Is she crazy??
@Ambitiouslyleiah (591)
United States
January 7, 2010 8:15am CST
I went to a babysitting jobs interview yesterday and I got asked questions and told when I would be working and all that. I hung around met the kids and played with each one of them, they were both precious and I enjoyed playing with them. The boy was 3 and the girl was 7. It kinda seemed like they liked me and without them saying it seemed like I had the job. In the car on the ride home I started thinking though... she wanted to pay me a flat rate of $300 every month, but the time she wanted me to work was over 80 hours in a month. Needless to say I call and told her that I wouldn't be able to except the job because I really needed more money. I think that would be like two dollars an hour. That is way too little to be caring for a 3 year old and a 7 year old kid, that is alot of responsibility especially with the long hours she wanted me to work on mondays (11 hours). I couldn't see myself taking on such responsibility for soo little money. I wish she paid more. what would you have done?
3 people like this
9 responses
@sid556 (30959)
• United States
7 Jan 10
Hi Ambitious,
So I did a little math. You'd actually be getting 3.75 per hour for about 3 days work. That is 300.00 for 3 days of work. I agree that 3.75 does not sound like much but you also have to consider what this woman is earning per hour as well. If she is earning 8.00 per hour then she is paying you about half of her pay. Do you pay taxes on this money or is it under the table? Also, the 7 yr old is or should be in school all day. Just something to think about.
1 person likes this
@Ambitiouslyleiah (591)
• United States
7 Jan 10
I still say it is a really little amount of money and I understand that the mother might not make that much but its still not enough money for the responsibility!
@berrys (864)
• Singapore
7 Jan 10
whoa talk about slave labor! i don't know the rates in the US but here in Malaysia baby sitters get paid quite a lot you can get up to RM650 a month for just 6 hours from Monday-Friday and the day care centers charge even more which is why people tend to opt for the babysitters and don't mind paying anything under a thousand really. perhaps you could try working in a restaurants i saw an episode of friends once that said that people are suppose to tip their waitresses/waiters like 25% of the total bill or something like that? i think you'd make more money doing that sort of a job unless you're really keen on baby sitting then why don't you just negotiate a price with her? or tell her that her price is way below minimum wage i bet she wouldn't look after her own kids if she was only getting about $3 an hour lols. good luck :)
@berrys (864)
• Singapore
7 Jan 10
In that case maybe she knows her price and wants that price only. That she could be one of those parents who would higher an unqualified person to look after her kids if they'd do it for 2 dollars an hour Rather then spending a few extra bucks for a safer option.
@Ambitiouslyleiah (591)
• United States
7 Jan 10
yes, waitresses usually do get paid a good amount of tips. Baby sitters usually get paid more here too... haha.
1 person likes this
@owlwings (43910)
• Cambridge, England
7 Jan 10
$300 for 80 hours is $3.75 an hour. Better than you thought, perhaps, but what is the minimum wage rate in Alabama? (I looked it up: there is no minimum in Alabama and the Federal Minimum of $7.25 applies where relevant: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_U.S._minimum_wages .)
Baby-sitting/child minding would seem to be exempt from the statutory minimum but, all the same, you ought to be able to expect a commensurate rate because you could, after all, take a job as a sales assistant (not, perhaps, that you'd want to!) at that rate.
I would have thought that $450 - $500 a month would have been closer to what you should expect for those hours.
@owlwings (43910)
• Cambridge, England
7 Jan 10
I would also ask for an hourly rate for extra time if required to be specified in the contract.
@Ambitiouslyleiah (591)
• United States
7 Jan 10
wow thanks for all the math and research you put in. Even for babysitting it was low. especially two children. I just couldn't do it.
@Ambitiouslyleiah (591)
• United States
8 Jan 10
No mcdonalds!! i would kill myself probably, like I would land in the fryer or something. Haha. But I get where you are coming from. thanks.
@FallenGurl (195)
• Canada
7 Jan 10
Thats hard to say, are there other jobs available to fall back on? babysitting is a good job, but $300 won't last long. If you want the job bad enough, they to would out an hourly wage, even offer minimum wage, not just one monthly amount.
@Ambitiouslyleiah (591)
• United States
7 Jan 10
Im not in a big rush to find a job... I thankfully dont have to be. So, no i dont have a fall back job but thats okay. I will find something I like.
@Ambitiouslyleiah (591)
• United States
7 Jan 10
yes i agree with an hourly rate would be best and if i come across any more jobs im interested in like tha,t i will make sure that I get offered an hourly rate not a flat rate.
@tripper12 (49)
•
8 Jan 10
I think $300 a month is too less for 80 hours. As someone else said it works out to less than $4 per hour which is very bad for minding small kids. Its going to be exhausing minding two kids especially if the smaller one runs around too much. See if she pays more to your expectations and she agrees. Then you can accept the job. Good luck!
@dawnald (85146)
• Shingle Springs, California
7 Jan 10
That was minimum wage here when I got my first job, but yeah it's too little and there's nothing wrong with turning it down for that reason.
@suchi60 (912)
• India
8 Jan 10
I think I would have done the same for the simple reason that the pay is unquestionably low. $2/hr is peanuts considering the cost of living today and you would probably end up paying from your pocket to meet expenses later on. This is no job for a kind-hearted person like you and if the woman has any ethics, she should offer you more to care for her precious children.
