Thinking About Hiring a "Mother's Helper".

I've heard that a lot of moms will hire a teenage (or younger) girl from their church or somewhere where they know people well, to be a mother's helper. Most girls would love to have a part time job like that over the summer. I've even heard of some moms hiring a local college student. I think the youngest I ever heard of for a "mother's helper" was about 9yo. If you think about it, it's not so far-fetched. Especially if said 9yo has younger siblings and has already been acting as their own mom's helper.

Try advertising on your local church bulletin board and if you plan to continue into the school year, switch to a evening and weekend schedule and make sure to keep things flexible to accomodate her family, activities and academic/social needs during the school year. Since your children are so young, you have the more flexible schedule. You can go to the grocery store or park in the evening instead of the morning. You can take the kids shopping for new shoes on Saturday instead of Tuesday etc...

Oh and I would think that $4-5/hr. would be a good wage for something like that since you're still going to be around and it's more of an assistant position than the full responsibility of a babysitter position.

Good luck! I hope you find someone great!

These are usually middle school aged kids - if you know parents of kids this age, you can ask them if their middle schooler is interested. Usually they help you out - play with the kids, chase your toddler around at the playground or pool, hold the baby so that you can have some one on one time with the toddler. They can come along on errands with you or outings. They aren't going to do housecleaning and laundry, but they may help you with things like straightening up the playroom.

To my knowledge, "mother's helper" refers to a teen helper. I was a mother's helper when I was 16, but that was a long time ago.

The family lived on Fire Island in New York, and since it was a desirable place to be (beautiful beaches), all they had to do was give me room and board, and they didn't pay me anything. I did it to be with my friends on the beach for the summer. I would care for the kids during the day, do some housework, and I had the evenings off.

If you live somewhere highly desirable, maybe you could get a teen to do it for free, if not, you could pay them the going babysitter's wage for your area. Kids really need jobs these days.

My daughter and I had a mother's helper who lived in the same apartment complex as my daughter. She was 10 and was bored. Her friend who was also 10 often came with her. She asked my daughter if she could help her by playing with the kids. She wouldn't accept payment. I took her to the store at the end of summer and bought her clothes for the new school year.

This was a perfect arrangement. They even ended up babysitting at their home with their mothers present. I took one or both of them with me when I needed to shop so that they could keep track of my toddler granddaughter for me. I'd get ice cream or some sort of treat for them

Just an idea of how to find a mother's helper.

I had one for two summers. She was probably 9 or 10 the first year. I had a 3 year old and an infant, so I was in a similar situation to what you're in now. We used it as an opportunity to "groom" her into a babysitter we felt we could trust with our kids in later years and it's worked out great. She knows our house well (and where to find things), knows more of our standard rules, and we know her quite well, which makes us comfortable leaving our kids in her care.

She lives in the neighborhood and would come by 2-3 days a week and just help out keeping the kids happy and busy while I tried to get a few things done around the house. I also took her with us swimming so she could keep an eye on my older child while I was nursing the younger one. I didn't ask her to do too much more than that, but it was just what I needed. I'm sure if you discuss your plans and your needs with a prospective Mother's Helper and her parents, you can find a balance that works for you in your situation.

I wasn't able to pay her much, but it was an acceptable amount to both her and her parents. I also paid for any meals, snacks, and entrance fees to things like her entrance to the pool.

The last thing to consider is that although in some ways it is a help, you're also taking on the responsibility of another child, so at times you will be watching them as well as your own children.

However, all in all, it was a great experience and it's worked out wonderfully for us. My kids get excited every time they see her and she's very comfortable with them after all the time she spent with them and seems genuinely happy to see them too. Now that she's older, we have a great babysitter that we really trust, even though she is now a full-sledged teenager.

Good luck in your quest!

I wish you were closer, i have a 13 and 14 year old who would love to do it :) Mindy was pretty dead on i think. I feel they should be about middle school age. They should be helping with small things...getting a bottle, changing a diaper etc, playing games with the toddler.

I don't know what i would do without my two older ones. They help make the pb&j's, keep the little ones occupied...any small things i need to save me! I hope you find a nice little middle schooler to help you out :)

I have a 15 year old who is a mommy's helper. She actually does babysit a little but the mom is there. Two other people asked if she could be a mother's helper and help with light cleaning but she hasn't done it yet. Young teens would be an option. Good luck!