Let's go back to 1994. I was a sophomore in High School and would make a steady income off of the neighborhood babysitting jobs at what I considered an amazing rate, $6.00/hour. Flash forward to 2011 and what the hell happened? I am now paying anywhere from $10 to $15 an hour for a 16 year old to watch my children. And the term "watch" is used loosely. Considering all three of my children are in bed within 30 minutes of their arrival, there is minimal "watching" that actually occurs. After that it is a night of MTV, talking on their cell phone and eating my food. I understand there are a number of factors that may have caused this increase (inflation really exists, I know), however, an increase of 150%?! Regardless of what we are doing, there is always the additional $50-100 spent to ensure we are actually able to go.
The sad part of all of this? I don't even care. They could ask for $20 an hour and I would be willing to pay it. Why? Because if not for the babysitters, this mother would never get out of the house and would go insane. End of story. It is just too bad my FSA account won't approve my babysitting fees as a part of "Mental Health".
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