Childcare can be quite expensive, but it is necessary for many working parents. In the age of the coronavirus pandemic, many families are struggling to pay the bills and trying to cut costs wherever they can, even when it comes to childcare expenses.

Reddit user JohnnyLong123 shared a screenshot of a post he saw on Facebook. In the post, a lady explains that she “is going back to work” and needs a “trustworthy babysitter.” Sounds reasonable so far, but wait, there’s more.

The mom explained that she has “3 kids. 1 month old girl, 1 year old boy and 3 year old girl. And I would be willing to pay weekly.”

Again, sounds reasonable so far. The idea of being paid every week sounds nice, but this is where anyone interested in this babysitting opportunity would probably quickly lose interest.

The mom went on to add exactly how much she would be willing to pay every week. “To start off the pay would be $160 a week for all the children then I could up the price.” You read that right – $160 a week! That’s not a day. That’s a week. Maybe that would be ok if the babysitter was only working a couple hours a day, but no, it’s a full-time job. The babysitter would be expected to work Monday through Friday from approximately 7am until 6pm, and the babysitter would be expected to babysit at his or her own home.

Lady wants babysitter to watch her three young kids including a 1 month old for $160 a week from 7am-6pm Monday-Friday. Oh and they need to be picked up and dropped off as well. from r/ChoosingBeggars

One Reddit user pointed out just how low this hourly wage would be.

“This woman is trying to find child care at less than a dollar per child per hour. I assume the babysitter, in addition to picking up and dropping off the children and spending her own gas money and vehicle wear and tear, would also be responsible for feeding three kids for free as well. At the end of it, the babysitter would essentially be paying the CB to watch her kids.”

Other Reddit users are concerned for the safety of this woman’s children.

“Its like these people are all looking for somebody who is independently wealthy but for some reason wants to raise their kids for them as a hobby (ignoring the fact that ‘some reason’ is almost always ‘they’re a pedophile’).”

Yet other Reddit users think this mom should stay home with her kids instead of going to work since she obviously can’t afford a babysitter.

“There comes a point when you realize it’s cheaper to stay home and be a parent than it is to try and hire a babysitter.. this is one of those times if she’s trying to get one for that cheap.”

What do you think of this woman’s babysitting request? What do you think would be a reasonable amount for her to pay a babysitter? Do you think she should stay home instead of paying a babysitter?