Babysitting?

Question:What do you do with them?
How much should you charge them?
What if the child is a baby, then what?

I need answers. Please give me any books, websites, any personal opinions. ANYTHING!



Answers:
What you charge really depends on the state and area that you live in. I charge about $10 an hour normally because I'm very qualified and I live in a high income area. When I was a teenager I remember making at least $5 an hour for one child and a few dollars more for 2-3 children. Here are some tips from http://www.safesitter.org/babysitters_pa...

Step 1 - Find out what other sitters are charging and what parents are used to paying. Find out the normal rate and what they pay for extras such as more than two children and special dates, like New Year's Eve. Don't forget to ask yourself, "Am I able?" and "Will I be safe?" A higher rate doesn't change your ability or make an unsafe situation safe.

Step 2 - Put together a rate plan based on whether you have completed a babysitting preparation course (like Safe Sitter®), your experience babysitting, and your age. If you are fairly new at babysitting, you need to charge at the low end of average in your community.

Step 3 - Go over your rate with your parents. If necessary, revise your plan and recheck with your parents.

Step 4 - Once you and your parents have agreed on a rate plan, write the information on a 3" X 5" card for your reference and your employers. You should use these rates for everyone with very rare exception. Parents frequently "compare notes" on sitters, and you don't want any of your babysitting clients to feel they are being treated unfairly. Your parents can help you decide the rare situation in which you might need to charge at a different rate, such as babysitting for a relative.


And here's some info from http://www.nassaulibrary.org/bryant/blte...

Questions to ask Parents:
1. Names and ages of children
2. Do children have any allergies or medical conditions?
3. What are their bedtime routines? Do they prefer to sleep with the light on? Do they have a special blanket or stuffed animal?
4. What can the children eat or drink?
5. How do you work the TV, VCR, alarm, etc.?
6. Where do you find Band-Aids, first aid kid, flashlight, etc.?
7. Where can parents be reached? Beeper number? Cell phone? Neighbor's phone number?
8. When do the parents want to be called? When the child is crying for 10 minutes? If the child wakes up? If the child is injured or sick?
9. What time will parents be home?
10. Is anyone expected to be coming over?
11. Transportation - how will you get to and from your babysitting job?
12. How much will you be paid? Do you get paid more for additional children, or more for holidays, or more after midnight?
13. What are your privileges - eating, TV, phone, friends coming over?
(This site also has some great suggestions for games and things to do with kids)

You can also earn a babysitter's certificate at http://www.babysittingclass.com/english/... That might be a good way to prove to parents that you're trustworthy and that you'll do a good job.
when you babysit, normally they have eaten dinner, but if not, feed them. and then play some games or watch a parent-approved movie. some games you can play with babies are like tickling them, rolling a ball back and forth, etc. with toddlers play with the same things only maybe do some make-believe. with kids aged 5+, then play make-believe or some ball games.

normally a good rate is 4-6 dollars an hour, because if the parents leave at 6 and come back at 10 or 11, you get at least 16 dollars back.

http://www.urbanext.uiuc.edu/babysitting...
(a link on info about babies aged newborn-1 year)

http://www.youthonline.ca/babysitting/...
(a link that has print-out activities, calendars, etc)

http://www.ci.phoenix.az.us/police/babys...
(a link that has info about babysitting tips in general.)

http://books.google.com/books?id=zqjwaaa...
http://books.google.com/books?id=cok9aaa...
http://books.google.com/books?id=vvycaaa...
( a series of three books about sitting safety, basic info, etc)

GOOD LUCK!!
depends, is it childcare while parents are at work? that usually goes for $2-3 an hour and depends on where you live as well. As far as babysitting for a night out I would usually charge $1 an hour per child depending on how many children each parent has incase you are providing care for more then one family. In the case of a parent having 3-6 or more they are not going to want to pay $1 per kid an hour that tends to get spendy.
First off, give them dinner if they haven't already eaten. Macaroni and cheese is usually a good choice, but be sure to ask the parents beforehand if they have eaten, and if not, ask them what would be good to make.

After they eat, just talk to them a little. Get to know them. The parents may leave activities for them, such as a board game or movie.

If they do not leave anything, then look through their movie collection, if there is one. Select a title that they like and that is appropriate for a kid their age (if you are not sure what the parents deem appropriate, ask before they leave). If they do not want to watch a movie or there are not any that are appropriate, then play a make-believe game. If they are over 6, then they may think the game is "too babyish", in which case a board game is an excellent decision.

If it is a baby, then things like peek-a-boo and piggy back rides are a good choice.

Also, be sure to follow the parents' rules. This includes bedtimes, dietary restrictions, etc. To avoid calling and thus annoying the parents, ask about everything before they leave.

Most importantly, be extremely polite to not only the parents, but also the kids. The kids will like you more and follow your rules if you are nice to them and they have fun with you.

After the kids go to bed, it's good to be as non-distracting as possible. Bring along a book or some homework with you, or watch TV at a low volume. Also, though the parents usually say that you can help yourself to anything in the fridge, try to avoid doing so. Bring some snacks in your purse with you.

A reasonable rate is $3-5 an hour. Most of the time, you'll be babysitting while the parents go out to dinner and a movie, which will usually go from something like 6 to 10 or 6 to 11.

If you follow all those guidelines, there's a good chance that you'll get hired again and that you'll get some more customers. Good luck!

EDIT: Oh, and also, parents love when you clean up the house. Don't move anything unless you know exactly where it goes, but cleaning up after dinner, after the kids play and dusting/vaccuming even if you didn't do anything is golden.
Basically, you keep them safe and entertained. You should listen to the parents for further instruction: food, diapers, etc.,

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First of all, how old are you?
I think if you are asking these kind of questions you are way too young and inexperienced to be baby-sitting a baby. I mean if the baby starts screaming...what are you going to do?
If you are young, before babysitting I think you should spend a couple of hours with the child and the family if you can, you'll learn a lot that way. Good luck
I am a nanny for an agency. Before I was with the agency (in high school) I would get between $7-9 an hour. The way the agency works is for one or two kids it is $10 and hour ($1 per hour more for each additional kid), for a four hour minimum of pay, so even if they go to the movies and are only gone 3 hours, i still get the full $40. The family also has to pay an additional 3 an hour to the agency. If you are younger and are going to get to the house in the evening, and the family is ordering a pizza for the kids and all you have to do is make sure they eat the pizza, put a movie on for them and get them in bed within two hours of arriving, I'd say $7 an hour... but if you are actually working and entertaining the kids, if you make their dinner for them/clean up, play with them, bathe them, etc. then you should get more.

If the child is a baby, there really isn't much to do except to hold them and talk to them or bounce around and "dance" with them, most babies aren't actually interested in most of the toys their parents get them. Some babies like being read to but most aren't interested. If the baby is young enough, all you'll really be doing with him is feeding him, burping him, changing the diaper, and then putting him down for another nap.

I have seen people suggest much lower wages than I have spoken of, I dont' know if it is a regional difference in pay for childcare (I am in Texas), but in 2007 no one should be getting less than $6 an hour (at the minimum, and that is if you are like in middle school and aren't actually doing much on the job) for a sit job unless it is for family or something. If they try ripping you off, I would tell them that in the past, you have been paid more by other families and name a range you feel you deserve (even if that really isn't what you have actually received in hte past.) If you are doing a good job and working hard, doing more than just sitting the kids in front of the tv the entire time you're there, I think you should be getting at least $7.50-8 an hour.

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