How much for babysitting?

Twixster

Hi all, how much do you normally pay your babysitter? (or charge if you are a babysitter?) I got married this year and since we are still trying to pay that off I'd like to try and earn a little extra money if I can to help it along.
I'm in the Rathgar area as I'm sure there would be different prices for different places in Ireland too? I've only ever babysat family children so as there is no charge for that and I don't have any children myself I wouldn't have a clue what the norm is!

Davidth88

We pay approx 8 euro ph

Twixster

Davidth88 wrote: »

We pay approx 8 euro ph

Thanks for the reply, that seems reasonable enough.
Just a quick one for you: I was going to do up some fliers and put them in the post boxes in my local area, I know people generally like to know the people that babysit their children and that's understandable but would you ever ring a babysitter based on a flier in your postbox?

eviltwin

I can only speak for myself here but I personally wouldn't let anyone babysit for my kids unless I - and my kids - knew them personally. I wouldn't feel comfortable having someone in my house that I didnt know well no matter how many references they had and I think I would feel bad leaving the children alone with someone they didnt know.

Twixster

eviltwin wrote: »

I can only speak for myself here but I personally wouldn't let anyone babysit for my kids unless I - and my kids - knew them personally. I wouldn't feel comfortable having someone in my house that I didnt know well no matter how many references they had and I think I would feel bad leaving the children alone with someone they didnt know.

Ya that's what I thought, so maybe the flyers aren't such a good idea. I don't know any other way of getting the word out then if that's the case as I'm not from Dublin so I don't have family or anything that can spread the word for me

mariebeth

Twixster wrote: »

Ya that's what I thought, so maybe the flyers aren't such a good idea. I don't know any other way of getting the word out then if that's the case as I'm not from Dublin so I don't have family or anything that can spread the word for me

You could still put up a notice in your local shop, I used to babysit quite regularly for a family that saw my notice when I was looking for babysitting while in college. There will more than likely be families in your area that are in the same position not knowing anyone around who would be willing to babysit. As a rule, it'd be a good idea to go and meet the family and the kids a couple of times before you mind them - this will give you a chance to get to know the parents and the kids and you can get to know the house and routine without being rushed around the place before the parents go out.

I usually charge €10ph, but I'm a qualified childcare worker and I work in a creche (I'm just a glutton for punishment )

The Big Red Button

I get paid approx. €10 an hour, but that's for four small kids. I'd imagine the norm is maybe about minimum wage?

lily lou

Hi Twixster,
Check out minderfinders.ie I used to work for them and you could have work every fri and Sat night if you wanted, pay averaged out at €10 an hour, not sure how busy they'd be now as it was expensive for the families as they paid a monthly fee too, but give them a ring and you might be lucky.

enniscorthy

hi yes €10 an hour here regards brian

miss no stars

The way I look at it is this, one family I babysat for paid 50 a night. Another family paid 6 euro an hour. I was happy with either payment... I wasn't happy when after just over 3 hours I got handed 18 euro...

ToniTuddle

I've only ever charged a fiver an hour!
Never changed it even after the punts changed to euro!
I'm too shy to ask for more money >.<

Though I only babysit the odd time now for my cousins kids.
But it really is handy money and now that I'm back in college I would consider it but seeing as I've no car to get me to the place and back there's not much point.

Do you have a car? Or would you expect them to pay a taxi back for you.
Rural taxis are cheap enough if you happen to be working in a rural area and the families you are working for are near enough.

iguy

My OH sister is qualified in childcare.
She charges €7 per hour if the child is over the age of 2. If the child is under the age of 2 she charges €7.60 p/h.She also charges an extra 65 cent per extra child,but she never charges more than €10 p/h or if she babysits for more than 6 hours she will only charge for the six hours.
She does.nt drive so usually she walks or minds the children in her house.....

MelissaLahive

I pay €10 per hour which seems to be the norm with the families around our way (we often share the same sitters)

..Summergirl..

I pay 2.50 p h but it's foreigner girl, i like the way she looks after my kids, 10 € ph would be to much for me to pay.

bmw316

2.50 p.h. send her down to me thats a rip off you should be ashamed of yourself handing a girl 2.50 per hour at least 5

LegacyUser

bmw316, seriously?!?!? why should i be ashamed of myself? I've got 4 kids and to pay for for kids 10 euro ph would be a huge money! don't u think that? And second thing is that she offered me this prise because she knew that there is no way i could afford to pay for 4 of them even 5 euro ph! And please mind what you're writing down.

..Summergirl..

bmw316 wrote: »

2.50 p.h. send her down to me thats a rip off you should be ashamed of yourself handing a girl 2.50 per hour at least 5

Seriously?!?!?! Why should i be ashamed of myself? I've got 4 kids and there is no way i could afford to pay even 5 euro ph. The second thing is that the girl is friend of mine, so i don't think that I would rip her by paying 2.50 for 4 of them (two of them in school) bmw316, I'm just wondering if you can afford to pay for 4 kids even 5 euro ph for 8-9 h everyday?!?! Can you?
You don't know me and you already pointing that i rip her off

deisemum

..Summergirl.. wrote: »

I pay 2.50 p h but it's foreigner girl, i like the way she looks after my kids, 10 € ph would be to much for me to pay.

If she's a friend of yours then you should be ashamed of yourself for the way you've totally disrespected her with the "but it's a foreigner girl" as if it's ok to pay pittence just because she's foreign. Friends don't do that.

If she is a friend then there was no need for the "but it's a foreigner girl" you could have just said it's a friend who is happy to help out and therefore is happy with €2.50 per hour.

..Summergirl..

I'm foreigner here (I'm not an Irish) so there is no how i could have meant that because she is foreigner i pay her 2.50 i think you understand what i mean? and as i said above i cannot afford to pay 10 or even 5 euro ph i.e i don't have anybody here , only me and my husband and the kids, and certainly you wont know what I'm going through, that's why many of us here do help each other by looking after kids for very small amount of money, and friend of my offered me this prise ( it's not as if i told her that I'll pay her 2.50 ph and that's it) I'm not going to argue here anymore because i see there is no point to continue this argument.

Every person have one or the other problem and if she or he have found way how to survive in other country or even in his/her own i don't think I'd ever tell that person that she should be ashamed of herself because she try to cut expenses? and if i would have done that... then people should have been telling me that i should be ashamed of myself because we don't know what has had drove her/him to start looking for the other alternative to survive.

Thanks

deisemum

You shouldn't have brought being foreign into it even though you're foreign yourself because it's irrelevent if she's a friend and the way you posted left things wide open to misintepretation.

I do know what it's like living in a foreign country and not having family to fall back on when you've got young children and having friends helping each other out in situations like this. Where I lived there were babysitting circles where parents got to know each other and took turns babysitting each others children so it didn't cost anything financially.

When I moved back to Ireland to a different side of the country than where I grew up and knew people I had to make friends and then we helped each other out when possible.

..Summergirl..

Well indeed my post was misunderstood, i should have put it in the other way. Unfortunately i personally cannot ask my friend to look after my kids without paying her anything because i don't have to put my own burden on her shoulders simply because she is my friend? I think it better to pay at list something to her than utilize her for free unless if we are helping each other to look after kids without paying anything (which is impossible for me to do so because I'm working full time now and unfortunately have no extra time to help others, it's just my opinion and i apologise if i have offend someone.) And in other way i cannot afford creche because i don't earn that much to pay for each child 170-180 a week, and then other expenses, house rent, bills and the foods. And why my post surprised you and others participant here? That i pay 2.50 p h? Many of my friends working here as a babysitter and getting payed only 120-130 a week for looking after 1-2 kids, which is maybe 3 or little more euro p h? How many of Irish families can afford to pay 10 euro ph? Provided it's wealthy families or families with one kid, how many can pay with 2-3-4 kids? Well if i have had came here and told you that look you're suffering out there and i got babysitter whom i only paying 2.50 that's would be bad of me and shamed, but really i didn't mean that i just have wanted to say that you can always find someone who could help you to look after your kids for the reasonable prise because i think 10 euro p h it's also a rip to a families who cannot afford it but have no other choice

Girls I'm just stating my opinion here and don't want to hurt or offend anybody here.

Natalie xxx

bmw316

I pay 2.50 p h but it's foreigner girl, i like the way she looks after my kids, 10 € ph would be to much for me to pay.


as a person who comes from ireland the above statment is not nice.
you should have said it was was a friend and not a foreigner girl as you put it on the board. that was being smart .
thats all
you make it sound that we should only pay foreigners 2.50 p.h.

..Summergirl..

Hi bmw316, i understand what you mean, English isn't my first language so that why some of my post might have different meaning to others (i apologize for that.) Yes you're right if someone start talking about foreigners like that it's wouldn't be nice at all, and a big respect to you for this. But i still want to emphasize that there is nothing wrong if someone is paying 2.50 ph, i saw here lots of single mums who wants to work or study but have nobody to support them and social benefits isn't enough to pay 10-5 euro p h because their benefits is already equal to the amount of a childcare. I myself when first I came to Ireland my first job was a childminding and i was paid only 80 euro per week looking after 2 kids. Mum who was paying me was a single mum and i saw how she was struggling at that time to cop even with this amount. (She was a student nurse at that time), or some families who have 2-3 or more kids, 5€ it would be a huge money for them if to pay for all.