As we just moved to America last summer - but really only in December, since we were living with our parents from August until December - we knew nothing about paying babysitters and nannies. I know it's different in different places too. Newton, apparently, is a high-paying babysitter city. Well, lucky for me, our full time "nanny" didn't work out this summer, so I have had the privilege of testing out lots of people, at varied hourly pay levels, and this is what I have:
$5-8 Mother's helper - this person can come and play with kids, but cannot be left along with them. They will make a mess, but they will keep your kids occupied. (We haven't tried this option yet. I needed for real help since I was so pregnant and so out of it with a newborn...)
$10 High school babysitter - this person will watch and play with two kids. They are great evening options, since they are the cheapest of the safe options. They will not do dishes unless specifically asked (and still might not), but they are great role models for the kids and way fun. They will come up with games and guide play with the kids, but it may be a bit less sophisticated than the higher pay options.
$15 College babysitter - this person will watch and play with the kids and will be super fun for them. They will come up with games, new ideas and guide them and there may even be some educational content. They can feed the kids and will clean up the dishes and also the toys. They can be left alone for a long period of time with the kids and are trustworthy.
$20 Nanny - this person can do all of the above, but will also clean up the house, kitchen, toys, do laundry, ironing and generally just see ways to be helpful that the others (and I!) are not even aware of.
They are all great for different scenarios. Now that I'm feeling really good physically, but I still have two children that require full one-on-one care, I can really have any help that is available to me, but today was my first day with the nanny option, and it was AMAZING. Without asking she unloaded the dishwasher, put groceries away, played really well with Elie, put him to bed, took him to the park, tidied up the entire house and anticipated a million things I didn't even realize I needed. Hooray for Martha!
The crazy part is that we essentially had that in Singapore (plus she made dinner, cleaned that up, did our shopping, ironing, etc...) FOR A SICK AMOUNT OF MONEY. Literally sick. Like, unethical sick. But that was for another post.
$5-8 Mother's helper - this person can come and play with kids, but cannot be left along with them. They will make a mess, but they will keep your kids occupied. (We haven't tried this option yet. I needed for real help since I was so pregnant and so out of it with a newborn...)
$10 High school babysitter - this person will watch and play with two kids. They are great evening options, since they are the cheapest of the safe options. They will not do dishes unless specifically asked (and still might not), but they are great role models for the kids and way fun. They will come up with games and guide play with the kids, but it may be a bit less sophisticated than the higher pay options.
$15 College babysitter - this person will watch and play with the kids and will be super fun for them. They will come up with games, new ideas and guide them and there may even be some educational content. They can feed the kids and will clean up the dishes and also the toys. They can be left alone for a long period of time with the kids and are trustworthy.
$20 Nanny - this person can do all of the above, but will also clean up the house, kitchen, toys, do laundry, ironing and generally just see ways to be helpful that the others (and I!) are not even aware of.
They are all great for different scenarios. Now that I'm feeling really good physically, but I still have two children that require full one-on-one care, I can really have any help that is available to me, but today was my first day with the nanny option, and it was AMAZING. Without asking she unloaded the dishwasher, put groceries away, played really well with Elie, put him to bed, took him to the park, tidied up the entire house and anticipated a million things I didn't even realize I needed. Hooray for Martha!
The crazy part is that we essentially had that in Singapore (plus she made dinner, cleaned that up, did our shopping, ironing, etc...) FOR A SICK AMOUNT OF MONEY. Literally sick. Like, unethical sick. But that was for another post.
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