This Mom Asked Her Daughter To Lower Her Babysitting Rate
"Parents, stop. This is ridiculous."
This mom had a bone to pick with her daughter after she admitted to charging $20 an hour for babysitting. TikTok creator @alefbet said that parents need to stop allowing their kids to charge this much for “unskilled” labor. While her video was honest, it did conjure up some controversy in the comments.
“Parent, you're just screwing me up and please stop it. Babysitters, okay? Let's talk about this. The other day my daughter comes to me and says, ‘Mom, I got my first babysitting job. I think I'm gonna charge them $20,’” she said, admitting she was immediately taken aback.
She challenged her daughter on why she thought that was an appropriate rate.
“I said, ‘Wait a minute. Let's break this down for a second. You're not even legal to work. You don't have a college degree. You don't even have a high school degree. You can't drive. So, the parents have to come and pick you up, and you have never babysit before, and you have no certificate of CPR and you want to charge $20.’”
Her daughter kind of shrugged off the questioning and doubled down, noting that $20 an hour was kind of just what kids were charging these days.
“It’s unskilled labor! Nurses don't even make $20,” she continued. “Parents, $20 for babysitting? I would like to make $20. I'm a mom of three. Sometimes I don't even make $20. What do you think?”
According to Urban Sitter, the national average hourly rate for a babysitter is around $23.61 for one child and $26.57 for two children. Obviously these rates can vary based on experience, location, and number of children.
Several TikTok users came to the defense of the OP’s daughter.
“Congrats to your daughter being assertive about how valuable she thinks her time is. That will serve her well as an adult,” one user wrote.
The OP replied, “different way of looking at it. I hope she succeeds”
Another wrote, “It is important to know one’s worth however she also must be accepting that she might not book as many sitting gigs as those with a slightly lower rate. Current minimum is $16.50 an hour.”
Another said, “I think those rates are cheap 🤔 compared to what is in 2025”
One user wrote, ““UNSKILLED LABOR” you’re kidding right? you being that ignorant makes sense because it derives from YOUR insecurities, and YOUR projections.”
The OP asked, “a 15 year old is skilled labor?”
What do you think? Was this mom being realistic or was she devaluing her daughter’s skills?
