Plz Read and Tell Me If You Would Hire for Babysitting. I'm Twelve

Hi D.,

You young ones are so savvy with using social media for job opportunities. I'm very impressed! I don't live in America, and although 12 years old seems normal for a babysitter over there, I wouldn't have someone so young looking after my children by themselves. On the other hand, I think you'd make a great mother's helper and would be great to have around in the summer to help take care of, and amuse kids. Besides keeping kids involved in activities you could certainly help in household chores such as folding washing, vacuuming, bed-making, cleaning windows etc. just thinking about it makes me wish you lived near me!

My son is 12. He has taken the babysitting course and first aid/cpr. I don't think I would want him babysitting more than 2 kids at once, or babysitting kids under 3 years of age. $10/hour is the going rate here, according to the babysitting instructor, and it is also minimum wage. I have used 12 year old babysitters, so I have no issue with your age. Put up flyers at local daycares and community centers, visit neighbours with children and let them know you are available and get your mom and dad to tell their friends with kids.

ETA: I might also add that when I was 12 I babysat for $3 an hour, which back in the early 80's was pretty close to minimum wage where I live. I did not look after infants, but I did from time to time watch 3-4 kids.

I think it is clear you are not advertising here, but asking advice, so ignore people who do not read well. Other advice is sound, dont mention you need the money, or
Advice: 1) do not mention babysitting 5 kids, watching sick children, or doing homework. This sounds like you are underestimating the importance of giving children care and attention and are clueless as to the amount of work involved. The number of kids, their health and your homework can be negotiated on a case by case basis. (homework after kids go to bed is the typical arrangement.)
2) Find out what the going rate is in Your area, if 17 yr olds are getting 10$ you need to charge 8$ but around here an older teen would get at least 12$ so none of us can comment of the price in your area. do some research.
3) What classes have you taken?? Y s and town rec centers and red cross have babysitting classes and first aide classes. A certificate and some experience would make a 12 yr old much more appealing.
4) Your first sentence is actually fine as it lists three reasons why people should hire you. (the rest of what Diane B. said is Great advice) An ending sentence could sum up your ad I love kids and look forward to hearing from interested parents.
5) Your age? I would hire you only if I knew you well, was working next door, or your mother was close and agreed to be available in an emergency.
As everyone else said, be careful, dont meet with strangers alone or give out personal information to strangers!

if you're a responsible 12 year old with experience, i'd consider hiring you as a mother's helper. no way would i have you watch 5 kids alone, or cook if i weren't home. nor would i have you tutor per se, although if you were my mother's helper i'd be pleased to have you help out with homework in my earshot (say if i were cooking dinner or doing laundry or something that involved my hands but not my brain.)
if you're smart enough to tutor, you're smart enough to write in correct english. don't put textspeak in your ad.
how do you 'not need a ride'?
your rate is too high for a mother's helper in this area. in another 3 years, especially if you get red cross certified, you'll be able to command that price.
good luck.
khairete
S.

I started babysitting at 12 years old but it depends on the 12 year old. There are some adults that are not ready to watch children. If you want to babysit and earn some extra money I suggest you find a family you know and start by becoming a mother's helper. This will start to give you some experience with children without being on your own. Good luck.

I would not pay a 12 year old $10 an hour to hang with my kids, sorry. I would bring you on as a mother's helper to play with them whileI completed tasks maybe, and offer $7 an hour or so...but not $10. That's what I pay my sitters who drive and are grown adults that I can leave my kids with overnight if necesary.

I also wouldn't hire someone who told me they were going to do homework. You can only do that when the kids are napping, which may or may not allow you to do homework.

I also wouldn't really look at this from the statement "I really need the extra money" - to me that screams money hungry and you're not really doing it because you love kids.

So take the desperation out, delete the text talk, don't limit yourself to kids, don't put your rate in there - let the families offer you what they think is fair for your experience/age, and don't advertise that you want them to pay you to do homework.

This is not the site for your post, because it goes all over the country. You need to target your search to areas close to you, obviously, since you are saying you don't need a ride.

List your experience and any certifications you have (such as Red Cross or other training). You can't just claim that you can watch 5 kids at once at age 12 - no one will believe you without additional documentation. You also cannot claim that you want to do homework while watching up to 5 kids. That is something you can negotiate with an individual employer when the situation develops, but don't advertise up front that you want to be spending time on anything except watching children. No one is going to pay you to do homework. What you do in the evening after children are asleep is something else again, but it doesn't go in an opening advertisement.

And as someone else said, use full words, not "plz". Don't mix 2 thoughts in the same sentence: don't say that you cook and just love little kids. Those are separate issues. Emphasize your responsibility, the types of activities you might do, what you are good at, etc.

And don't put that you can use the money. That's assumed. No one will hire you because of your needs, but because of how well you meet their needs.

Put up flyers at the children's library and with adult friends, maybe at the local gym or churches. Don't put anything on Craigslist without an adult fielding the inquiries for you. And do not put your information on Facebook. You are still a child and you are at risk. Besides, no adult will hire you if you appear to be careless about protecting yourself (because they think you won't protect their children). You have to show a higher level of discretion and regard for privacy.

First piece of advice... Spell out your words. Don't use text writing at all when looking for work-it sends a negative message and does not impress potential clients. Pay close attention to punctuation and grammar, as if you were going to turn it into your English teacher. Believe me, a well-written "resume" can work wonders for your image, even if you are 12. Your resume provides your potential client their very first "first impression" of you, so make sure it's a good one!

Two-make yourself a resume-style flier, and post it in places where you know parents visit. You should include your first name, contact info, hours available, and your skills/experience babysitting. Take a babysitter course that includes first aid/CPR, and make sure you include that on your flier as well.

Three- I pay my adult babysitters $10/hr. I'm sorry, but I would never pay that much to a 12 year old... Even if you were CPR certified. At most, I would consider whatever minimum wage in the area is. The main reason people hire younger babysitters is because they are cheaper than older ones. When I was babysitting, I would charge $20 for showing up, then $2 per kid/per hour. This meant that on average, I would take home around $30-40 (the parents usually rounded up to the next $5 increment) It may not see like much, but you will make more money in the long run with repeat business. I wound up having two regulars who, the longer I sat for them the more they payed. I also did reduced rates for regular business... Like one family, I charged $50/week to stay with their two kids for 2 hours after school. That breaks down to $5/hr, BUT it was steady income.

Also... PLEASE be very careful when meeting a potential family for the first time if you are looking for jobs outside a network of people you know. There are a lot of crazies out there, and while you shouldn't live in fear you need to be smart. I'm assuming that because you don't need a ride, your parents are driving you... Make sure they wait in the driveway long enough for you to make sure that the situation is legitimate. (Meet the parents, meet the kids, then wave out the door to let them know.) Also check in at home at certain intervals (I did every hour or so when babysitting for strangers, until I got to know the family.)

If your parents are not driving you and you are riding the bus/a bike or whatever... Make sure to get a trusted adult to drive you AT LEAST to the first meeting and wait for your signal before leaving. Don't go by yourself.

D.,

If you were my daughter, I would be VERY upset that you came to a web site and posted this information.

If you want to earn extra money baby sitting? Go to care.Com or sittercity.com and post your stuff there.

What do I look for in a babysitter/care giver??
1. Responsibility.
2. Dependability.
3. CPR/First Aid certifications (to me this tells me you are serious about being able to CARE for my child should something happen).
4. Parents. Yep. I want to meet your parents and make sure they are okay with you babysitting. I personally would NOT allow a 12 year old to watch 5 children at the same time.

Please talk to your mom and dad and tell them what you want to do to earn money. Talk to their friends who have younger kids. Then post on Care or sittercity.com for your local area... please know that people access this site from all over the world and there are sick people out there who can and will take advantage of you.... DO NOT give ANYONE your personal information via a PM on this site. Especially someone who has JUST set up an account...

Good luck!

I agree with the suggestion you not use what us old farts call text speak. It would suck to lose a job over three letters here and there.

You have to be careful when putting things in like you will watch up to five kids at once. It is actually limiting. It shows you don't have a lot of experience or it is limited to kids that are already well behaved.

You will watch kids from 6 months on up. Word it that way but don't be surprised if no one takes you up on watching their babies. I am pretty laid back and even I didn't let outsiders watch my kids until two.

Ten is too much, it will limit you. Someone with one kid is not going to call you and if you are doing nothing Thursday night you would rather have five an hour for watching one kid, right? So five for one, two or three for each additional. I mean if someone takes you up on the five 10 dollars is not enough.

Don't include things like you might do your homework. When someone calls you and you have homework you need to do say I would love to but I have a ton of homework tonight. More likely than not the parents will say no problem just bring it. In case you have never done it, it is really hard to do homework while watching kids! When I was in college I had to make my kids sit down with me at the table and we all did homework, otherwise god knows what I would have turned in.

Offer references and be prepared to name names if someone calls you.

I am usually known for being harsh in my comments but damn! looking at some of these. Would you really want your daughter treated this way when she was politely asking for advice that only a mom can give?

You can't post this on here. Unfortunately for you this is a site with women from all over the country. So you would definitely need a ride to get to most of our houses.
Put some signs up in your church, maybe at your local YMCA or library. You will get jobs by word of mouth.
Make sure that you get CPR certified and maybe take some babysitting classes through your local hospital.
Good luck
L.

Yes, you can post on here because you are asking for suggestions from moms about what to say when looking for a baby sitting job. For those who think you're advertising I suggest that you posting it to an expanded area shows you're asking for information.

My daughter babysat 2 children all day at that age. I was comfortable with her doing this because I worked with the parents. She was one of two girls who worked at the same time. Another reason I was OK with the job.

I would not be comfortable with a 12 yo watching 5 children. Whether or not I would want a 12 yo watching even 2 children alone would depend on the age of the children and your experience. I suggest you list training and experience in your write up.

Nope, I would not let a 12 year old watch my kids without other supervision and I would certainly not pay $10/hr. And 5 kids? That's just ridiculous, I wouldn't even want an adult babysitter watching 5 kids at a time.

I would suggest if you want to be a sitter start by taking CPR and babysitter classes. Then offer your services as a mother's helper instead. I might consider hiring a tween for a few hours to play with my kids (with me being present) while I get other stuff around the house done. Over time that may change into a full on babysitting position as you prove yourself reliable.

Good luck.

Did your mother give you permission to come to this site? Are you using her account to write on? You shouldn't be on here without her permission.

Here's the thing. I would not pay a 12 year old $10 an hour to babysit. I would NEVER allow a 12 year old to watch so many children. You have absolutely no idea how fast something bad could happen with that many children under tow. It's hard enough for an adult. If someone has USED you to watch 5 children without an adult present, they should be ashamed of themselves. You're so young that you don't even know that you were being used. DON'T allow this to happen again, D.. You don't understand that it's not something you should be proud of. Another HUGE red flag that you are too young to be managing yourself. Your mother needs to helping you with your job so that you don't get in over your head.

I would NEVER let a 12 year old babysit for a baby under a year.

You do NOT need the money so much that you would watch a child with "mild flu". (There is no such thing as mild flu.) You are 12 years old. You aren't paying rent and a car payment. A sick child needs an adult with them.

Sit down with your mother. Show her the remarks on this thread. Re-think your plan. You have plenty of time to grow up some. You're trying too hard to grow up in order to make money. SLOW DOWN.

You don't mention your age or grade, but you do write in text talk (plz). Don't do that. That shows you are immature. I would not hire you because you are 12 and I don't hire younger than high school. And I pay college students with years of experience $10. I would never pay that for a 12 year old. And I only have two kids. There is no way I'd allow you to watch 5 unless you were just being a mommy's helper.

By the way, you are too young to be posting on this site.

Well, your price is too high. You are a kid. Kids don't get paid more than an adult making minimum wage nor do they make anywhere minimum wage until they go out and get a real job with taxes taken out and get insurance.

So no, I wouldn't hire you because I'm not paying any babysitter that much per hour. If your rates were...$5 per hour I'd consider you. I'd not ever leave you with a child less than a year old and I'd never allow more than 2 younger kids and maybe 3 older, school age, kids at one time.

I just don't think 12 is old enough to baby sit.
Some people do but I don't.

I would only hire a younger sitter if I already knew them or their parents - put the word out that you're looking for gigs within any communities you're a part of (church, interest group, etc). Getting a couple written recommendations, and people willing to act as references, would help (so if I were nervous about hiring you, I could call a mom who you'd worked for who would happily vouch for you). Offering services as a Mother's Helper (you watch the kids while the parents are home, so they can get stuff done) would also give folks an opportunity to observe you at work. There's also a Red Cross babysitting course, which teaches basic first aid and other good stuff to know - getting that certification may also help! Good luck!

Your rate is way too high, sorry. $7-8 is better.

I agree with Canuck. Take the courses. Limit yourself to 2 kiddos. $8-10 an hour (depending on where you live, less in some places). No infants.

Good luck!

first, dont use short hand, no plz or anything like that. second, before you talk to the neighbours about babysitting, make up a list of prospective clients, adults who have children, run this list by your parents, ask if they will make certain the parents dont have a criminal record or anything like that, a background check on your prospective clients is a good plan, especially if you are going to be potentially spending time alone in their home, you are 12, you dont want to find out the hard way that the guy you are asking for a job "likes" young girls, or doesnt pay their bills. once you have a list and checked everything over, you will want to find something very conservative to wear, long pants and a loose fitting shirt, then talk to these prospective clients , telling them you are now doing babysitting services, the less "skin" you show, the more seriously you will taken. ask a parent or older sibling to act like your first client, so you will be more confident when you go over to the first persons house and talk to them face to face, then get going ..K. h. asking 10 bucks an hour is perfectly reasonable, especially since you are are offering to watch more then one kid at a time, and throw in a a little cooking on the side, set your kid limit at two, be firm, if you get to the clients house and there more then two kids, tell them, i am sorry but, i am leaving...you are only one person, its just not reasonable to ask a 12 to watch more then 2 kids at a time, you need a cpr and child safety class too.