by M. J. Joachim

Created on: January 23, 2009   Last Updated: February 02, 2009

Cost of Living: Babysitter Wages

There are many types of child care workers. Some operate daycares, or are teachers in special settings. Institutions are available for sick children so parents can work. Babysitters also take care of our children. There are many different theories about how much to pay a babysitter. While almost everyone believes they should be paid well, not everyone agrees on how much that actually is.

Babysitters are usually teenagers trying to earn some extra cash. They are in the process of developing important job skills, and good personal references. Babysitters are not high end child care professionals with special training, credentials, or degrees. As such, they should be paid well for taking care of our children, but not so well that we rarely enlist their services.

If babysitters cost too much, parents will never be able to get a night out. Parents need time to continue growing in their own relationship. They need to nurture their marriage, so that their children will have a happier and more secure home life. Parents pay child care professionals because they have to work to provide for their children. While taking personal time seems like a luxury, it is also a much needed necessity.

Families are much stronger when individuals have time to take care of all of their needs, personal as well as financial. Babysitters help take care of these needs. Families also help babysitters take care of their needs by giving them work experience, and spending money for the services they provide.

Babysitters work for their pay, probably more than the kid handing us burgers at the drive-thru window. They are required by nature to have built in nurturing skills, and a hint of mother's instinct. They are expected to be going somewhere in life, because no one wants a lazy bum watching their children. Yet, parents often make good use of overworked body language, as they sigh and ask, "How much do you charge," hoping the babysitter will worry about sounding greedy.

It usually works too! Build a relationship with a nervous teenager trying to earn a few dollars for extra clothes; pay less to have someone watch, feed, and play with our most prized gift, that special little child who means more to us than anything.

Ah, the dilemma of how much to pay a babysitter! We go round and round with ourselves. I'll only be gone an hour, so I shouldn't have to pay too much. I'm going to be out for several hours; I think I'll pay a little less, since I'm paying so much anyway.

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