Honestly, I get the feeling that your daughter isn’t actually interested in babysitting for your sister and quoted a high price (although frankly, I don’t think it’s unreasonable for at least 13 hours of babysitting two kids, one of whom has special needs and needs extra care and handling – an actual professional service trained to care for disabled kids would probably quote something similar) so she could get out of it without having to actually say no. And given that your sister thinks your daughter should volunteer to give up her weekend to watch her kids, one of which sounds quite difficult to manage, I don’t really feel like your sister would have been reasonable if your daughter had just outright told her no. So like… I don’t really blame your daughter. I get why it seems really tacky of your daughter to ask for that much money but I suspect she felt like this was the only way to get out of babysitting without a blow up.

NTA from me.

NTA I would have gone with N A H, but your sister saying you didn’t raise your daughter right makes her the asshole. Your sister is getting the extra pay because the hospital knows that they have to entice nurses to work on their days off or unscheduled days, your daughter is asking for the same consideration. I applaud your daughter for knowing the value of her time. Your sister had the option to make $500-600 on top of her regular pay rate (possibly even overtime) but instead she chose not to because she doesn’t value the service that your daughter provides. Which is fair but doesn’t make you or your daughter an AH.

I don’t know where all these people are saying the daughter is worth close to $40 an hour. Is she a professional nanny with first aid and cpr certifications? She’s 17 and a babysitter. Nannies in my major city start around $20 for two kids. Doubling that for a high schooler is not only a fantasy but setting unrealistic expectations for when she is an adult. Will she expect double the salary when she starts her first job? Yes, she should know her worth but she should also learn that what she thinks she worth isn’t the same (as far as pay.)

YTA (and your daughter.)

NTA.

Your sister suck because she’s willing to let a 17 year old deal with her austictic kid for 13 hours but doesn’t want to pay her accordingly with the work the 17 year old has to do.

I actually went from you’re the asshole, to everybody suck to NTA because I realized as I was wrtting that your kid would have the responsibility of two kids for more than half a day and get a sucky pay while your sister would work for half a day and get a $1000 bonus.

I get that your kid is only 17, but she’s not a slave and she has the right to be respected.

NTA

Kate can name any price she wants, but it does NOT mean the other party will agree to it. if the price she named was ridiculous, Jane should’ve just looked for another babysitter with reasonable prices. Also – how many hours would that 500 dollars be for and what’s a normal price per hour there?

One more thing, too:

>Now she’s going off on me saying that as her dad I could either Make her do it or “raise her better” so she’d volunteer to.

Tell me if I understand it wrong, but… does Jane imply Kate should be doing it for free?

NTA, good on you for letting your daughter be independent. If your sister doesn’t like it she can either try to get another babysitter, or make it worth your daughter’s while, if not with money then other things that might make it worth it to her. Sounds like it’s not an easy babysitting job and your daughter probably has other things she’d much rather be doing.

Too many people expect women to do things out of social obligation, to “be nice”, and then they blame the wage gap on women being too meek to negotiate.

NTA. It sounds like this isn’t an easy babysitting gig and maybe Kate had other things she would have rather done. Naming a price is within her rights and if she didn’t get the rate, it wasn’t worth it for her. If your sister didn’t want to pay, that’s her choice. If she had just accepted it, I would probably say N A H, but since she went off on you then your sister is TA.

Maybe someone should have raised her better so she would pick up extra shifts without needing a $1000 incentive? Pot, meet kettle.

Your daughter has some serious entitlement issues and what she did boarders on blackmailing your sister into way overpaying, preying on her last minute need.

Your daughter is a major AH arms I would be ashamed of her.

It does not matter how much someone makes, that does not entitle you to ask for more. Your sister has every right to be angry at your daughter, and you for not addressing it. She lost out on her paycheck AND the HOSPITAL FULL OF SICK PEOPLE also lost out. Wow.

I’m gonna say NTA. Here’s my rationale.

I’m an RN. My husband is active duty US Army. When he is gone, I need my nanny 14 hours a day. An hour before my shift starts at 645am and I usually don’t get home and showered until 8pm. That’s a 14 hour day for my nanny. I have one child, I pay her $15/hr to care for my child, in my home.

Your sister has two children.
$400/14hrs = ~$28.57/hr
$28.57/hr /2kids= ~14.29/hr

Fair wage to me. It’s a lot. But in-home child care isn’t cheap.

Your sister is taking voluntary shifts for extra money but can’t pay for a babysitter? She’s the AH. If she wants out of the house that bad she can pony up some cash. Your daughter’s time should not be free, ever, and is worth what the market will bear – she’s the market so it’s up to the two of them to work it out. Stay out of it. NTAH.

You WBTAH if you said anything but “You two work it out on your own.”

NTA does your daughter actually want to babysit on her weekends? She might have been doing it to help out family but when she found out that dear auntie was just doing it to get crazy cash she might be feeling a bit used especially since it doesn’t sound like sister likes hearing no. Good for you for having your daughter’s back. Sister can find another babysitter.

NTA- Where I’m from a typical hospital shift is 12 hours. $400 for last minute childcare for two children, one of which has special needs for 12 hours is an absolute steal of a deal. Not to mention your sister is still going to get her regular shift pay on top of it she’s just giving up some bonus to make it happen.

yea, as a business owner, that is definitely price gouging, which there are financial penalties for. An hourly premium for emergency or off hours work is acceptable, but usually doesn’t exceed double the normal rate. YTA for not teaching your daughter about business when she is trying to run one.

Well-*maybe your daughter doesn’t want to babysit* and is charging this outlandish price *just* so she will be turned down. And even if s he *is* just “price gouging”, your daughter doesn’t *have* to be the babysitter and your sister can find go out and find somebody *else*. NTA

YTA. You & your daughter for price gouging an essential worker in the middle of the pandemic! Your sister is trying to save lives & your daughter can only think about $$$$. I’d say shame on you but that boat has long since sailed

NTA she can work and get most of her bonus or stay home and get no bonus but it’s her choice and no one elses problem.

Gotta respect the hustle on your kid though – good for her valuing her own time.

NTA – This is between your daughter and her aunt. The service provider gave her rates and the client wasn’t willing to pay. End of story.

Your daughter is free to just say no if she doesn’t want to or can’t do it.

Edit- I changed my mind and agree with you guys.

YTA. For one day of babysitting she wants a week’s worth of pay. That’s beyond price gouging, that’s straight up insane