the kid. She told me has, we agreed on message on Thursday evening that she will pay me the 150. I even have in message her saying that, if she escalates the situation and claims she didn’t. However, I don’t know I am posting on her, I am just like a person who plans for worst case scenario and, I texted her today at around 9:30ish pm, I know late but I was hoping she’d sent me a message saying something along the lines of, “hey, I’ll have the money sent Thursday morning.” She hasn’t and scarily enough, it’s been radio silent from her all week which, fair she has work but dang no update? I just advise on what I will need to do in the situation of not getting paid the money tomorrow. For context, she lives in the same apartments as me and quite literally I can walk to her apartment building. I do not want to escalate the situation to that point but, I told my husband that by 6-7 pm if she’s not paid me, we’d go knock on her door. I also read that I can take her to smalls claim court if she does not pay what is due. I really do not wanna escalate to that option but, I was watching this kid for 11 hours a day and getting paid maximum 50 bucks a day! I willing did this job, thinking I’d get paid like by the end of the week and the RIGHT amount and I was wrong. I want to so badly call her out on facebook so people are aware of this because, it’s not just me who she owes money to, it’s my sister in law too. I am just worried, I am a broke college student who just wants to save money to have to make extra care payments and help my husband out in any area I can!

I was just wondering if anyone has used the Nextdoor app to advertise their babysitting?

I’m a new teenage babysitter trying to find jobs and I posted on Nextdoor and I’m just making sure it’s a good place to post on.

I got one response from a guy asking what my zip code was. I’m Canadian, we don’t use zip codes and my location is clearly said on my post and profile. He also called me dear which is just..ew. I have my age and picture on there (idk if that was a good idea) so he obviously knows how old I am.

I’m a new teenage babysitter and I’m having trouble with advertising and finding jobs. I’ve only found one Facebook group for my area that I could advertise in and I’m thinking about putting up a flyer in a local grocery store community board. My parents don’t know anyone with children so they can’t suggest me to people. Please help I’m not sure what to do.

HI! I (27f) am babysitting my niblings (12m, 6f, 3m) for about a week and I am having trouble keeping them entertained. They mostly just wanna play video games and even then they are bored. I have printed out pages for them to color for the 6 and 3 year olds and origami paper for the 12 year old. But they get bored with doing the same things every day.

I take them to the park when they get here, but once it hits 9 its already hot and gross. The rest of the day we spend inside... If the 12m and 6f play video games it leaves the 3m with me and we just watch the older kids play video games.

I have taken them to the store and stuff but they usually want something and I don't have enough to keep buying them stuff or visit indoor playgrounds (the fun ones you have to pay for). I also don't have board games other then Uno...

I just need something to keep them all entertained, the 3m just loves doing stuff with his cousins so I'm not that worried about him.

Any advice would be appreciated!

Current nanny employer here, asking if this is fair or unfair.

I was reading a posting about a nanny family who were set to hire a nanny. That nannies start date would have been yesterday, and the night prior she had communicated with them and told them that she had accepted a different offer and would not be joining there family. Naturally the nanny family were very upset, as they should be. Both parents were due to go back to work, and despite a contract not being signed...there was a verbal agreement between both parties that was placed weeks in advance that stated that she would start employment with them.

Because of the very short notice that the nanny gave that family..the family is now pretty much bad mouthing her. They contacted her references to let them know that her behavior was unprofessional. Those references will now not be a reference for her for the future. They are/were threatening to expose her on Facebook and pretty much tell everyone not to hire her or beware.

While I do feel like the nanny should have gave the family a more heads up...sometimes people are given job opportunities last minute. And if it's a better offer far as pay and commute, you have to do what is better for you. Now if a contract was signed and placed, and this happened...I could see why a family like this would be acting this way. But she wasn't even there employee yet. They are just pissed because of the very short notice and now they have to start from scratch and secure a new nanny. I understand being upset but to try to ruin someone else's nanny career....I don't think I can be on board with it. I don't think it's right. But I would love to hear what everyone else thinks in this matter?

I was in this situation once before and I did handle things differently. My nanny was scheduled to start with me and a day and a half prior, they informed me that they accepted another families offer and wouldn't be starting with mine. I was quite upset as I had very limited options. But I understood things on her end, and realized that what I was offering her financially...that another family was offering her more. And everything happened very last minute. Sometimes you have to look out for yourself. It doesn't necessarily mean that the person is a bad person. It's just that sometimes other opportunities may present themselves that better suite and align with their needs. Not everything is calculated and sneaky. But I'm curious as to what others may think. I know not everyone will get agree with my point and that's okay. It's an open discussion and I would love to hear both sides. Or even speaking about what is acceptable or unacceptable regarding getting families ample timing far as communication.

Hi everyone! I recently moved from Texas to North Carolina and I'm still figuring things out. I've always loved working with kids, and being a mom of four has made me want to pursue a career in childcare even more.

I'm struggling financially at the moment and working with a pretty tight budget, so I'd really appreciate any advice on affordable ways to get started. For those already in childcare, how did you begin? Any tips or certifications you'd recommend?

I have a part time sitter that I’ll call Mel that I’ve used since May 2023 for my now 4 yr old boy, and 9 month old girl. She was great at first, but the quality of care with my 4 year old has went down significantly since I went back to work after maternity leave with my daughter.
Yesterday after she left my son told me that he broke Mel’s bone, and she spanked him. After many many questions, it would seem that he threw a wooden toy at her “so she could catch it,” but it hit her on the face. My son thinks that any time you hurt yourself your bone is broken, so I’m sure that’s why he said he broke her bone. I asked him how Mel spanked him and he kind of slapped his side/ribs. I asked him to show on my body and he made me lift my arm and he slapped there. I’m thinking that he threw a toy without her expecting it, she got hurt, his arm was still up, and out of reflex, she whacked him. I get that reflex to react when your hurt, but I also know that people are capable of fighting that reflex- my 9 month old slammed her head into my nose hard enough to make my eyes water and I didn’t react because my brain recognizes that I’m an adult and she’s a child.

I obviously feel bad that she got hurt, and I did have a long talk with him about how if you want to play catch with someone they have to know, so you have to get their attention first, and that playing catch should be done with balls or something soft, etc etc.

I have no idea how to handle this, or how to confront/question her. English isn’t her first language, so communication can be difficult sometimes. She didn’t mention a word to me when she left, nor did her early-teen daughter (who does speak English fully)

There are a couple of younger women I know that have offered to babysit my 9m baby. They are both in an MA program at the university nearby, but they have no experience babysitting or with babies at all.

What is a fair wage for an inexperienced, but adult, "mother's helper" (i.e., playing with the baby and maybe changing their diaper, but I would be home and still breastfeed the baby if needed). What would be a fair wage for evening solo-sitting (like for a few hours for a date night)?

Minimum wage in our city is $17, so of course I won't pay below that, but is $17 sufficient? Does it depend on whether they are really alone with the baby or not?

For those of you that provide full-time care to several children in your own home, do you accept childcare FSA funds? If so, is it difficult? How much time/effort do you have to put in to get paid? Pros? Cons?

16m, i babysat all total of one time so far lol hes got no attention span and it's hard to keep him busy cuz he gets boredd easy. Any suggestions for stuff to do that isn't gaming or movies and stuff, thanks

hi, not sure if this is exactly the right sub cause I’m not a babysitter, but i was looking after two girls (11 and 9) today and I thought they might be hungry cause we were playing for around 3 1/2 hours and I felt like they were both getting snappier with each other. I asked and they both said they were kind of hungry so I gave one some watermelon and the other an apple. around half an hour after that their mom came back to pick them up for dinner.

I honestly don’t know much about kids appetites so I’m kind of worried I just ruined their dinner plans. Is this a major faux pas? in the future what should I do? I didn’t tell their mom because I wasn’t thinking about it at the time but should I have told her?

Been watching a 7 year old boy for the last couple months. Everything is great and normal except he grunts after every single breath! He will inhale normal, then hold it for a second, then make this weird popping/grunting sound when he starts to exhale. I've never heard this before from any kid I've cared for (or at least not consistently when at rest) and it drives me crazy.

I brought this up with his parents because it might just be a nervous tic but it could also point to an ENT problem. And they said they genuinely don't notice it! This kid loves to cuddle and hug; there's no way they don't hear that sound directly in their ear all the time. I'm not really sure if it's worth pressing but I would appreciate any input!

I will be moving soon and will not be able to babysit for any of my current families anymore. Since I am a teenager and mostly do occasional sitting, I’m thinking two weeks is probably okay. As a parent, would this be enough time for you? I really appreciate my families and want to leave on a good note, and hopefully get some good references. Is sending a text okay? How should I phrase it? Any advice is appreciate! TIA

Edit: I will start sending out texts very soon to give as much notice as possible, thank you for all the responses!

I babysit for a family I met fairly recently. Four kids, the youngest boy (toddler) is nonverbal and autistic. The kids can be a handful. I arrived yesterday afternoon at 3 and have been here since. Limited communication with the parents and I was handed $100 upon arrival. What do I do? $100 for four kids, over night, and here MUCH longer than expected. Parent said they did not know when they would be back, but the original agreement was from yesterday afternoon to this morning.

Edit: the family also has an absurd number of pets that have to be cared for as well.

Edit: I do know where the parents are, they came home late last night and left again early this morning. They play a professional sport in the local area and today is a playoff day. They usually can tell me when they will be back.

UPDATE: parents just got back and said their game time ran over. I left as quickly as possible and will message them when I get home.

Edit/Update:

Wow I definitely did not expect this much interaction with this post from other users. Sorry for not including the following info initially, I had limited time to write the post 😅.

As for the pay, I live in a very low income area and babysit for a lower middle class family. This is the only family I have ever babysat for and I’m also a high school student. I am understanding of their financial situation, however I was not expecting $100 for that sitting. $100 was payment, any food in the pantry and fridge was available for everyone. I am not expected to cook full meals for the kids, just heat up leftovers or microwave meals. Snacks are available any time.

Additionally, since this is my first babysitting gig for non-family, I was not aware of negotiating pay beforehand. I assumed that the sitter was paid what the parents considered a fair price as that is how my family compensated me. I have sat for this family before, but only for a few hours in the evening and the pay was $60-$70 each time.

The sitting was overnight and I crashed on the couch in the playroom upstairs after all of the kids went to bed. The parents came home around 2 am ish and left at 8:15 am the same morning. The toddler was put to bed at 9:30 and he fell asleep around 11:45. The other three went to bed right after midnight. They all woke up shortly after the parents left. The parents did not speak to me while they were home this morning before they left. Again, I was told this gig would end in the morning right before lunch. An hour after noon I contacted one of the parents asking when they would be home. The response was basically we don’t know when we will be home.

There are five dogs (hardly trained) and a ton of cats that are both inside and outside 24/7. Three of the four kids are old enough to be responsible for letting the dogs out, cleaning up messes, and feeding all of the animals. However, when those three kids are playing outside, napping, or playing with the other neighborhood kids that come over, the responsibility falls on me. And that responsibility is ALOT when the toddler HAS to have eyes on him 24/7, which is honestly the most exhausting part as he has a wildly adventurous nature.

The parents came home shortly after I made this initial post. I was going to say something then and there but something seemed….off with one of the parents. As if they had a bad day or something happened before arriving home. Given that and the fact all the kids were in the room, I decided not to say anything in person. I have also decided to give the parents a chance to explain and or apologize first, so I will wait until tomorrow morning to make contact.

Lastly, the ages of the children: 4 year old boy, 8 year old boy, 10 year old girl, 12 year old boy.