I've worked in childcare since I was 16 and qualified when I was 18. I then did my degree in Early Years Childhood studies. I've worked in private Day nurseries and also as a Nanny. I'm back in a nursery and do private babysitting.
I'm Ofsted registered, have an Outstanding Ofsted report, Paediatric First Aid, Safeguarding trained and trained in Makaton and fully DBS checked.
I do general babysitting, sleep training, emergency overnight babysitting and my Christmas shopping cover days in December are already fully booked for this and part for next year.
My rates start at £10ph. For a basic evening babysit, I bath the children, get them ready for bed and get them to be with a 15 min check through the night, a final check with either parent in the room when I leave and I take my own teabags, snacks etc. I also do a free meet before I sit for you so the children know me, especially if I'm sitting for someone I've never met and they say child will be asleep when I get there, as that child won't have a clue who I am should they wake up.
Yet the amount of people messaging me for babysitting and refuse to meet me before or try to barter my hourly rate down to £3 an hour because that's what their 16 year old neighbour charges is crazy. It seems that a lot of people don't place a lot of value on their child and genuinely don't mind who looks after them. Bizarrely, one set of parents tried to knock my price down when they returned from their night out from £10ph to £2.50 per hour because they felt £10 was too expensive for "watching our TV while the child is sleeping and doesn't actually require looking after as such".
So to hear that people use random babysitters without getting to know them doesn't surprise me at all. People often ask if I will babysit for free in return for a "glowing reference" and I've had someone asking for a weekends free babysitting in return for a mention on their Instagram page.