One desperate mother is searching for childcare in the middle of the pandemic. She needs a babysitter who is highly qualified and capable of taking care of three children at the same time. Her “3 kids” include a “one-month-old girl, one-year-old boy, and three-year-old girl. And I would be willing to pay weekly.” However, the busy mom, who “is going back to work,” needs a “trustworthy babysitter” to watch her beloved children, but she’s only willing to pay $3 per hour to the hardworking childcare professional.
Although it is entirely reasonable for a busy working mother to require the support of a hardworking babysitter, mom simply is not going to be able to pay enough money to find that person.
She wrote, “To start off, the pay would be $160 a week for all the children, then I could up the price.” Mom wants to pay a babysitter for an entire week’s worth of work, just $160, while the person would be caring for three young children all at the same time. Anyone who has experience with children knows that it is not easy to watch three children at once, especially when one is a toddler, one is a baby, and the third is a one-month-old infant that requires around-the-clock care and support.
Mom wrote, “I’m planning on going back to work hopefully by April 6th if I can secure a trustworthy babysitter… I’d prefer my children be cared for at the babysitter’s home. I will need them to be picked up and dropped off before and after work. I’m looking for hours eight to five Monday through Friday, so babysitting hours range from 7 am to 6 pm possibly. I would have to talk with and meet you in person, of course, before setting up care, and I would like to have someone that genuinely loves children. If interested, message me.”
In response, someone on the neighborhood forum broke it down for the working mom and made it clear that she simply was not willing to pay a hardworking babysitter enough money for such delicate work.
“Do you realize that you are paying $3.50 per hour? For three children? And dropped off and picked up? I would be very careful hiring anyone for this little. They might put your kids in danger.”
The advertisement for the babysitting job was shared on Reddit, where people had a lot to say about mom’s eagerness to find someone for such a small amount of money.
“This woman is trying to find child care at less than a dollar per child per hour. I assume the babysitter, in addition to picking up and dropping off the children and spending her own gas money and vehicle wear and tear, would also be responsible for feeding three kids for free as well. At the end of it, the babysitter would essentially be paying the CB to watch her kids.”
Another person expressed their concern about how mom is not looking out for the safety of her children.
“It’s like these people are all looking for somebody who is independently wealthy but for some reason wants to raise their kids for them as a hobby (ignoring the fact that ‘some reason’ is almost always ‘they’re a pedophile’).”