How much for a house/family/pet sitter for a night?
Discussion
A brave young lady has agreed to look after our 4 children, a horse, a dog and a gazillion chickens whilst my wife and I have the first night away by ourselves in over 8 years.
But what is the going rate? We normally pay a babysitter £6/hour (she tidies as well in that time - the house, not herself
). I want to pay her over the going rate as this is not her normal job and she is going out of her way to help us. On the other hand if she is sleeping a lot of that time...
But what is the going rate? We normally pay a babysitter £6/hour (she tidies as well in that time - the house, not herself
). I want to pay her over the going rate as this is not her normal job and she is going out of her way to help us. On the other hand if she is sleeping a lot of that time...We pay £20 per day 24 hours for a house sitter - 2 dogs, 1 cat and 4 chickens inc feeding / walking them etc. They don't look after the kids though as they are with us.
We pay £7 per hour + £5 petrol for babysitting (2 under 2)
So for both I think £50 for the night seems fair. If you are going to be gone the following day as well then more.
We pay £7 per hour + £5 petrol for babysitting (2 under 2)
So for both I think £50 for the night seems fair. If you are going to be gone the following day as well then more.
Step daughter does some baby sitting for one child bbut its not over night, and from memory they pay her around £7 an hour, but in your case id have to agree with your £50 for the night seems very fair for sleeping most of the night, unless of course your kids like causing havoc if they can.
FamilyGuy said:
Thanks for the replies. It will be a about 18h. I think we'll offer £50 but upon return if all is OK give a bonus of £25 as well. I'm happy to be corrected though - it's hard to find someone with the bravery to take on our lot! 
That's very fair and lets face it if it works you'll probably want to use her again!
Good points.
The children will need teatime and breakfast but we will leave everything set up. They are an easy bunch these days and tend to sleep through although the excitement of the change might change that
They know and like the lady we're asking to look after them, who I would guess is 25-ish.
The horse is turned out although she will need to check its water. The chickens are on auto feeder and waterers but they need checking too just case something has gone wrong and the pop-holes need closing and opening. The sheep will look after themselves but will need a morning check as they look for ways of getting into grief. The dog will need letting out and clearing up after although the children will do that. The cat lives in the barn (and prefers it to the house); we'll leave enough food and water for her but she's a psycho these days and will happily live off the local wildlife/people/anything that can't outrun her.
The children will need teatime and breakfast but we will leave everything set up. They are an easy bunch these days and tend to sleep through although the excitement of the change might change that
They know and like the lady we're asking to look after them, who I would guess is 25-ish.The horse is turned out although she will need to check its water. The chickens are on auto feeder and waterers but they need checking too just case something has gone wrong and the pop-holes need closing and opening. The sheep will look after themselves but will need a morning check as they look for ways of getting into grief. The dog will need letting out and clearing up after although the children will do that. The cat lives in the barn (and prefers it to the house); we'll leave enough food and water for her but she's a psycho these days and will happily live off the local wildlife/people/anything that can't outrun her.

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