So are their high fees really such a rort?
If you live and work in a city and don't have family around you or friends with available and reliable teenage kids, then occasional, last minute or night-time child care can be really expensive. And it's getting more and more expensive as young "professional" babysitters realise their market value.
Babysitters are now in huge demand. And not just for date night, parents' evenings, or for parents to have nights out with friends. With the lack of availability for the under twos and also for before and after school care, many parents are turning to part-time nannies or babysitters for assistance to fill the child care gap during the day as well.
And it's not cheap. Recently an article in the New York Times exposed the high cost of babysitters in New York City, with some parents paying anything from US$20 to US$40 per hour plus fees. And not just fees either. In New York babysitters can pretty much demand what they like, including perks such as car service, expensive take outs and dinners and even shoes. With rates up to $40 per hour on top of perks, New York babysitters are cashing it in.
The cost of hiring babysitters has got so ridiculous that parents are simply having to make the decision to stay at home or alternate nights out with their spouses to avoid having to get extra child care.
Is this any more than the cost of Australian babysitters? The answer is no! AU$22-25 is pretty standard for daytime babysitting in Sydney for example, plus a booking fee.
But if parents expect to pay a decent hourly rate for a nanny, why the surprise that a babysitter might charge as much?
The fact is that nannies and babysitters in many circumstances are now pretty much interchangeable. Babysitters have historically been seen as part-time – often babysitting to supplement their full time job or studies and the people you call on for evenings and weekends or last minute help. And that is still the case in the majority of cases.
However there is a growing trend, particularly in large cities, towards professional babysitters who babysit as their main job and are, to all intents and purposes, nannies.
They often have a lot of child care experience, hold certificates for first aid, have been police checked and referenced. Often well-educated 20-somethings who have spotted the opportunity to earn great money, these babysitters know their value and they are going to get it!
So what's the difference between your neighbour's daughter and a top end babysitter? Front, most likely!
"It's audacity," says Stephanie, a mum who works in the fashion industry. "They think because you're going out and that you have a three-bedroom apartment and have two kids in private school, that they can ask for whatever they want. I find it absurd," she says.
Is it though? Or is it simply market value according to supply and demand. Nothing more than any other essential service? And more to the point (as with any other child care service) it's recognition of the importance of the job you are (temporarily) giving that person – i.e. the sole care of your child!
And while many parents balk at the idea of paying an agency fee on top of babysitting fees, is it really such a outlandish thought to pay a professional agency to assess the suitability of that carer and make the necessary police checks etc to ensure they're not on the paedophile list or some international felon?
At the end of the day babysitters are in charge of your most precious possession. You wouldn't flag down a car passing along the road and ask them to give your child a lift to school. You wouldn't hand over your child to a stranger and ask them to look after him for a couple of hours.
You wouldn't cut corners and costs when it comes to your child's safety in terms of equipment or travel.
For more resources and to help you find the right babysitter for your family check out our toolkit or search for your next babysitter here.
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