Back in the 1990s when I was a babysitter, I made $10 an hour to watch the neighbors’ kids every Friday night so the parents could get away for a quiet dinner and a movie. That was more than 20 years ago. When I want to hire a babysitter these days, it doesn’t shock me that rates have gone up. Also, I have met my kids and I know they are wild as hell so I am totally cool with paying whatever the babysitter deems fair. After all, I get a precious break to recharge, the higher rates are worth it.
But one anonymous mom is making headlines for her amazingly brazen text exchange with a potential babysitter. Apparently, a mom of three kids, none of whom are otty trained, needed a very last minute sitter but wasn’t willing to pay a fair rate. The person she attempted to hire posted the text exchange to Reddit where, as one can imagine, Reddit users had an absolutel field day.
It is unclear if the mom in question is aware that the text exchange is now going viral on the Internet ut one thing is for sure, trying to get a sitter last second then demanding to pay them next to nothing is super uncool. Not only that but to try and hire a total stranger off the Internet through a text exchange seems a bit risky.
There are a few great ways to snag a fabulous babysitter and they all start with a parent doing their homework. You can go through an agency that vets sitters to make sure they are safe, trained in CPR, and have had background checks done. You can even ask your mom friends who they trust to watch their kids. Or you can start small by hiring a Mother’s Helper, which is like a babysitter but while you’re at home trying to get stuff done.
What is most definitely not a great way to hire a babysitter is to do what this lady did. Better luck next time, mama.
More About Childcare:
- 21 Things That Happen When You Hire a Sitter
- Why I Cried the First Time My Baby Reached For the Sitter
- Why I Hired a Teenage Boy for a Babysitter
