'Looking for a young person': Mum’s wild babysitting ad astounds everyone

The woman wants care overnight, but you won't believe the rate she's offering.

Dominique Birouste

2 min read

January 9, 2024 - 9:35AM

Primary School

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I remember picking up some babysitting work when I was a teen and thinking I’d make absolute bank with my $20-an-hour rate.

Odd jobs are a great way to help teens enter the workforce in a relaxed and casual setting and are a great introduction to what it means to work for your money.

However, one mum is coming under fire for offering what could only be described as wages so below the poverty line that it’d win a game of limbo.

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“Looking for a young person”

The mum posted to her local community page that she was looking for a "young person" to help with some weekend babysitting.

“Looking for a young person who is looking to make a little extra money, about $200 a month to come sit at my house overnight both Saturday and Sunday nights 830pm to 8 am with my three boys,” she wrote.

“My oldest two will be asleep all night, my four-year-old might wake up once or twice. Need someone comfortable with dogs that would be able to let them out a couple times. They are very mellow and follow directions well.

“No meal prep necessary. Free access to the TV. Must be okay with having a background check done if 18.”

She also stipulated some further conditions would be required, “Would like three references on your character. License is preferred but negotiable. Needs to be patient, responsible and trustworthy.”

Her going rate?

“Will pay $50 per weekend on Sunday mornings.”

"Free access to the TV" Wow, what a luxury! Source: Facebook

Let's break it down now

Maths has never been my strong suit, but calculating the hourly rate this mum wants to pay works out to just over $2 an hour.

To help put that into perspective, according to Unions Australia, employers are legally allowed to pay workers under 16 years old $8.55 per hour and indeed, reveals the hourly pay at McDonald's ranges from an average of AU$11.76 to AU$25.30 an hour.

So not only is this mum totally oblivious to the ridiculousness of her post, but she’ll probably be hard-pressed to find anyone competent to take on the task.

The internet weighs in

The post was met with over 350 comments criticising the entitled mum.

“$25 for a full night shift lmao noo thank you,” wrote one.

“Also 'looking for young person' is just code for I want to hire someone with little work experience who does not know the value of their time or labor so I can nickel and dime them.”

Another joked, “When is the job, 1955?”

Finally, one commenter revealed, “I literally pay my dog walker $20 for a 30-minute walk daily. And that's cheap for where I live! Usually it's $30-$40 for walks or day care. How people think they can pay so little for actual childcare is mind-blowing.”