DUers who use teenage babysitters - do you pay them at least $15 per hour?

[OhioBlue]

96. No, that is ridiculous for my area and situation.

First of all, they are not my employee. I have one child. I use two forms of childcare. During the school year, we use latchkey sporadically as needed. It is $3 per hour per child. The provider has at least 10 children in the afternoon which is when we use it the most. So, they are making at least $30 per hour. (There is minimal overhead) During the summer, I have a friend who has teenage daughters. I pay $20 per day to drop him off at their house. I don't dictate what types of activities they do, which daughter is charged with his care (they're both very good and responsible girls) They are free to babysit additional children. This situation has worked well for all of us. I know my child is being well cared for by people I trust, my friend's daughters learn some responsibility while making some summer money. They enjoy having him there and he loves the family. I have 2 jobs. One is commission based, the other pays $9 per hour. There is no way I could afford to pay someone $15 per hour for contracted childcare services.

If I hired someone to come to my home on a daily basis, and dictated what types of activities they should be doing, charged them with some light house work and disallowed them to babysit additional children, I might see if differently in regards to a minimum wage.