I am 20 years old, and have been babysitting for 7+ years. I have experience with all ages. I recently was offered a babysitting/nanny position for 2 weeks to replace their old babysitter until the end of the summer. (Kids will be going back to school.)
The family has 3 children, ages 4,5, and 7. They want me to drive their children to the park, sports, swimming, etc. They are only offering me $400/week. (for 9 hours a day, 5 days a week= 45 hours a week) I always charge $8/hr for one child. And have no problem finding families that are willing to pay that, if not more! Theyare barely paying me $9/hr. (short of $5) I accepted the job, but when I thought about how much they were paying me and the activities they wanted me to do, and on top of it use my car, with the way gas prices are these days. I feel like they are not paying me enough money. Am I wrong? I did the babysitting calculator and typed in my info and it said I should charge: $10.75/hr for 3 children. What should I do?
You and I are about the same age with similar experience. I believe that you are being paid the appropriate amount for childcare, but should ask for a stipend for gas. An extra $30/week for gas is reasonable if they have you driving every single day, $20/week if every other day.
Keep in mind that because this employer is giving you an entire week's work, you should be expected to offer them slightly discounted rates, which this $8.88/hour is perfect for. The children are also a little older and therefore more independent, so these three children require about the same amount of time and attention as one infant would.
You are also not going to be paying taxes on this income, so take that into account. You are holding onto more money than you would normally. If you charged them that $10.75/hour that the babysitting rate calculator recommended (which, by the way, most of us have agreed suggests parents pay a bit too much), you'd be down to $8.88/hour after taxes anyway.
This rate is perfect, but discuss a stipend for gas with them, or ask them to leave their own vehicle.