Childcare for 12 hour overnight shifts

WeirdNurseKelly, BSN, RN · Jun 5, 2008

I dont know anything about childcare, I don't have children. Just a thought though. Do you have any family, maybe an aunt, uncle, grandparents that would be willing to take your kids overnight to help you out? It would save you some money, and your family can get some extra time with the kids. You can compinsate them too, maybe it wont be as much as 10/hr. I am just always looking at ways to save a buck or five.

Good luck with the childcare.

Kelly

Katnip, RN · Jun 5, 2008

Would you want to be paid less on night shift because most of your patients are "supposed" to be sleeping? If the sitter is expected to be awake and available for those drinks of water, or an emergency, she may not feel it's fair to be offered so much less. Approach it carefully, but don't be surprised if she refuses because she could be paid better elsewhere.

It's a tough dilemma you're in, and I don't envy you. Like the above poster said, are there any family members available to help out?

GrumpyRN63, ADN, RN · Jun 5, 2008

When I used overnoc babysitters on PM's, I paid them the straight rate @ 10.00/hr for the noc, I figure even tho they can sleep, they are responsible for my kids/house not burning down, and peace of mind..plus she had to put them to bed/feed them, get them up, fed and dressed, I also find when you pay well, they do nice extras like clean the kitchen, fold the clothes ,tidy up nicely, IMHO you get what you pay for -that was for three kids also

linzz · Jun 5, 2008

I would just pay her for that one night the usual rate and try to work mainly the shifts that the daycare is open so you don't have to pay out so much of your earnings for that shift. Do you have any family in your area that could help you out once in a while? Daycare is really tough for night shifts.

jjjoy, LPN · Jun 5, 2008

If the sitter is a student, then it just well might be worth it them to get paid a little less per hour for overnights as they might not be able to find other similar work at that same time for more. So I think it can't hurt to offer the job as a lump payment for overnights. If she's a college student living away from home, a casserole to take home and eat all week and laundry priviledges might help sweeten the pot.

runningchk · Jun 5, 2008

As a student myself who has been babysitting for a few years to rake in some extra cash, I always appreciate the clients that are straight up with me. Try talking to her about your situation and if need be, negotiate with her. However for what it's worth, $80 with snacks and movies once a week sounds fair. :twocents:

Jamie2887 · Jun 5, 2008

I Used to babysit my doctor's children, and on a few occasions I would babysit overnight, while they went out of town, I was always paid a flat rate for the whole day, usually about $100, so I think your $80 is very fair, I am a student, and that would be a nice lump for me for a day.

lizmatt · Jun 5, 2008

Thank you all for your input - I really appreciate the opinions. I know I could find someone who will do it for that amount, but I don't want them to feel unappreciated. I also know that this would have been a gig I would have jumped for with less pay when I was traditional age. But I don't want to take advantage of a poor student either.

This is a really tough choice - I was only looking at it from the perspective of what they would be doing while here - watching my kids for 4 hours and having the rest of the time to do what they wish sleep/ study / whatever - but they will also be giving up their Saturday night to sleep here.

The job I had before this one was a customer service job and there were a few hours that overlapped from their school and my coming home from work and I was paying my babysitter 10.00 an hour while I was making 8.75 an hour.

My problem is my babysitter does not know how to say no, and if I offered her something offensive she would never let me know.

I moved 3 hours away from my family to go to nursing school. My mom will watch my kids at the drop of a hat - I think she would actually pay me for the opportunity to watch them.

The job I was offered is a weekend job, so I will have to work every Saturday night when the 24 hour center is closed but If I take my kids to my moms every other weekend I will save this $$ as well as the daycare $ and the trip costs about 75.00 to make. So doing that I can probably afford to offer a sitter 100.00 every other Saturday night- I know it is not as much as the 10$ an hour but I am going to see if my usual sitter or if another student is interested.

sorry this got so long - I tend to ramble when I am trying to work scheduling and $ out. This is tough. Some days I don't want to be a grown up anymore :)

kristenncrn · Jun 6, 2008

Hey - I felt the same way as the first few posters... until I talked with a bunch of the women I work with who all pay their nannies less during "sleep hours." It's an industry standard for nannies and au paires. (I am not well off enough to even think I spelled that right!)

And - if you google search the subject, you'll find that many sitters set their rates as less during the night when they sit for people like us (and firefighters, cops, EMTs... etc.)

I think your rates sound reasonable. I would be perfectly upfront with her - and continue to be as this evolves. If your kids (for whatever reason) start getting up in the night, or if she can't sleep at your house or whatever - then maybe you'll rethink things.

But that's just my opinion. I'm very VERY lucky - my mom is 3 minutes away. But I completely and totally empathize and wish you the best of luck.

lizmatt · Jun 6, 2008

I just came across a wonderful resource sittercity.com . I am still checking it out, but it has a rate calculator and places where sitters place profiles- so I still may be able to find someone who can help me out at a rate that I can afford.

On the calculator it said that for overnight sitting there is usually an hourly rate till a particular time, then usually a flat rate after that. There is a charge for the site, but it just might be worth it if I find the perfect sitter.

CLC172 · Jun 6, 2008

Would you want to be paid less on night shift because most of your patients are "supposed" to be sleeping? If the sitter is expected to be awake and available for those drinks of water, or an emergency, she may not feel it's fair to be offered so much less. Approach it carefully, but don't be surprised if she refuses because she could be paid better elsewhere.
It's a tough dilemma you're in, and I don't envy you. Like the above poster said, are there any family members available to help out?

She actually stated that the sitter would be able to sleep too. So the kids will be sleeping, and the sitter will be sleeping. Plus, babysitting isn't quite the same thing as nursing. The sitter probably won't have to worry about the child coding at 3am, on her shift....