Babysitting at 12 and 13: How to Start and What to Charge

What you actually do

You look after someone's kids for a few hours while the parents are out. You feed them, play with them, get them to bed at the time you were told, and you don't leave until the parents are home. The next morning, the parents remember that the house was tidy and the kids were asleep, and they call you again.

Parents aren't paying for a babysitter. They're paying for an evening where they don't worry. A calm, trained thirteen-year-old they've known for years is worth more to them than a stranger with a résumé.

What it costs to start

One thing: a babysitting course. The Canadian Red Cross runs one for ages 11 and up, and other providers offer similar ones. It covers what to do if a child chokes, how to handle a tantrum, when to call for help, and what parents expect from you. The fee depends on who runs it in your town, but it's usually under $100, and many parents will pay for it once they know you're serious.

Some people add a small bag of things for the kids: crayons, a picture book, a card game. Optional, about $15, and it makes the first evening a lot easier.

Find your first family this week

You already know your first customers. You just haven't asked them.

1. Make a list of families with young kids that your parents know. Neighbours, relatives, people from school or from your community. Aim for five.
2. Ask a parent to send a message: "Jenny has just finished her babysitting course and is looking to sit on Friday and Saturday evenings. She'd charge $12 an hour." That message, sent by a parent to a parent, is how almost every babysitting business starts.
3. Offer a first visit for an hour while the parents are home. You meet the kids, learn where things are, and the parents see how you are with them. Nobody pays for that hour, and it's the best hour you'll spend.

What to charge

Ask two families what they've paid before. Rates change a lot between a small town and a big city, and between one kid and three. The number that comes back is your starting point.

A common range for a young sitter is $10 to $15 an hour for one child, more for two or three, and a bit more after midnight. At $12 an hour, a Friday evening from six to eleven is $60. Two evenings a month is $120, which is more than most part-time jobs a 13 year old can get.

Say the rate out loud before the first evening, and say what it covers. "Twelve an hour, fourteen if both kids are home." It feels awkward once. It feels much worse to negotiate at the door at 11 p.m.

Rules and staying safe

Read this with a parent.

• Only sit for families a parent of yours knows. Not families from an ad, not families from an app.
• Your parent should know the address, the parents' phone numbers, and when you'll be home. Someone should be able to come and get you.
• Get the emergency numbers, the allergies and the bedtime written down before the parents leave. If they say "oh, just wing it", ask again.
• If anything feels wrong, call your parent. Not later. Then.
• Get paid at the end of the evening, in cash or by e-transfer to a parent's account. Agree the rate before, not after.

A 12 year old shouldn't be sitting for a baby, or for three kids at once, or overnight. Start with one child who's old enough to talk, for a couple of hours, in the evening, and build from there.

Write the important things on a card before the parents go out: both their mobile numbers, a neighbour who is home, the allergies, and the bedtime. Stick it on the fridge. When something goes wrong you will not want to be scrolling your phone for a number you were told once at the door.

What Jenny would do

Jenny is 16 and lives in a small town where everybody knows everybody, which makes this easy and also means she can't have a bad night without the whole town hearing about it. She'd take the course, then ask her mum to mention it at the next hockey practice. That's her advertising.

Because she loves art, she'd bring a sketchbook and cheap markers every time. Kids remember the sitter who drew with them, and their parents remember the drawings on the fridge. It costs her nothing, and it's the reason the same three families book her every month.

When it stops being fun

A three-year-old who won't go to bed. A parent who comes home an hour late without texting. Two kids who fight from the second the door closes. A Saturday night when your friends are out and you're reading a picture book for the fourth time.

Every babysitter has those nights. The good ones have a rate that makes them worth it, a parent to call, and a rule about which families they'll sit for again. Decide those three things before your first evening.