I, like most people, need to earn an income. During COVID-times my husband and I didn’t feel comfortable sending our toddler to daycare. So, having a “village” was essential. Luckily, my in-laws agreed to watch our toddler without pay three days a week so I could work.
We are lucky, and I completely acknowledge that. So many people don’t have that option and daycare rates can be astronomical. However, one particular post on Reddit made us realize that some grandparents expect high pay rates when babysitting their grandkids.
The Situation
One grandmother, who works from home, turned to Reddit after having an argument with her daughter. The grandmother argued she should be compensated for babysitting her grandchild because she will be losing out on time she could’ve spent working.
The grandmother requested to be paid $15/hr to watch the one-year-old. However, she complained that her daughter “lowballed” her with a counteroffer of $10/hr. “She claims she cannot afford it even with her $22/hr job,” the grandma wrote.
“I’m not a daycare, I have my own life, I work for myself and I think she should understand that,” she added.
The Response
This post seemed to divide commenters, who struggled to reach a consensus. Several eagle-eyed Reddit users noticed that the original post had been edited. The original post claimed the grandmother asked for $15/hr, but was later changed to $12/hr. The split opinions mainly had to do with whether or not the grandmother was truly asking for $15/hr.
“I think you think your edit from requesting $15 to $12 makes you look better, but I feel it makes you look like even more of an a*****e. Now you’re refusing to help your daughter over a $2/hr discrepancy of spending time with your grandson. You wanted $12 and they offered you $10, not really much of a lowball. Maybe if your daughter countered with like $5,” one user wrote.
Most commenters agreed that asking for compensation was appropriate, however, asking for more than half of the daughter’s pay was disproportionate.
One user stated, “Dude, just say you don’t want to babysit. You’re asking for over 2/3’s of the money she’s making pre-tax. Obviously, she can’t afford that… it’s clear you don’t actually want to do this, and instead of outright saying so you’re instead demanding an outrageous (for what your daughter earns) amount.”
Other commenters thought it was ridiculous that someone would expect childcare from their parents. One user wrote, “I’m appalled at how entitled these comments are. A GRANDPARENT IS NOT FREE CHILDCARE! So don’t have kids expecting to pawn them off on your aging parents. If they want to that’s fantastic but to expect it is selfish beyond words.”