Babysitting Expectations?

[Hisgirl]

As a way to earn money and fill my time, I decided I would enjoy babysitting for some local families. I love kids and babies, do arts and crafts, cook, read stories, play games. What a fun way to earn money!

So this week I took a job with a family I didn't know. Sweet family with two little boys.

The job was to be from 3pm to 8pm.

I haven't babysat in quite a long time, and wondered what the protocol was for meals. Should I bring my own food? Would I share their food?

I was shown a small dish of 2 chicken tenders and a bowl of peas and carrots. Barely enough for 2 boys and certainly nothing for me.

So what exactly is the expectation? Do you, as parents, expect me to bring my own dinner? Do you provide enough to feed the sitter?

And, out of curiousity, what are the going rates for 2 children per hour?

 

[PrincessShmoo]

As a way to earn money and fill my time, I decided I would enjoy babysitting for some local families. I love kids and babies, do arts and crafts, cook, read stories, play games. What a fun way to earn money!

So this week I took a job with a family I didn't know. Sweet family with two little boys.

The job was to be from 3pm to 8pm.

I haven't babysat in quite a long time, and wondered what the protocol was for meals. Should I bring my own food? Would I share their food?

I was shown a small dish of 2 chicken tenders and a bowl of peas and carrots. Barely enough for 2 boys and certainly nothing for me.

So what exactly is the expectation? Do you, as parents, expect me to bring my own dinner? Do you provide enough to feed the sitter?

And, out of curiousity, what are the going rates for 2 children per hour?

Well, it's been a long time since I was in the babysitting game, also. I've done some long term (live in) sitting, as well as just for "date night". Since the time period covered is during "typical" dinner time, it's important to clarify with the parents what their (as well as your) expectations would be regarding dinner.
1) Do you bring your own?
2) Do the parents provide? Just for the kids, or you also?
3) Can you bring food for the kids?
4) Is there extra pay since you're feeding the kids?

 

[MillauFr]

Two kids? $25 an hour.

 

[kymom99]

If you are working at their home, I would certainly expect them to provide food for the kids. I might ask if they kind of you bring things to cook for yourself, and if the kids might like it too. This might lead to dialogue about who provides the food to be cooked. Maybe some days you can bring things and others they can provide it.

 

[tinkerbellandpeterpan]

I babysit for an 11 month old a couple of times a week. Most days are at my house but one day a week is at their house (involves bed time and easier to put him down for the night in his own crib). I bring my own snacks/food/drinks when I sit at their house. They have said I'm welcome to anything in the house, but I would just rather have my own food. I don't really bring a full meal, just mostly snack type items like granola bars. They obviously provide all the food for the baby whether at their house or mine. I feel like rates can very wildly by region, but I get paid $18 an hour. Part of the reason I think they pay so well is that I'm extremely flexible with their schedule and usually can roll with whenever they need to cancel or want to add hours/days.

 

[slo]

I have never needed to pay a babysitter due to my mom and MIL living so close to us.

If I did need one I think I would feed a teenager and expect an adult to bring their own food, no different than if they worked somewhere else. I would probably pay an adult more too, which is why I wouldn’t feed them.

I have no idea if my thoughts are correct or not

 

[sksjasams]

If it were me, I would provide food for the sitter.
They are clearly not interested in providing food for you though.

Since it’s only a five hour shift, you could just eat before work. And then again when you get home. You could bring a protein bar as a snack In case you get hungry.
I don’t think you should bring food to cook there. If you wanted to pack a lunch, I guess you could, but it could be awkward if the kids start asking for your food instead of what’s been provided by their parents to eat.

 

[anniemae]

Honestly, I would bring my own food for myself, something simple that would only require a microwave, or just bring a sandwich. I would not expect to be fed a meal if I were watching someones kids. I would expect them to let me know what and when to feed their kids, and I would eat my own food with the kids.

I used to watch a boy two days a week after he got home from school from 3:30-7:30 and the mom would always leave his dinner in the fridge, usually something that just needed a quick heat up in the microwave (Mac and cheese, spaghetti, chicken fingers, quiche etc.) She would leave snacks out on the counter like, popcorn, fruit, and crackers. She always told me to help myself to any of the snacks.

I think you will find each family may have different rules. To be safe, I would bring my own food.

 

[Kitty 34]

I would think the questions you ask here would be great questions to ask the parents, especially if you're babysitting at their home. Good luck.

 

[Hisgirl]

So i ate a payday bar before going, hahaha, not exactly the healthiest but I figured the peanuts would hold me over. I learned my lesson. I'll ask about food beforehand and discuss pay rate as they definitely didn't pay the going rate.

 

[tinkerbellandpeterpan]

So i ate a payday bar before going, hahaha, not exactly the healthiest but I figured the peanuts would hold me over. I learned my lesson. I'll ask about food beforehand and discuss pay rate as they definitely didn't pay the going rate.

You definitely should know the pay rate before going to babysit. I'm trying to figure out how they hired you without telling you what they were going to pay you or it being discussed beforehand.

 

[tcufrog]

When we hired a babysitter, we always provided food for the kids and the sitter. It never would have occurred to me not to feed the sitter. My sitter was a single mom who had 4 kids. Sometimes she brought the younger kids with them, which didn't bother me. They were super nice and well-behaved. I gave them each a high school graduation present because I had gotten to know them over the years. I liked the fact that I could trust her to find something to feed everyone if I didn't have time to buy something like frozen pizzas in advance.

 

[sksjasams]

You definitely should know the pay rate before going to babysit. I'm trying to figure out how they hired you without telling you what they were going to pay you or it being discussed beforehand.

I agree. It’s going to be hard to bring up pay after the fact, when they’ve already started paying you.

 

[LSUmiss]

I tell our babysitter she can eat anything she finds in the house. But, I don’t cook or buy anything specifically for her. She’s never here for dinner just lunch sometimes. DS eats a peanut butter sandwich for lunch every single day so it’s not like I’m making some large meal. Sometimes she’ll make herself something here & sometimes she brings her own food.

 

[Calee]

We are just now past the age to need babysitters, but when I did have them it was for a date night or appointment or something (not every day). I would either get pizza or make something kid friendly like tacos or spaghetti or frozen pizza. I always took the sitter into account when deciding how much to make and told her so, as well as sometimes a treat explained as "there is brownies and ice cream for you guys" to include her as well. I think it's rude to expect my sitter to serve up dinner for everyone else and not include her. I was treated the same way (included) when I babysat 20-25 years ago.

 

[Luv Bunnies]

If I was sitting for someone for the first time, I think I would pack my own food. I would bring something simple like a sandwich or prepared food that just needed to be microwaved. If the family offers you snacks or meals, you'll know how to prepare for the next time you sit for them. In terms of pay, it depends on the going rate for babysitters in your area. I've heard of sitters around here making $20-$25 an hour, depending upon the number of kids and the level of care involved. Multiple kids would merit a higher rate, as would younger kids and infants who need to be fed and changed.

 

[AgentMama]

We are just now past the age to need babysitters, but when I did have them it was for a date night or appointment or something (not every day). I would either get pizza or make something kid friendly like tacos or spaghetti or frozen pizza. I always took the sitter into account when deciding how much to make and told her so, as well as sometimes a treat explained as "there is brownies and ice cream for you guys" to include her as well. I think it's rude to expect my sitter to serve up dinner for everyone else and not include her. I was treated the same way (included) when I babysat 20-25 years ago.

Same for us. We always fed our sitters with our kids. Good sitters are hard to find, families should make them feel as welcome aS possible and pay them the right pay range. As adults, we're putting the welfare of our children in someone else's hands. It's our responsibility to make sure they're invested and care about the welfare of our children. We included costs for our sitters in any extracurricular activities or treats as well.

 

[TwoMisfits]

As for the pay rate, that's so highly variable.

Around here, my college kid would ask for $15/hour for 2 kids, and my HS kid would ask for $12/hour.

 

[GusGus77]

I would provide food for the babysitter, but it sounds like this family you sat for does not. Teens get about $10/hr here so I would expect maybe to pay an adult a bit more.
Editing to add I still would probably not pay an adult more than $15/hr. (Then again we rarely used a sitter and now we don’t need to. But DD babysits now.)

 

[KristaZ]

I worked for a babysitting service for a couple of years while I was in college and grad school. Most families would just tell me to help myself to whatever I wanted in the kitchen. Most of the time I didn't eat an actual meal - I would just bring a protein bar with me and some light snacks like crackers or fruit. Occasionally I might eat a snack if I was really hungry, but most of the time, I just stuck with what I had. If I was there at a meal time, there was pretty much always enough left for me as well if I wanted to eat it (usually something easy like frozen pizza or pasta).