I am going to be babysitting two kids tonight, the mother has not said anything about paying me. How can I ask her about it to know what she will be paying me or if she will be?
I have not babysat for her before and we arent really friends, we are aquantances. We just talk everyonce in a while.
I would say I'm excited about babysitting for you this evening and can definitely use the extra money.
Well, has she paid you in the past? Do you have children around the same age? What is the nature of your relationship?
If you anwsered "Yes", "No", and "We're not related and barely know each other.", then you can asks for payment.
If you anwsered anything different, then don't say a thing, be gracious, and hope good karma shines on you for doing such a wonderful favor.
She probably asked another mom because she doesn't want to pay a sitter. My neighbor asks all the time to trade off babysitting (we aren't friends either), when it was made clear (Ill spare the long story) that my son was not safe in her care, she still asks for me to keep her kids all the time.
My response is now ALWAYS "That is really something you should pay a sitter for." If I were you, I would say "I'm happy to help in an emergency, but if you are just wanting a night out, you should probably pay a babysitter. If you don't know anyone, I can still help, but I do charge the standard $10 an hour." Your time and household should not be a free for all for cheap friends. OR you could say "yeah, I'm happy to watch yours, would you like to set up a trade where we will each watch each others' once a month for a night out?" That way you aren't taken advantage of.
honey, if you are going to be watching someone elses kids, dont be shy about
asking for cash. because, she aint being shy about asking you to watch her kids. tell her, its either pay me in cash, or anything i can haul out of the fridge with a hand truck is mine. subtle is for geishas, and i am not japanese.
now, if you will excuse me, i have to go check on my sleeping little pooh.
K. h.
Hi: I think honesty and peace is very important,so i would say to her,before the child comes,i need to get paid in advance,and i am charging 10.oo an hr.or etc and she must agree to it,before leaving the child, unless just by being an aquantance you have seen her character rather she is faithful to her word and will pay you when she get back,Just be bold and confident,she will pay or go, but let your yes mean yes and your no mean no,
It sounds like this is a no paying gig. I'd let it go this time because it would just be too awkward, but in the future, use one of the other good suggestions.
Good luck :)
I realize you already babysat last night, (tell us how it went when you get a second) but for what it's worth, it's kind of an unwritten law that moms don't pay moms. Unless of course it's like a pre arranged, day-care type ongoing situation.
The whole point of asking another mom to watch your kids, is to either save money, or when a sitter isn't available. (ie during the day when school is in). But also wrapped into this unwritten law is that she now owes you some babysitting hours. So like someone said, unless she starts using you regularly, don't expect to be paid, but call her next time you need to drop your child off for a couple of hours. It's actually a fantastic system because it will help you out of a sitch when you need a trusted mom to watch your children at the last second. I hope it went well last night!
Set the price before she gets there.
My almost 16 yr old babysits for the neighbors 3 girls under 7 and routinely gets about $25 for 2-1/2 hrs. Other neighbors have paid her $10-$12 an hour.
WHen we were used sitters for date night (every week for 22 yrs...major priority) we guaranteed $40 and we gave that to the sitter even if we had to cancel. We typically spent $60-$80 every week for date night. CASH
Don't be shy about clarifying up front what the expectations are. If you expect to be paid, let her know that. If you are okay either way, then you could just wait and find out what she offers you. But if she hasn't asked about an hourly rate, then she probably does not intend to pay you. In that case, you should let her return the favor some day. Or, if you don't intend to do that, you should decline to watch her kids in the future, unless you enjoy it.
call her... and tell her what your charge.. pick an amt... and don't be cheap... people in my area.. get like between 8 and 10 dollars and hour.. good luck
Are you a fellow mom? How long is it for? Who asked and who aoffered? If you are another mom doing her a favor, I don't think she will pay you... but it is hard to know for sure. I would assume if you doidn't give her a rate and it is not for some extended period of time, then she wouldn't be paying.
If this is a regular occurrence, you will just need to flat out tell her what you expect to be paid. If this is just a one time deal, she needs a sitter for tonight, personally I wouldn't expect payment. In my circle of friends, we don't pay each other - ever. We just pay each other back in babysitting. It may not have occurred to your friend that you would appreciate payment if you didn't mention it when you agreed to babysitting.
