Babysitters cost more than nights out
Tuesday, 05 December 2006 12:00
The soaring cost of hiring a babysitter means hiring someone to look after the children for an evening is now more expensive than a typical night out.
New research from Mint shows the average teenage babysitter now charges £4.74 an hour - with a four-hour shift coming in at £18.96.
This is more than the cost of two people to go out for pizza (£17.50), heading to a dinner party (£17.46), going to the pub (£16.75), or catching a film at the cinema (£15.00).
And this cost is leading to parents looking for innovative solutions to their babysitting blues.
"The extent of the babysitter shortage means that some parents are devising clever solutions to recruit sitters such as sharing a sitter, or teaming up with other parents to form a 'babysitter bank'," said Jerry Toher, Mint managing director.
"Parents want to ensure their children are in reliable hands at all costs but this does not have to mean the much deserved nights out by themselves have to be forfeited."
One parent in three says there are fewer babysitters now than ten years ago, and this could be why babysitter wages are 43 per cent higher than the under-18 minimum wage of £3.30.
The Mint research also finds babysitting has become the highest paid job for teens, outstripping paper rounds (£1.10 an hour), fast-food restaurant work (£3.60 an hour) and supermarket work (£4.50 an hour).
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