Babysitting in Hong Kong

2

2010-NewDad

Registered User
Does anyone have any recommendations for a good babysitting agency/person? We would be looking to have the odd dinner out together and leave our baby in good hands. We don't have a helper, and most of our friends do which limits the chance to "swap" nights and share. Neither of us is from Hong Kong so that rules out family too.

I have seen RentaMum

http://www.rent-a-mum.com/contact-us.html

but at over HK$500 a go it is a little expensive. We might use them for the odd special occasion but it's a bit steep otherwise.
 
Find a set of friends that have helpers or have 2 helpers so you can depend on them once in a while. You can always put up a notice in your building.
Where are you located? We have 2 helpers that would love to get a few extra $$$ in/around Happy Valley.
 
rani said:
There might be some teenagers also in yr building who could babysit.
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I thought of that, but I don't really want to leave my baby with a teenager without any childcare experience. Would definitely prefer someone who has had children themselves/baby care experience and that we know can deal with a crying, irritable or hungry baby. While it's not rocket science I know we would feel more comfortable that way.

Also not really interested in illegally employing someone else's helper. With the minimum wage at $28 I think there must be some supply here for an occasional evenings babysitting at closer to $300 than $600 from Rentamum. Maybe a combination of helpers and family fill that niche here...
 
With your wish of staying 100% legal, I think you will have a very tough time attracting anyone for $50-$60/hr who will do part time babysitting for you with your requirements. I'm supposing you will also want/need an English speaker.
If you do find someone, please update us as I'm sure there would be others who would jump at the chance.

I still think getting a well known (neighbor, friend etc) helper is your best bet. Although technically illegal, I seriously doubt a few hours of babysitting will land you in any serious hot water.
 
I employed a neighbors helper a few times to walk my dog for $60/hr which is the going part time rate (obviously with express permission from the neighbor). Not the same as babysitting children of course, but similar concept...
 
$28 is the minimum wage but people only work for that little if its a FT job with 40+ hrs pw.
Even an illegal helper working a few hours doing cleaning and dog walking is $60 + !

How many hours is $500 for ?
 
cuppatea said:
$28 is the minimum wage but people only work for that little if its a FT job with 40+ hrs pw.
Even an illegal helper working a few hours doing cleaning and dog walking is $60 + !

How many hours is $500 for ?
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Rent-a-mum charge $132 to $168 an hour, with a minimum of 4 hours. So $528 to $672 minimum charge.

I would be happy to pay 5x $60 or similar - hence my looking for something closer to $300.
 
Al li, thank you - that is exactly what I am looking for. I have dropped them a line and will post back any information I find out.
 
rooj said:
I was also going to suggest In Safe Hands. I have never used them before so I have no idea how much it would cost but you could always call them up and find out.

www.insafehands.com.hk
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Thanks, I checked with them. $170 per hour, plus 20% to the agent and $50 transportation charge after 9pm ($100 after midnight). So $866 minimum charge for an evenings babysitting!
 
2010-NewDad said:
Thanks, I checked with them. $170 per hour, plus 20% to the agent and $50 transportation charge after 9pm ($100 after midnight). So $866 minimum charge for an evenings babysitting!
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Ahhh sorry for not being much help then! Hope you found something closer to what you were expecting to pay! Please let us know how it all goes too.
 
We are in the same situation as yourselves. I found our sitter on Gumtree. A local university student (since graduated) who has extensive experience babysitting and has done a first aid course. She is very reliable and our little boy likes her.

Look on Gumtree Hong Kong (online) and you should find similar. You will have to sort through all the ads from domestic helpers looking for p/t to find the right ads.

We pay $200 for first hour and $50 for each following hour.
 
we used to happily pay the higher fee for rent-a-mum's services, knowing you get trustworthy sitters who are well qualified to look after a baby. the lady who runs rent-a-mum was a bit on the lazy side to return calls in time though, so last minute arrangements always turned a bit stressful.

my most trusted sitter works for this agency now: http://www.insafehands.com.hk/babysitting.htm haven't tried myself, but would trust her to make a good choice.

once our little one was a bit older, we would go with the "borrowing a friend's helper" option, but not while he was a baby
 
Hello everyone,

I am currently studying Mandarin in HK, and I am trying to find occasional babysits (evenings and weekends). Being the eldest sister of a 5-children family, I started babysitting very early and have now a lot of experience. I am French, but speak English fluently.

Here is my number, in case you would be interested : 9419 5167.

Marine
 
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