TikTok Mom Offers Babysitter Extra Cash for Extra Chores—And That's Okay

Determining a fair price for a babysitter can sometimes be challenging. When the sitter ends up providing even more beyond child care, it may get even more confusing. A Missouri mom recently sparked an online discussion after offering her son’s babysitter a little extra cash to do some optional chores around the house.

Katrina Ivan (@kivankc), a busy mom, teacher, and small business owner from Kansas City, is going viral on TikTok for a video showing a note she left for her teenage babysitter offering up a variety of chores that needed to get done. In that note, she emphasizes the extra work was “optional.”

“You are more than welcome to hang out and watch TV all night, but if you want to make some extra money, these jobs are up for grabs,” the note reads. The list included things like sweeping and mopping the kitchen floor, cleaning the silverware drawer, scrubbing the fridge, and organizing toys.

She posted the note asking for advice from the social media community to see if it was a “good idea or not.” The video has garnered more than 1.5 million views.

These may be small tasks, but they’re ones that add up and steal precious family time. The chores she suggests range in price from $3 to $15. Ivan explains that each task would be added to the $75 paid for the babysitter’s designated services. In a separate video, Ivan also explains that her 2-year-old son was already asleep for the night by the time the babysitter arrived, allowing for an opportunity to address the neglected household chores.

“I’m a working mom, and some of the important things have been let go too long in the past weeks,” Ivan explains in the post. “The clutter is making all of us feel stressed. I was going to stay home to clean, but I could use a date night. [This] seems like a good compromise.” She also posted photos of some of the suggested areas that needed cleaning.

The note she left concluded with a simple request: “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.” 

Fellow busy moms and even babysitters chimed in on the idea, praising Ivan for her “thoughtful” and “generous” offer. 

“It’s a fantastic idea!” exclaims one TikTok user. “It gives the babysitter incentive to get motivated to help out and get a little extra cash.”

Another user comments, “I think this is a great opportunity for your babysitter. You’re giving a choice, and I love that.”

When I babysat as a teenager, it was almost expected—I HAD to do these types of chores, and I never got an offer for extra compensation. Apparently, my situation wasn’t unique either. “As a babysitter I would have loved that,” writes one TikTok commenter. “A lot of times I did a ton of cleanup anyway. This would make me feel super valued by the family!”

While the offer of optional chores seems like a no-brainer, especially in this economy, a few commenters were critical of the price points.

One person wrote “I think $10 is too cheap for some of these tasks considering the amount of work/size of the mess,” to which Ivan replied said she would consider restructuring the prices in the future.

Ivan later explains in another video she did end up adjusting some of the prices of chores due to some of the feedback she got from her initial post. Ultimately, her babysitter made a total of $115 for four hours of babysitting, which included four extra tasks: cleaning the glass on a sliding door, toy and silverware drawer organizing, and vacuuming the couch.

How to Talk to Your Babysitter About Extra Work

For parents considering discussing additional tasks with their babysitters, the online resource Care.com recommends having a proactive conversation beforehand. (Disclosure: Care.com is a division of IAC, as is Parents.)

“Communication is key, especially in a role like babysitting where there is no set blueprint for additional tasks beyond keeping your child happy, healthy, and safe,” explains Sean Lacey, the General Manager of Child Care at Care.com.

The advice they offer is to clearly outline the following:

• What household tasks the sitter is responsible for.
• When tasks should be completed (such as while kids are napping or sleeping.)
• How much the sitter will be paid per task or per hour.

Lacey also says setting clear expectations and distinguishing if the chores are for the whole family or only your child will also help the sitter prioritize the work.

When parents go to post a job on the Care.com platform to find a caregiver for their child, they are given the option to select “light housekeeping” as something they want help with from the caregiver. Care.com tells Parents that in 2023, 41% of parents posted jobs including that option.

Some TikTok users responding to Ivan’s TikTok post seemed a little wary that a new babysitter may feel “obligated” to complete the chores that were suggested, despite Ivan’s note clearly specifying that they were optional. Ivan says the babysitter was one of her students whom she knew well, and who had babysat for her several times before. She says they had discussed the possibility of adding on tasks previously.

Paying a Fair Rate for Extra Tasks

When it comes to pricing certain tasks, it is ultimately up to the parents' discretion and there are a variety of approaches that parents can take.

“First, you can adopt the method of paying a set amount for each task your sitter chooses to do,” Lacey says. “Alternatively, if you prefer the tasks be more integrated into their typical responsibilities, we recommend increasing the sitter’s hourly pay to reflect the added tasks.”

Care.com also offers a helpful babysitter rate calculator, that can help determine the base rate for a sitter before you tack on any additional cash.

Ivan’s idea may have sparked a new trend when it comes to babysitting. When a parent gets to spend less time on the mundane tasks that have to get done at home, and a babysitter earns a little extra cash, it seems like a win-win situation that can go a long way for both parties involved.