Interesting story I read today in regards to a couple who became very upset when a family member asked to be paid in order to look after their kids while they went to work. In this case it was the grandparent it seemed where you would usually expect them to do it for free with the notion that they get to spend time wit their grandchildren. So when the person asked to be paid you can imagine the couple’s surprise as even they mentioned when they were a kid the grandparents were always more than happy to babysit for free.
It made me curious if times are changing for some folks where they feel they should earn some money for their time as technically if you were to hire a stranger you would always offer money to do so. I know a lot of people base their financial decisions on whether or not to have a child by factoring in that a family member will help them look after the kids for free while they go to work as an example.
In another case the couple asked the family member ahead of time if they would be willing o look after the kids for free and they agreed. However, down the road the person decided they wanted to be paid. Again, you can imagine the chaos that would create when a couple relied on another ahead of time to look after their child during the day. Would these situations ever get so ugly that even in these cases nowadays people would ask for some kind of written agreement?
I know for myself, I have a general approach where in these types of cases I have to be able to take care the situation myself versus being dependent on others. Like with the child, if I needed a babysitter then before having kids I have to make sur that I have the budget set aside for it. If someone wants to look after them for free in a traditional family way then that would be great. But personally speaking I wouldn’t expect one to do it by default. I have never met any grandparent though that would demand payment for this.