I'm in Los Angeles. We have a 13 year old watch our 6 year old. She has a little sister who went to preschool with ourchild. Our previous teen babysitter, who is now 17 and too busy with school etc., handed out cards at the neighborhood Halloween party when she was 13. Our child LOVES these babysitters. I think he sees them as big kids who are not quite adults.
Let's not forget the biggest perk of all: the best contraceptive there is! My daughter is adamant about not having children every time she comes home from babysitting!
I LOVE teenage babysitters, but since moving to the Philly suburbs I have sticker shock. The teenagers in my neighborhood ask for $20 an hour! Back in Raleigh, I was paying $15 for a SUPER amazing teen sitter who always cleaned up all the toys in the house after the kids went to bed. I think this is one of those The Atlantic has identified a trend that is maybe true in NYC and LA but not where most of us actually live. I do think the sitters here expect to be paid way too much, but there is no lack of options.
When I was probably 12-13 I babysat our neighbors *TRIPLETS* who were 4 years old. I loved them. While I may not have kept a tidy house and provided well balanced meals (hello boxed mac and cheese), we had so much fun together and I took their safety very seriously. I look back on it as a mom now and I'm a bit shocked...but I'm sure I (a recovering oldest child of divorced parents) fit the "archetypal babysitter" mold, plus other neighbors had an eye on us, they knew our family well, etc. This was also a win-win for my mom who was working and she knew I was occupied.
I live in a subdivision now with a lot of families and I'm surprised we don't have a small army of babysitters and related to the article that they are so busy now. I actually feel like I need to work around their schedules or get ahold of them well in advance. We have a middle schooler next door who I've thought several times could grab the kids from the bus, be there for an hour or so til we're home, babysit on date nights but I have yet to manifest their interest into existence.
So...in summary...maybe my sub should start it's own babysitters club? Legitimate business model and as an elder millenial, I loved those books.
Amen! Long may they reign! I like your point about reaching out to more than just girls for babysitting help. I would love to find boys and nonbinary kids who are interested in babysitting.
I was so surprised by that Atlantic article. The author makes good points, but this has not been my experience or many of my peers! My neighborhood (urban-suburban Chicago) has loads of teenage babysitters and we regularly use them! A handful of them put a flier/advertisement in our mailbox and that’s how it all started.
We found our teenage babysitter by asking the local YMCA, which does babysitting classes, to give out my number to people who took the class. I think she was only in 7th grade when she started babysitting for us, and we started small by having her watch the kids while my mom was home and in our basement in-law suite. I started paying her $12/hour, then $13, now I'm up to $15. Since we have family in the area we don't need her too much, but I do need to get her on the calendar soon so we're sure to stay on her list of people...
Anne Helen Petersen had an interesting thread about this story and her own experiences as a babysitter and a child who was babysat this week, too.
This was sort of mentioned but I would say a great use of younger teenage babysitters is while you are home but want to be able to get stuff done without also dealing with your kids. AHP mentioned this and I am definitely going to start looking for some young teens for this type of thing. I also think by getting younger teens into babysitting means they will make time for it even as they get older and their schedules fill up a bit.
Side note/rant: we are getting better about having a rotating cast of sitters but WOW is this a lot of work to get going. And this is with being willing to pay well, having family nearby to call on sometimes, and generally only wanting one date night a month. And a partner who has taken on most of the work of doing this because I can’t even anymore.
Totally agree with this post! Teenage babysitters are a win-win in my mind. I am fine with paying $15/hour, though I usually start with $12 for the younger, less experienced sitters. One thing I find frustrating is when the babysitter does not clean up AT ALL after dinner, or other activities. I didn't realize how explicitly I needed to ask for this. Having babysat A LOT in my lifetime, it did not occur to me that you would have to ask...but I've found that you really have to be clear.
We have no family close by and had our babies during the pandemic and had long been searching for the holy grail of childcare -- a time when someone would watch our kids not so that we could work, but rest. I had a hazy memory of my mum in the 90s paying an older kid from down our street to hang out with my youngest brother in the garden so that she could get on with household jobs. This was my starting point. We met a teenager a few doors up from us at a street party, and I invited her to come over and hang out with our 3 and 1 year old while my partner was away for work (for pay!) while I got to do luxurious things like have a shower and tidy the kitchen. It went great. A year on, she's done some 'sofa sitting' while we've eaten out and our kids have slept, and spent mornings with our kids while my partner and I have been working upstairs. Over the summer, I'm planning to ask a younger kid (13) from our church to come and play with our 4 year old as a bit a steam valve on days when everyone wants only me. For now, this kind of half-way care arrangement - me around with free hands and an older buddy for the kids - is working great for us, and helping us get to know our neighbours, too!
I'm so glad you're covering this topic Katherine as I was just reading Faith Hill's article last night and wanted to send it to you, haha! Thankfully I have never had an issue finding teenage babysitters, from the high schoolers in the youth group I led while pregnant with my first who were SO excited to babysit him, to two of our church nursery workers (so bonus they were already vetted, trained, and familiar with our kids), as well as 2 eldest daughters of good friends of ours, who had both helped to raise their 3 younger siblings so were well trained by their parents. I typically pay $8 per hour if it's just our 2 year old, and $12 per hour for all 3 kids. It's a pretty easy gig as we have the kids sitting down eating when she arrives, so there's about 1.5 hrs til it's time to put the 2 year old to bed, we let the older boys watch a movie so there's not fighting and they pretty much put themselves to bed.
As a mom of 3 boys determined to raise feminist sons, I definitely plan to have them babysit! My oldest is 11 and a few weeks ago my 7 year old had a bday party in the neighborhood during 2yo's nap time. It was the perfect opportunity to give my older son that responsibility to stay home while my toddler napped (after I put him down), he was thrilled bc I let him play video games the whole time (his payment!). And then he was there when the little one got up, he called me so I could come home, and my older son already had him up in his booster having a snack when I walked in the door, it was awesome!! We have our boys buy their "wants", ie. candy, toys, video games, gifts to go to birthday parties, etc. (eventually they'll need to contribute towards a phone, car, and all the teenage entertainment they want to do), so I think they'll be motivated to work as soon as they are in middle school age and ready to handle the responsibility. My husband is a really equal parent so they are definitely seeing him model caregiving, he also worked at an afterschool program in high school and talks about that, so we will definitely steer them that direction and I hope they will want to!
I’m so thankful that at our town pool a group of 3 twelve year old girls started playing with my daughter and her friends and then asked us moms if they could share their phone numbers for babysitting. It was so entrepreneurial and savvy, they demonstrated right in front of me for free the value they could provide. We’ve used one of them for 3 years now, first as a mother’s helper for my daughter and now as a full fledged babysitter for my 2 kids. Separately, last New Year’s a friend offered her 15yo to babysit so we could to dinner together. I was a little hesitant because she had to watch 5 kids total and my son was only 20 months, but I got over my nerves and they did great!
We just hired a 15 year old and she’s wonderful! I was so impressed because she knows how to cook meals since she took a culinary class at her high school, and she has experience caring for kids because her high school has a daycare for a small number of little kids and she was able to work there too. I’m so impressed by the fact that she’s never on her phone (contrary to what people say about “kids these days“) and how she has endless patience and empathy for my neurodivergent 3yo, who can be very rigid about how she plays. We pay her $18/hour. I did find out another family is paying her $15 (that’s fine) BUT also expecting her to clean, like dishes and throwing in laundry! As a former babysitter myself, I feel a loyalty to her so I told her that she should increase her rate or tell them she’s not cleaning. Anyways she’s so responsible and I’m glad we found her and took a chance. I am a very anxious parent but it helped knowing that I was extremely responsible as a babysitter at that age.
I saw the discourse on this and was like many who commented here, surprised. I have two friends whose daughters are entering 7th grade… so 12? And they are on my case to babysit our 5yo! I keep trying to adjust their expectations that we just don’t do that much. Maybe we should! We live on a main road so my plan for the summer is lots of “mothers helper” time for keeping the kid out of the road and out of my hair while I do yard work.
One regret I have is this: our town has a traditional town meeting each year: on a weeknight in March, all registered voters are invited to gather and debate and vote on… everything. Town budget, new plow truck, what to charge the private trash company to dump in the transfer station. And the HS national honor society provides free on site child care. They color, play cards, watch movies… And my kid glommed onto one girl in particular- still talks about her a month later, and I didn’t get a number!
I'm in Los Angeles. We have a 13 year old watch our 6 year old. She has a little sister who went to preschool with ourchild. Our previous teen babysitter, who is now 17 and too busy with school etc., handed out cards at the neighborhood Halloween party when she was 13. Our child LOVES these babysitters. I think he sees them as big kids who are not quite adults.
Let's not forget the biggest perk of all: the best contraceptive there is! My daughter is adamant about not having children every time she comes home from babysitting!
I LOVE teenage babysitters, but since moving to the Philly suburbs I have sticker shock. The teenagers in my neighborhood ask for $20 an hour! Back in Raleigh, I was paying $15 for a SUPER amazing teen sitter who always cleaned up all the toys in the house after the kids went to bed. I think this is one of those The Atlantic has identified a trend that is maybe true in NYC and LA but not where most of us actually live. I do think the sitters here expect to be paid way too much, but there is no lack of options.
When I was probably 12-13 I babysat our neighbors *TRIPLETS* who were 4 years old. I loved them. While I may not have kept a tidy house and provided well balanced meals (hello boxed mac and cheese), we had so much fun together and I took their safety very seriously. I look back on it as a mom now and I'm a bit shocked...but I'm sure I (a recovering oldest child of divorced parents) fit the "archetypal babysitter" mold, plus other neighbors had an eye on us, they knew our family well, etc. This was also a win-win for my mom who was working and she knew I was occupied.
I live in a subdivision now with a lot of families and I'm surprised we don't have a small army of babysitters and related to the article that they are so busy now. I actually feel like I need to work around their schedules or get ahold of them well in advance. We have a middle schooler next door who I've thought several times could grab the kids from the bus, be there for an hour or so til we're home, babysit on date nights but I have yet to manifest their interest into existence.
So...in summary...maybe my sub should start it's own babysitters club? Legitimate business model and as an elder millenial, I loved those books.
Amen! Long may they reign! I like your point about reaching out to more than just girls for babysitting help. I would love to find boys and nonbinary kids who are interested in babysitting.
I was so surprised by that Atlantic article. The author makes good points, but this has not been my experience or many of my peers! My neighborhood (urban-suburban Chicago) has loads of teenage babysitters and we regularly use them! A handful of them put a flier/advertisement in our mailbox and that’s how it all started.
We found our teenage babysitter by asking the local YMCA, which does babysitting classes, to give out my number to people who took the class. I think she was only in 7th grade when she started babysitting for us, and we started small by having her watch the kids while my mom was home and in our basement in-law suite. I started paying her $12/hour, then $13, now I'm up to $15. Since we have family in the area we don't need her too much, but I do need to get her on the calendar soon so we're sure to stay on her list of people...
Anne Helen Petersen had an interesting thread about this story and her own experiences as a babysitter and a child who was babysat this week, too.
This was sort of mentioned but I would say a great use of younger teenage babysitters is while you are home but want to be able to get stuff done without also dealing with your kids. AHP mentioned this and I am definitely going to start looking for some young teens for this type of thing. I also think by getting younger teens into babysitting means they will make time for it even as they get older and their schedules fill up a bit.
Side note/rant: we are getting better about having a rotating cast of sitters but WOW is this a lot of work to get going. And this is with being willing to pay well, having family nearby to call on sometimes, and generally only wanting one date night a month. And a partner who has taken on most of the work of doing this because I can’t even anymore.
Totally agree with this post! Teenage babysitters are a win-win in my mind. I am fine with paying $15/hour, though I usually start with $12 for the younger, less experienced sitters. One thing I find frustrating is when the babysitter does not clean up AT ALL after dinner, or other activities. I didn't realize how explicitly I needed to ask for this. Having babysat A LOT in my lifetime, it did not occur to me that you would have to ask...but I've found that you really have to be clear.
We have no family close by and had our babies during the pandemic and had long been searching for the holy grail of childcare -- a time when someone would watch our kids not so that we could work, but rest. I had a hazy memory of my mum in the 90s paying an older kid from down our street to hang out with my youngest brother in the garden so that she could get on with household jobs. This was my starting point. We met a teenager a few doors up from us at a street party, and I invited her to come over and hang out with our 3 and 1 year old while my partner was away for work (for pay!) while I got to do luxurious things like have a shower and tidy the kitchen. It went great. A year on, she's done some 'sofa sitting' while we've eaten out and our kids have slept, and spent mornings with our kids while my partner and I have been working upstairs. Over the summer, I'm planning to ask a younger kid (13) from our church to come and play with our 4 year old as a bit a steam valve on days when everyone wants only me. For now, this kind of half-way care arrangement - me around with free hands and an older buddy for the kids - is working great for us, and helping us get to know our neighbours, too!
I'm so glad you're covering this topic Katherine as I was just reading Faith Hill's article last night and wanted to send it to you, haha! Thankfully I have never had an issue finding teenage babysitters, from the high schoolers in the youth group I led while pregnant with my first who were SO excited to babysit him, to two of our church nursery workers (so bonus they were already vetted, trained, and familiar with our kids), as well as 2 eldest daughters of good friends of ours, who had both helped to raise their 3 younger siblings so were well trained by their parents. I typically pay $8 per hour if it's just our 2 year old, and $12 per hour for all 3 kids. It's a pretty easy gig as we have the kids sitting down eating when she arrives, so there's about 1.5 hrs til it's time to put the 2 year old to bed, we let the older boys watch a movie so there's not fighting and they pretty much put themselves to bed.
As a mom of 3 boys determined to raise feminist sons, I definitely plan to have them babysit! My oldest is 11 and a few weeks ago my 7 year old had a bday party in the neighborhood during 2yo's nap time. It was the perfect opportunity to give my older son that responsibility to stay home while my toddler napped (after I put him down), he was thrilled bc I let him play video games the whole time (his payment!). And then he was there when the little one got up, he called me so I could come home, and my older son already had him up in his booster having a snack when I walked in the door, it was awesome!! We have our boys buy their "wants", ie. candy, toys, video games, gifts to go to birthday parties, etc. (eventually they'll need to contribute towards a phone, car, and all the teenage entertainment they want to do), so I think they'll be motivated to work as soon as they are in middle school age and ready to handle the responsibility. My husband is a really equal parent so they are definitely seeing him model caregiving, he also worked at an afterschool program in high school and talks about that, so we will definitely steer them that direction and I hope they will want to!
I’m so thankful that at our town pool a group of 3 twelve year old girls started playing with my daughter and her friends and then asked us moms if they could share their phone numbers for babysitting. It was so entrepreneurial and savvy, they demonstrated right in front of me for free the value they could provide. We’ve used one of them for 3 years now, first as a mother’s helper for my daughter and now as a full fledged babysitter for my 2 kids. Separately, last New Year’s a friend offered her 15yo to babysit so we could to dinner together. I was a little hesitant because she had to watch 5 kids total and my son was only 20 months, but I got over my nerves and they did great!
We just hired a 15 year old and she’s wonderful! I was so impressed because she knows how to cook meals since she took a culinary class at her high school, and she has experience caring for kids because her high school has a daycare for a small number of little kids and she was able to work there too. I’m so impressed by the fact that she’s never on her phone (contrary to what people say about “kids these days“) and how she has endless patience and empathy for my neurodivergent 3yo, who can be very rigid about how she plays. We pay her $18/hour. I did find out another family is paying her $15 (that’s fine) BUT also expecting her to clean, like dishes and throwing in laundry! As a former babysitter myself, I feel a loyalty to her so I told her that she should increase her rate or tell them she’s not cleaning. Anyways she’s so responsible and I’m glad we found her and took a chance. I am a very anxious parent but it helped knowing that I was extremely responsible as a babysitter at that age.
I saw the discourse on this and was like many who commented here, surprised. I have two friends whose daughters are entering 7th grade… so 12? And they are on my case to babysit our 5yo! I keep trying to adjust their expectations that we just don’t do that much. Maybe we should! We live on a main road so my plan for the summer is lots of “mothers helper” time for keeping the kid out of the road and out of my hair while I do yard work.
One regret I have is this: our town has a traditional town meeting each year: on a weeknight in March, all registered voters are invited to gather and debate and vote on… everything. Town budget, new plow truck, what to charge the private trash company to dump in the transfer station. And the HS national honor society provides free on site child care. They color, play cards, watch movies… And my kid glommed onto one girl in particular- still talks about her a month later, and I didn’t get a number!