I don't know what you do for this person that makes him/her your boss, but I would suggest you not accept this babysitting job. It changes your relationship with this person and it can lead to all sorts of problems for you (not your boss, that's the perk of being a boss!) A job creates a professional relationship, babysitting is much more personal. It will cause problems for you at your "other" job with this person, and can make your life very, very complicated. If you insist on going ahead, then you should expect to be paid at least what they already pay you. They can certainly find someone else to babysit. Good luck and be careful.

While I would be okay with my 15 year old minding the toddlers next door for a few hours Sat. night, while the parents go to dinner and a movie, I would NOT allow my 15 year old to take on the full-time responsibility for a couple of kids all summer. That's just too much. She's not an adult, she doesn't have a lot of life experience. Is she trained and qualified in emergency first aid? Does she know how to: turn off the water, electric, gas in the house in case of an emergency? How well equiped would she be to handle someone trying to force their way into the house? or trying to molest her while she was trying to care for these 2 kids? (and that happened to me once when I was a teen). Burnout? Oh, bigtime--I babysat 3 days a week for a working mom at that age, and it got old really fast, and I really resented having been pushed by my mom into taking the job. Your daughter would be a lot better off taking a job where there are other kids her age working. Have her look into assisting with your town's summer rec program, or working at a fast food place (or Friendly's--they often hire underaged kids), or maybe at an actual daycare center. She will do better if there are others around to rely on and socialize with. And yes--to answer your question, that is way, way too low a salary for what they're asking of her. It's LESS than 1.50/hour per child! Your daughter should be making AT LEAST $5/hour PER CHILD if she's going to consider doing this. It's a HUGE amount of work and responsibility to care for elementary-aged children 8 hours a day. I know a lot of first, second and third year teachers who aren't capable of keeping them happy, safe and occupied all day.

I live in northern Virginia and am a college student majoring in elementary education with more than 6 years of experience babysitting. I charge $9 an hour for one child and $1/hr extra for each additional child. My rates are actually pretty low and I do have a few families with three children who pay me $15/hour. As many others said, you get what you pay for! And a good babysitter cares for your children. I get down and play with the kids and if it is a night job, after the kids go to sleep, I tidy up the toys and wash any dishes that we used during the time I was there. Also, it does depend on where you live and the socioeconomic status of the area but for those who remember sitting for $1 or $2/hr, you have to remember that just like the price of milk and gas have gone up, so have babysitting rates. When I started sitting at 13 I made $3/hour for two children. Now I charge about $10/hr for two kids. Bottom line: If you want an experienced sitter who is going to take good care of your children, you have to respect them by paying them well.

Don't know everyone involved or all the dynamics, so can't give a definitive yes or no in response to your question. Does your husband feel the same way you do? Why? Is he close to his parents, or has he gotten more distant since you started a family together? Certainly don't want to push grandparents who were loving parents away too much, nor do you want to influence your husband to exclude his parents in any way. (From your description, it doesn't sound like you've done that.) On the other hand, there's a difference between one child going to an overnight party with friends and shipping THREE kids to grandparents (with whom they've never stayed before, I presume?) for a whole week. Having them four hours away would be problematic, if they should be uncomfortable, scared, homesick, etc.---which is not uncommon at your children's ages. Also, having a babysitter come and stay with the children in their comfortable home environment is different than sending them away for a week. If you would consider allowing an overnight visit, if there truly are no safety/well-being issues involved. I would suggest maybe just one night. Perhaps your family could go for a visit and the kids could spend the night with grandma and grandpa while you and your husband enjoy a little time away and stay in a nearby motel. That way you could be available if any problems would come up, plus it would be an opportunity to see how it goes. As they get older, perhaps some longer stays would be acceptable, depending on how shorter stays go. Assuming that the grandparents are normal, loving people that just have some problems with boundaries and unsolicited advice, they could be a wonderful resource for you and your husband, as well as your children, and your kids could have some good memories of extended family.