I'm struggling to come up with a fee. It's not like I'm a professional babysitter or anything and I'm not even sure I WANT to watch two kids all of the time. I have a 7 month old, you see.

The landlord is renting to his daughter, so they're fixing the place next door for her. I don't really know her, but she was in the grade below me in school, and one of my best friends is really good friends with her. So today the landlord's wife told me that her daughter wants to know if I will babysit her two kids for her (9 months and 2 years or something like that) and to name my price. She told me to just think about it because I kinda looked horrified. (Just a little.) She did say that her daughter has got a job at the local grocery store but she can't start until she finds a babysitter. Uh, pressure...

So, I'm still not sure I want to do it, but we could really use the extra money. However I can't imagine watching 2 kids (along with my own, and that makes three) would be worth it... I mean, I can't imagine she would be able to pay all that much, working a minimum wage job and I also am not the type to charge too much, I don't want to rip anyone off. I used to babysit this teenage girl's two kids and I was really getting ripped off. $10 everytime I watched them, I bumped it to $20 because her kids were pains in the @ss, and then I watched them on credit once and never got my damn money...

So what I'm saying is, watching two kids, along with my own, all of the time is a lot of work! And if I'm not getting paid a lot then I'm gonna feel burdened.

Hmm, advice.

Sounds like you won't enjoy the children at all and that wouldn't be fair to them. People that babysit in their homes should really love the children because it definately won't make them rich. I say just politely decline.

Do you know somebody else who sits kids? That might give you an idea of the going rate in your area. Better think about it carefully as it could end up putting you in a tricky situation if it doesn't work out.
Good luck!

The lady behind me charges $75 per kid.

Carrie77, I enjoy kids, don't get wrong. I realize the way I worded may have sounded a bit cruel towards children. That teenage girl's kids WERE pains in the @ss though. I love my boyfriend's 5 year old daughter, although we haven't been able to see her for awhile, but I always enjoyed spending time with her. I meant, three kids all at once may be a bit too much for me, I've never watched three kids all at once before. I would never be mean to the children even if they were getting on my nerves. I have a temper with adults, but with children, I'm very patient and can definitely hold my tongue. You definitely have a point though. Definitely.

Ruthxx, thanks for the luck. I'm gonna call around and see what everyone charges. Maybe I'll even find someone who's cheap and I can refer her to them. I'm gonna have to think hard and long and carefully about this.

Diva, that girl wouldn't be able to afford $75 per kid... I don't even know if she would be able to afford $75 for the two of them together for the entire week! Man, I'm thinking I'm really gonna be doing a lot of work for a really small sum of money. At the same time, I do want to help the girl.

I dunno, I dunno. Oh man. I wonder if the landlords will be p*ssed off at me if I say I thought about it and can't do it? I've already had a big screaming match with the landlord dude when he wouldn't fix the heater and then we got it fixed and told him we were taking that off of the rent. His wife is friends with my mother though, so she likes me.

I wouldn't do it. What she can afford to pay you working at a grocery store (presumably not in management) is less than you should be paid to watch two young children in addition to your own. Declining now would be much better than her taking the job counting on you to watch them, and then either you doing it purely out of obligation, or you quitting after she is working and leaving her in the lurch for child care. You have a good excuse. You're a new mom and have enough to do raising your own kiddo.

Probably not a good idea to mix babysitting duty with the renter relationship, either. If any drama did happen, you might find yourself looking for a place to live.

$10 an hour!... thats CHEAP for where I live.

I've no idea how much to charge but you could always do a kind of trial, and if it doesnt work out I'm sure by then she can have another sitter in place.

OK< mind you, my son is NOW almost 19, but up till 12 yrs he had to be in daycare... and his father's sister also owned a daycare (in her home I'm talking about here)...

There's a few things to consider first...

AT THAT TIME licensed sitters would get 125 a week per kid, and some would give discount rates for more than one..

Are they providing foods? That might effect the cost!

NOW, you are not licensed by no means... and a grocery store she's not going to be making all that much money...

I personally would say 75 per kid, per week.. the other thing you need to know, is how many hours? is it forty? or is it more like 45 with travel? or is it part time...

If they say 150 a week is too much, bargain! Thats right! talk to the wife (the lady that contacted you) and ask if you can do 100 cash, plus 50 toward rent per week, that will cut your rent down 200, plus give you CASH in pocket! win win for all!

AGAIN.. I'd say 150 for both ... plus food!!!!!!!!!! and make sure they have enough diapers!

Huh.. that's a toughie. If you really don't want to do it then don't. I would charge $10 to $15 dollars per kid per hour myself.

However Loriann7 brings up a good idea if that is possible?

If you aren't licensed, you might want to think about liability issues. What happens if something happens to one of those kids in your house? If you aren't making a lot of money in the first place, the risk might not be worth it...

If you do decide to do it put it in writing signed and dated by both of you.

Someone told me that for their 2 kids, by a licensed daycare, they get charged $500/week.

Honestly, I do think she probably doesn't make enough money to pay you anything decent.

Hm. When I was in college I ran a home based daycare for the summer. Basically it was a daycare I worked in during the year and then over the summer the owner and her husband took her son back overseas to meet her family ... so I ran the business while they were gone.

That was 20 years ago and I remember charging $125 per week per child.

Honestly, I wouldn't do it. I'd say that I'd be happy to help out occasionally when the regular babysitter was unavailable or whatever, but I would NOT commit to being a full time daycare provider. There are so many things that could go wrong - and I'm not even talking about major things like accidents, but just minor issues that could balloon and affect your relationship with your landlord.

Another option if you want the extra money is to say you'll do it for ONLY 2 days a week or something like that. Even then, I'd be leery. It's too easy for 2 days or whatever to become "Oh please ... just one more day this week", etc.

I guess I didn't answer your questoin about what to charge at all .. sorry! I just don't think this sounds like it would turn out well for anyone in the long run.

.

Pluses -- your child has the opportunity to interact with other childrren, as most of us can relate, a little extra money is a great thing, endearing yourself to the landlord never hurts!!

Disadvantages -- You sound like me (I'm a SAHM) -- I love kids but the idea of extras being there every day I'm not sure how well I would like that and I always worry, what if it doesn't work out, the parents are in worse shape than before me or I'm stuck. Personally I would say no myself (and I've been asked A LOT!!). I like to do a lot of "field trips" with my own kids, so it would probably cost me more than I would make. And, on her salary, I doubt she would make enough to pay you the going rate. Maybe she could find a State/County run center that would help her with a portion of the bill? (Maybe you could look into this for her a little before you say no just to feel less guility??).

Remember -- your chose to be a SAHM does not give anyone else the right to take advantage of you . You should never feel guilty about your choice. You are doing what is right for your family, but it doesn't mean others are entitled to your time.

P.S. -- 9 months old and two years old -- I can hear the sounds of potty training rapidly approaching (a lot of work!!).