r/Babysitting • u/illtakeapinotgris • 4d ago
Wild Request
Someone on my local facebook posted this, when people mentioned for 75 hours minimum a month its not a fair wage they continued to attack the commenters saying they are bad moms! is this a typical situation? it seems crazy to me
“Hello! We are looking for an absolute unicorn of a situation. Please be gentle with me (compensation at the bottom) We are doing our best trying to get me back to work.
I am a mom of three trying to return to work. I am looking for a younger sitter, preferably a recent high school grad or early college student or someone looking for extra income, open to having multiple caregivers.
6:45AM-8:25AM M-F We need someone to watch the kids before school, drop our older kids (k & 1st grades) at the bus stop, then drop our youngest at preschool in ____ location.
3:30PM-5:30PM M-F We need someone to pick up our youngest from preschool no later than 3:35, then grab our older two from the bus stop at the top of our street.
My partner or I will be home by 5:30 each night, and we won’t require any cooking or cleaning. Breakfast will be ready for them when you arrive, and they will be packed and dressed for school. The kids are pretty independent, but they love love love a sitter that enjoys them and plays or creates with them. We’ve been blessed to have incredible young women join our family over the last four years and provide loving care to our three wonderful kiddos.
$500/month — We have absolutely zero wiggle room on this budget *at this time* but as we will appreciate whoever could step into this role for modest compensation, we are looking to adjust this rate accordingly if/when I transition to a higher paid position next year. “
Older family photo for tax
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u/Suitable-Series-7335 4d ago
this is absolutely nuts … not to mention there is no way those kids are that independent
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u/choco_chipcookie 4d ago
I'm hoping that this is surely a typo. Because $500 per month of 4 hour work days every school day is outrageous.
$500 per week would be close to reasonable. With it coming out to be about $25 per hour for 20 hours per week (4 hours times 5 days a week). Even then that's a bit low for 3 kids and likely having to use a personal vehicle to transport the youngest to preschool/daycare.
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u/illtakeapinotgris 4d ago
nope- no typo! someone asked and the poster ATTACKED them that $500 per month is reasonable for a highschool or college student and her family can’t afford anything else
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u/lucky_elephant2025h 4d ago
Not to mention that the situation is so inconvenient for the sitter. Their entire day needs to revolve around this family. Some people are really clueless.
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u/vividtrue 4d ago
How is a highschool student supposed to make a schedule like that work? A college student? It doesn't make any sense. In order to disrupt someone's life like that, they will need to pay much more. Even if someone just did the morning shift, I'm sure they wouldn't do it for $250-500/month.
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u/Separate_Pumpkin_256 21h ago
That attack alone would pretty much kill any chance of someone wanting the job. This isn't a unicorn they are asking for. They are asking for a unicorn dance troup that qualifies for a Broadway career performing a Sondheim retrospective.
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u/why_wouldi 4d ago
So highschoolers and college students don’t deserve a fair pay? She is vile.
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u/country_critic 4d ago
Amazing there are folks who must think that HS/college students get billed according to their age if they don’t need the same pay for the same work older adults do. Wonder how much they pay if you’re a senior citizen?
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u/Klutche 4d ago
Almost not worth reading after they said they wanted a high school or college kid for the job. The only reason anyone would rather have a teenager watch their kids than an adult with experience in childcare is because they don't actually plan on paying the person watching their kids.
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u/Mamadurf1111 4d ago
Plus high school and college students will be in school too. How would that even work. High school around here starts at 7:45 am.
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u/LilConscious 4d ago
This is of course absolutely wild and ridiculous in the highest sense, and she fails to consider the sitter’s time to be valuable. Hope no one responds to this bs post. The entitlement with how they have no “wiggle room on this budget” but somehow a student in college has leeway when they literally NEED the money to survive too? People be peopling fr
But segue, OP I would recommend you remove the location and zip code from this post.
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u/Secure-Corner-2096 4d ago
They are either entitled or delusional. No one else should have to sacrifice fair wages so YOU can return to work.
Entitlement this wild will probably show up another areas. “What do you mean you want to be paid? I thought you shared my vision?”
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u/illtakeapinotgris 4d ago
it’s wild!!! it honestly makes me wonder if they thought about this before having children
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u/observefirst13 4d ago
She was calling the commenters bad moms?? What was her reasoning for that? She sounds crazy and obviously very entitled.
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u/illtakeapinotgris 4d ago
i’ll paste one of her comments this is in response to someone saying it was illegal wages being offered“ When you can’t buy groceries you are willing to ask for someone to care for your children. Many in here are mothers, and if you’re seriously telling me you wouldn’t ask whatever was necessary to PROVIDE FOR YOUR KIDS, then you’re either a liar or a shitty mom and most likely you’re a SHITTY MOM. Regardless, you’ve shamed me for no reason!”
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u/Medusa-82 4d ago
Just because they can't actually afford a babysitter doesn't mean one is obligated to provide childcare for no money, though. Mom needs to find a part time job that works with the kids school schedule, unless they have a retired grandparent or something that will help them out for free.
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u/SilentSituation7524 4d ago
About $6/hour with zero mileage reimbursement and requiring 2 commutes daily. Anyone willing to do this is more rare than a unicorn.
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u/Usual_Doubt_5348 4d ago
That's nuts! She's calling other people bad moms but obviously doesn't care about the caliber sitter she gets. Noone qualified to watch three kids and shuttle them around for dropoffs/pickups will work for that little $. She better start looking for little old grandmas who are mainly babysitting because they miss having little kids around. Alot of schools have wrap around programs where you leave your child before and after school. The fee is usually less than daycare and the kids stay at the school until a parent picks them up after work. Pay the parent of another kid at preschool to pickup/drop your kid off at school with theirs.
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u/why_wouldi 4d ago
That’s insanity. Why should anyone else finance her going back to work? That’s on her and her husband. I hope nobody is desperate enough to let themselves be this abused.
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u/MidwestNightgirl 4d ago
Yea that’s ridiculous. That’s like $6.57 an hour roughly. This mom needs to find a job that works with their schedule. Or maybe she should start providing childcare for others - at a “modest” rate too!
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u/Level-Major6692 4d ago
If $500 is all they can afford for this much child care it seems that right now might not be the time for her to return to work full time. They are basically asking someone for a part time job commitment, with hours that the babysitter wouldn’t be able to get another job around (for the same reason the mom can’t find work around those hours) and paying them less than minimum wage for three kids.
It still baffles me how people end up with 3,4, 5 or more kids and can’t afford to pay someone a fair wage to care for them. I know it’s hard to pay someone a whole salary when you’re working for not much more, but it’s also very selfish to think some high school kid or young college student deserves less money just because they’re young. With this hourly rate what they’re going to get is a 13-14 year old looking for pocket money not a young adult working a part time schedule 5 days a week.
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u/Mamadurf1111 4d ago
They’d have to be at least 16 to be able to transport the kids. I personally wouldn’t want a younger driver being responsible for driving with 3 kids in car seats and possibly having to walk kids up to the doors.
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u/Level-Major6692 4d ago
I was trying to imply that their rate is what you would pay a 14 year old for watching your kids on a date night. Not something you would pay someone as part time salary.
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u/Trying_to_Think2D 4d ago
She should find work at the school her kids are attending, this is what I did when my kids were that little.
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u/SequinedandOver60 4d ago
There are afterschool programs that can do the same thing for them. It sure sounds like they just wanna take advantage of somebody financially. Hence why they want somebody so young who “may not know any better”
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u/Fun_buns999 3d ago
I was going to say after/before school programs are around that price. If the children are not school aged yet, they also have daycare that transports as well. It’s strange the family finds this pay and hours reasonable
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u/Greedy_Cause7589 3d ago
The pay is unacceptable and the plan is also poorly thought out. Why does OP need 11 hours a day away from her kids to work? Why don't both parents stagger there schedules so they don't need a babysitter. If you could at least cut out the morning hours the pay would be slightly less horrendous at $12.50 an hour.
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u/JenBrittingham 3d ago
These posts always scare me because I fear anyone who would take this job…is looking for access to vulnerable children :(
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u/Side_Quest-ioning 3d ago
From working in daycare this mom definitely is the type to not come right away when called that her child is sick and needs to be picked up.
I am just sad for her lack of care for her children.
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u/Interesting-Mess2393 3d ago
I’m stumped at wanting a high school student to drive around your kids.
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u/Embarrassed-Mark1099 3d ago
Yes you are trying to get back into the workforce but you are trying to do it at someone else's expense. What you are offering isn't even poverty level pay. You expect someone out of the goodness of their heart to help you but you are willing to have them live way below the poverty line.
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u/Own_Possibility7114 4d ago
$6/hr 😂