Tuesday, December 31, 2013

"what to pay the babysitter"

Someone posted this article about what to pay the babysitter on Facebook. What I find most interesting are some of the comments basically saying babysitters are entitled to minimum wage.

I ran into that same idea when I used a babysitter (and my children are in their 20s). But these same children who insisted on minimum wage did nothing extra (including cleaning up their own mess in the kitchen) and were not dependable. If someone offered them more at the last minute, good luck with having someone show up.

Now, a decade and a half later, I know of adults earning $10 an hour (less than the babysitters wanted) doing more involved work - and I know of others who have gone through several jobs because they "aren't being paid what they are worth."

Supply and demand says they are. Or, they are being paid what someone else feels that they are worth.

3 comments:

Kate said...

This was interesting. I paid $5 an hour; but as mentioned in the article, as was really specific about what I expected for that much money. I told them in advance that I would offer a bonus if the dishes were washed and the kitchen tidy when I came home. I also benefited from building a close, trusting relationship with one sitter who really needed the money. After a while, we didn't have to negotiate anything any more - we both knew what was expected.

Unknown said...

Hello dude, really like this concept. I did not know much more that what to pay a babysitter but the allocation you did here makes me knowable about this issue, Thanks

JustGoodHealth said...

Hi, nice post. I have been thinking about this topic,so thanks for sharing.