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Mum’s genius idea sees her babysitter make extra cash

Watch Netflix or do some chores? This babysitter was laughing as she walked away from this gig with some extra cash.

Mum's genius idea for her babysitter

I babysat a lot when I was a teen.

It was an easy and fun way to make some extra cash without having to do too much.

This mum’s genius idea for her babysitter is something I wish I were able to get my hands on when I was watching free-to-air TV on a Saturday night...hey, Netflix wasn’t around back then!

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Killing two birds with one stone

The mum, who goes by @kivankc online, took to social media to share her brilliant idea.

"The note I'm leaving my babysitter tonight," she said.

In an accompanying photo, she shared the note she left her babysitter, including a list of chores with amounts assigned to complete.

Chores on the list included cleaning the fridge, vacuuming the sofa and cleaning and polishing all of the mirrors and doors.

She also wrote, “You are more than welcome to hang out and watch TV all night, but if you want to make some extra cash, these jobs are up for grabs.”

"Just let me know if you decided to do any of these and the grand total I owe you on top of the babysitting money.

“Thanks for being here.”

Thinking outside the box

The mum revealed in the video she was working two jobs and found the juggle between her career and cleaning her home a real struggle.

"I'm a working mum and some of the important things have been let go too long in the past weeks.

"The clutter is making all of us feel stressed.

"I was going to stay home to clean, but I could use a date night.”

Thinking outside the box, she offered the jobs she didn’t have the time (or if she had the time, the energy!) to do.

“You are more than welcome to hang out and watch TV all night, but if you want to  make some extra cash, these jobs are up for grabs.” Source: TikTok
“You are more than welcome to hang out and watch TV all night, but if you want to make some extra cash, these jobs are up for grabs.” Source: TikTok

Of course, not everyone thought it was a good idea

With no surprises, many were quick to spread some hate, saying they thought the mum wasn't paying the babysitter enough for the cleaning work. 

In another video, the mum shared that the babysitter was supposed to work from 7:30 pm to 11:30 pm, but her son was already asleep, so there wasn't much to do. 

Eventually, the 17-year-old decided to do some chores and earned $115 in total.

She got $40 for cleaning glass, organising toys, vacuuming the couch, and cleaning the silverware drawer. 

The mum said, "She really liked the idea. Ten minutes after leaving, I saw my ring doorbell go off, and she was outside cleaning the windows. So she liked the opportunity, and she was grateful."

One person said, "With how messy your house is, you'd better double those amounts..." 

Another person thought, "$10 is too cheap for some of these tasks considering the amount of work/size of the mess." 

Someone else suggested, "The fridge itself should be at least $30!"

The mum admitted that many people thought she didn't offer enough money and promised to offer more in the future. 

A good idea or taking advantage? Source: TikTok
A good idea or taking advantage? Source: TikTok

Not all bad news

On a positive note, some people were excited about the chance to earn extra money while babysitting. 

One person said, "I think this is a great opportunity for your babysitter. You're giving a choice, and I love that." 

Another person shared, "I would have loved this! I had a mum that would just leave me a note to do these things, and I felt like I had to."

Originally published as Mum’s genius idea sees her babysitter make extra cash

Original URL: https://www.thechronicle.com.au/lifestyle/parenting/mums-genius-idea-sees-her-babysitter-make-extra-cash/news-story/3cfade465162d8dd3c039c01cf6bab04