s/o: babysitter vs. housekeeper pay

[JMS]

It seems to be almost universal (i.e., not tied to COL) that housekeepers earn more per hour then babysitters. Does this rub anyone else as wrong or unjust? Maybe it's just me.

[jjordan]

I think it's just basic supply/demand. There is enough demand for housekeepers, and a low enough supply, that the going rate is more than the going rate for babysitters. It doesn't seem wrong or unjust to me at all.

[mommy111]

I think its also heavy/hard work vs babysitting which is more off and on (kids sleep etc). My babysitter is often on her laptop/ipad etc because kids may be asleep, doing homework, playing. Never so with a housekeeper

[hellokitty]

I think its also heavy/hard work vs babysitting which is more off and on (kids sleep etc). My babysitter is often on her laptop/ipad etc because kids may be asleep, doing homework, playing. Never so with a housekeeper

:yeahthat: Childcare providers get a little downtime when they are watching young kids, during naps, or during times when they are playing quietly or maybe watching tv. For housekeepers, they are expected to be busy and to finish certain tasks. It's physically exhausting work. I think that they deserve to be paid well for it. That's not to say that childcare workers shouldn't get paid more, I think that they should, but it's a different kind of work. Also, childcare is a necessary evil for a lot of ppl, regardless of their income level, if you work and have young children, you need childcare. Housekeepers are more of a luxury. So, they will naturally charge more as housekeepers, only those who can afford their services, utilize them.

[TxCat]

:yeahthat: Childcare providers get a little downtime when they are watching young kids, during naps, or during times when they are playing quietly or maybe watching tv. For housekeepers, they are expected to be busy and to finish certain tasks. It's physically exhausting work. I think that they deserve to be paid well for it. That's not to say that childcare workers shouldn't get paid more, I think that they should, but it's a different kind of work. Also, childcare is a necessary evil for a lot of ppl, regardless of their income level, if you work and have young children, you need childcare. Housekeepers are more of a luxury. So, they will naturally charge more as housekeepers, only those who can afford their services, utilize them.

:yeahthat:

You could argue that in-home childcare/babysitting and housekeepers are both luxuries, but more people are willing to spring for babysitting than are willing to spring for housekeepers, so in a supply and demand sense, that keeps wages for babysitting lower. I totally agree with the previous points made about the nature of the work - housekeeping - basically which is high volume when you are a professional housekeeper (lots of tasks in a compressed amount of time) is very physically gruelling. Babysitting has more of a natural ebb and flow to it a lot of times - art projects, trips to the park, reading, or when kids sleep or take naps. There is no such "down time" in housekeeping.

[essnce629]

Well, our housekeeper is also our babysitter! She's around 40 years old and is a mom of 3 (ages 20, 16, and 7).

We pay her $90 a week to clean our house, which is 1850 sq ft and takes her about 6 hours (so about $15 an hour). During this time she is cleaning the entire time with no breaks.

We then pay her $15 an hour to babysit the kids. At most she would have to put DS2 to bed (which can be a struggle) and DS1 is old enough to get himself to bed. If we leave early she'll have to feed them dinner which would already be ready. If there's time to play before bedtime then she'll play a few board games with them. After the kids are in bed, she usually has 3 hours or more to just sit on the couch and watch tv. We usually end up paying her around $90 for the night when we have our monthly date night.

So the money is about equal in our situations, but the babysitting is an easier job. Many times we've gone out after both kids are already in bed so she is only there to make sure nothing bad happens while they're sleeping.

[hillview]

Yeah it does bug me but does seem standard. Strange I agree

[wellyes]

A housecleaner is as small business owner who lives on that income. Babysitters aren't. Unless you're talking about nannys and day care providers - but - they have steadier hours, fewer clients to deal with, etc.

[lhafer]

A housecleaner is as small business owner who lives on that income. Babysitters aren't. Unless you're talking about nannys and day care providers - but - they have steadier hours, fewer clients to deal with, etc.

And nannies/day care providers are also paid more than regular baby sitters.

I know day cares are all different quality, etc. There was an excellent day care/learning center (that was not a Primrose or private school) that would have cost me $2,000 a month to send both of my kids full time. Due to that fact, I became a stay at home mom.

I pay my baby sitters $10 an hour for both kids. She plays with them wonderfully and keeps them entertained. I provide the food for their dinner.

I pay my cleaning ladies $150 to clean my house once a month. They bring 3 ladies when they come, and are here for 4-5 hours. That's 12-15 man hours of work they are doing. They do a couple of houses in a day.

I live in a LCOL area.

[Neatfreak]

Wait, are you talking about a house cleaner, or a housekeeper?

I would expect that a housekeeper receives a larger salary because their role in the household is more expansive (cleaning, shopping, laundry, appointments, cooking, etc.) than that of a babysitter or a nanny.

[sntm]

Personally, I think caring for kids is easier than cleaning (especially as a housecleaner does it, which is constant without breaks.) My nanny goes for walks, listens to music while the baby plays, has time to text, gets downtime to read while the baby sleeps. My housecleaner is usually a sweaty mess by the time she is done with our house. Nanny gets about $15/hour (set price, with taxes taken out) and housecleaner gets $20 and hour, usually for 5-10 hours for the house (she's very thorough.) I think it is very fair.