r/Babysitting

so i babysat a new family tonight. i met them beforehand about 3 weeks ago and they seemed lovely. today i got to their house, and as soon as i walked in mom informed me that the 3 year old (i was only watching her) has had diarrhea all day. i changed her diaper about 4 times in 2 hours. i offered her plain pasta. she had two bites. i offered her an ice pop. she hardly ate in. an hour later, she threw up on the couch next to me and was running a fever. i called her parents 4 times before someone picked up. dad picked up and asked “should i come home” while this poor child is sick and screaming in the background. i am beyond frustrated and appalled at this. i will never ever be back at this house.

I’m planning on getting my MB some flowers and a card for Mother’s Day and I want to grab her a coffee too because I know she’s a huge coffee enjoyer. However, I don’t know her coffee order or what she likes in terms of coffee. Not sure if I should just straight up ask what her go to coffee order is or just grab a small gift card (which is slightly less personal) so as not to tip her off. Thoughts? Ideas?

location: portland

say i need help taking the kids to daycare from 6-8 am 3-4 days a week and picking them up from daycare anywhere between 1-4 days a week. pick up at 4 pm and usually until 6 pm but possibly 8 pm.

just curious babysitter vs nanny (who don’t usually like split schedule and would want GH) vs au pair for this situation?

Hello, I’ve just started babysitting a little girl but there’s not a lot of space to play with them. She has a small corner of toys and nothing else. It seems they let her watch tv or her iPad but the mom wants little screen time when I’m there. As well, the mother doesn’t have a schedule to follow for me so it’s mainly up to me.

I (23f) am currently have a babysitting/nanny job where I have two kids 2/3 days a week and 1-2 weekends a month. I am also a full time college student, and I’m going into my senior year of my education degree. My fall schedule isn’t going to allow me to pick the kids up off the bus anymore, and according to department policy, I’m not allowed to to work at all during the spring semester (my student teaching).

All of this together means I need a job with more regular hours and that pays more. I’m applying at different retail jobs but I know I need to go ahead and give the family I work for my notice so that they can look for new childcare. As it stands, I plan to tell my boss that my last day will be May22, which is the kids last day of school. I feel really terrible about this, and I am grateful for any advice on how I can have this conversation without it being a nightmare. I’m currently sick to my stomach thinking she is going to scream at me or be very angry.

I’m a babysitter/nanny and have grown up around kids - having looked after each of my 25 younger cousins at some point from infant to about 10yo.

I do babysitting as a ‘side-hustle’ only when I’d like a bit of extra money, so charge $16/hr for one child.

Most other babysitters in my area charge about $25 for one child, and babysitters with childcare experience (like daycare roles) charge more.

Does my lower cost imply lack of experience or lower quality care? I’m not really interested in charging more, just curious about people’s thoughts.

It's my first time getting a baby sitting gig.(So idk much about the pay in this) I wanted to know if $7/hr is too little of a pay. I have a feeling it is and everyone else has been telling me it is. Is $10 minimum the hr a little better? Also this is a family friend's 3 month daughter so I also don't want to charge them like $20 which I recently heard some people do.

I babysit 2 kids (mostly one but sometimes the other). I charge $22/hr for one baby (she’s 11months old) and $25/26 an hour whenever she has me watch her 2.5 year old toddler with the baby. I’m staying overnight for the first time on Friday; from 6pm-8am with both of them. How much would you/should I charge?

i'm going to start babysitting in a few weeks. I was wondering if anybody has some hacks, tips, general rules and what to know. i'm certified in infant and child CPR and i took a class on early childhood care, but i don't have any real life experience. i would love if somebody can give me like a masterlist of things to ask, know or do as i want to be somebody the family trusts and the kid likes me.

I am babysitting an 11 month old. She naps for one hour and I am here for 6 hours. We go to the park and go on walks as well during that time. Mom just texted me this:

Daily Tasks 1- Dog will need to be walked at 11am 2- Please put baby bottles away in the cupboard above coffee maker. 3-Dishwasher is running, put dishes away when cycle is complete. 4- There’s baby laundry in the dryer. Grab the white laundry basket, please fold and put away in her room. At the end of the day: 5- Remember to clean up toys in living room, clean/wash her eating tray, bib and chair and clean up surfaces where she ate. 6-Put any washed up bottles inside the sterilizer. 7- Pick up any toys off the rug, tidy up blankies, cushions, etc. *When she poops, put her soiled diaper on a plastic shopping bag (found inside the corner cabinet next to the pantry bottom drawer) put the poop bag inside the trash container in the garage.

Update: So I decided to just do the stuff anyways and have a conversation about it after that it wasn’t what I was hired for but I could not get to finish the laundry because I was busy with the baby. She confronted me about it over message after I left and said because it wasn’t done she was very disappointed and not interested in me returning. Mind you I literally did everything else on the check list. Seems like I dodged a bullet but I don’t want to be rude about it.

Hi all! I want to preface this isn't a "serious" sort of under contract agreement job at all. I have babysat up to 9 hours for this family before over a span of a couple years. The parents are essential government workers so they have fixed schedules. I am a 19 year old girl and need all the help I can get to manage these guys lol.

The deal is:

- 7 am to 4:30

- 5 days a week

- 3 months over the summer

- 1 child is 5 years old ADHD diagnosis recently and was notorious for getting kicked out of pre-k, he's finally settled down at one pre-k and doing well. He will not be going in the summer and getting ready for kindergarten. He's a spunky guy but was the first kid so I feel like the parents weren't fully prepared. He still wears diapers to sleep because he wets the bed (not sure if thats normal), cannot sleep in his own room/bed ( stays in his parents bed) and is very picky eater. I would say his play/energy is normal a little on the crazy side but hes so fun to be around so its no big deal.

- 2 of the cutest twins ever! Soon to be 1 in August. One is on the bigger side, he is starting to walk and by the time I begin he probably will be able to. The other one is very sweet and quiet, she's on the smaller side. I suspect she isn't too far behind on the walking game. They are kind of on the opposite ends of the spectrum when it come to their personalities. One is more independent and one needs more constant play.

Im not pointing these characteristics out to flaw them at all, I truly do love them and cant wait to do this job. I just would like tips on how to manage so many children, how to give them all proper attention and some things I should be careful for etc! Thank you all!

Hey! I am a SPED educator who is male, and I am always looking for ways to give back to the disability community, and gain more experience with teaching/caring for children. However, ik that rightfully so, most parents want a female babysitter as opposed to a male one.

However, I have learned that I am (not to brag) awesome with kids, and working in SPED is 100% my passion and dream job (I am also disabled myself, autism and adhd, and I love being able to be the person that my childhood self would have really benefited from).

Anyways, just wondering if I should even attempt to be a babysitter? Is anyone ever open to having a male babysitter? (I am also fully understanding if they just want services while they are home, and I am fully open to just entertain the kids while the parents get household chores done etc).

Or is this a fully female field, and isn't something I should make myself available for. (If so, fully valid and fully understood)

Will be greatful for any advice/input! Thanks!

I’m thinking about babysitting as a side hustle this summer. I have a 7 year old so I can’t just get a regular part time job. Last year we just kinda sat around until it was time for me to go to work and I feel like I could’ve been doing more.

It would be in the mornings, weekdays. 1-2 kids max. I don’t mind making lunch at home. I live in a quiet walkable neighborhood and I’m CPR certified.

How much a day would you charge? I was thinking $30, is that too high?

Hey!

I just got finished babysitting two toddlers at my mom's polo game. Both are perfect and very sweet, and an easy watch. The only issue however is that one of the two has really bad eczema. I just realized today (her mom later confirmed it when I asked) that she was suffering from it, its my second time watching the both of them. She's only 1½ years old, so they can't do patch testing on her to try and get to the bottom of it. Its unfortunately everywhere and she had a bit of an itching fit today and there wasn't much I could do to help her. She had some medicated cream her mom brought with her and I used it once (it helped for about 30 minutes), but she never told me to use it or anything (she thanked me for using it though, so i guess there's that as an option next time). She has rashes all over her little body and wouldn't stop itching at them... I almost cried when I was trying to get her to stop itching; it was so hard to watch (i also grew up with chronic pain in the mouth, so i really do empathize with her... it broke my heart 😭💔)

Does anyone have any tips on what I might do to distract/help her with the pain? She likes Mrs. Rachel, and that seemed to work and prevented her from scratching, but is there any tips on what I could do? And in the future, not just for her, but I work with toddlers at my church and some of them likely have a similar situation; what could I do to distract them from chronic pain?

Thank you so much for any tips! They're all really appreciated.

I’m feeling a bit upset and used. I’ve baby sat for an amazing family the last year. I ended up charging less than I normally do for them out of essentially a desperate need of another side gig at this time last year, but it works out because one they are amazing and two I can get other work done on shift while their baby son is sleeping. I do not mind making less than my normal rate because I am truly so happy working with them. It’s a good fit.

They asked if I would like to do any sporadic babysitting for a friend of theirs this summer because their regular sitter is not around. I said I’m fine with taking on sporadic work.

I did a trial run with their son the other day and him and I really hit it off. At first the mom and dad said they would only need me for an hour or two. I think this was because the son normally doesn’t take well to people. I ended up getting stuck there for four full hours. Now I know I should’ve spoken up.

At the end of the shift, the Mom whispered the same rate that the other family pays me and was like $23 right?

I was so caught off guard because every other family asked me my rate instead of naming a price, and I give them the range that all depends on the job.

I’m left feeling upset and caught off guard, especially since I recently received an offer for $28 that I declined due it not feeling like the right fit.

This family lives in a million dollar home, I suppose I was expecting better…..

I ended up telling them I have about 3-5 hours availability a week… at this point I’m hoping it can just be a temporary one or two month gig before school starts again in August…

I essentially feel like a bargain sitter at this point when I have 15 years of experience and I am truly excellent at my job ensuring the safety and care of the babies I watch.

Seeking advice/tips & tricks for finding vetted, quality babysitters outside of our hometown!

My partner and I are planning to travel with our 1.5+ year old son this summer, for a single overnight, to a friend’s wedding in a nearby town (3ish hours away). We will need evening/nighttime care (dinner, bedtime, and post-bedtime while we are at the wedding and reception) in our hotel room, and I’m sort of panicking about how to find a one-time sitter who is not going to be a total creep.

I am SAHM who has left my son once for 12 hours (in the care of my partner) but otherwise has been pretty much with him, non stop save for a couple of dinners with girlfriends while he was with my partner, since he was born. We have never had a babysitter or other caretaker do bedtime or watch him after being put to bed. (Absolutely wild, I know.)

Could anyone who has navigated this share advice or suggestions? I’d be so grateful.

EDIT TO ADD: this is a destination wedding (not exotic, lol, but in an area none of us — including the bride- and groom-to-be — are native to).

So I recently had a really bad experience with a NF who I never thought in a million years would screw me over, but of course, they did, and what hurt the most about it was how close we had gotten. Because I was there so often, I had grown really close with the parents, the mom specifically, I’m sure other nanny’s/babysitters can relate to the feeling of the parents you work for at times feeling like your “closest friends” as you are literally either there working or alone in your own home.

Without going into specifics that don’t really matter to my question, when this family screwed me over they actually used something I had casually spoken about with them as basically a defense tactic. It totally caught me off guard and I felt really disrespected.

So I was wondering, what do you guys think is the line you shouldn’t ever cross when discussing your personal life with the parents? I’m obviously not referring to like sex talk or anything crazy like that, I’d never do that no matter how close we are or how long I’d been with them. I guess maybe I mean like when you consider personal life topics in tiers like an iceberg, what would be the most personal you’d go?

This is really only specific for nanny’s who have been with families for long term, as well as parents in general who may have opinions. I guess I’m just curious on opinions for the future and just in general. I also know everyone is different but maybe just a general idea of what people’s thoughts are!

I recently started babysitting for a new family and the mom asked if I would do occasional overnights. I’ve been sitting and nannying for years but have never done overnights. From seeing posts on this sub and other groups, my understanding is that people will sometimes charge a flat rate for sleeping hours and then normal rate for awake hours. However the mom never mentioned this and I’m not sure if it’s standard or applicable in my situation. I would be working 10:30pm-7:30am the next day. There are 3 kids, two 13 y/os and a 9 y/o. The kids would all be sleeping when I arrive, then I would just wake them up in the morning, oversee them getting ready (they are basically self sufficient), and drive them to school ~5 min away. My normal rate is $30/hr and I live in a relatively HCOL area (NYC suburb). Should I tell her I will charge a flat rate for their sleeping hours or leave it at my normal rate? I feel a bit guilty not doing a flat rate since I would be making considerably more idk if I’d be taking advantage of them for just hanging out and sleeping most of the time I’m there

ETA this wouldn’t be the most convenient situation for me since I’d have to go straight from her house in the morning to my grad school internship (idk if that makes a difference)