Going rate for child labour?

We're going away in a bit and I want to ask the neighbour's 11 year old to look after the chooks. It would involve letting them out in the am, filling feed and water and shutting in at night. He can have/sell any eggs (about 6/7 a day) too. What do you think is a fair rate to offer? I have no idea what kids expect to get paid for such jobs. I looked after the neighbour's cats and don't think I got paid at all! But I figure if I ppay someone, the job will be taken a little more seriously. Cheers

$2 a day plus eggs not bad

Adults looking after neigbours cats is a job one would not expect payment in cash for, but in kind at a later date perhaps.

But with a child, its a bit different. Personally, I think $2 would be a bit stingy. I would be more inclined to offer $5 per day afterall, he has to make 2 visits per day to your property and ensure the birds are safely locked away at night time. He may sell the eggs to his mother, but that is called enterprise, and good luck to him.

Just my 2c worth

I meant I looked after the cats when I was a kid. I was thinking about $5 but didn't know if that was being too stingy but it's a big jump to $10.

Its not a hard job to look after chooks but you do want to child to feel responsible for them so, with giving him the eggs as well, I think $5 a day would be pretty fair.

I think $5 a day plus the eggs is enough. How far does he/she need to come to do the job? Will mother be overseeing the situation? I used to get the neighbours girls to look after things for a long weekend and gave the $10 a day, but then they had chooks, goats, rabbit, pet pigs, cats (sometimes a couple in the cattery) and there mum came with them and cast an eye over the cows and sheep. Their Mum set the rate and I was happy with that. If the both came (age 12 and 15 at the time) the would share the money and if only one came then that one got the money. They did a great job and their mum had instilled a good work ethic. Shame they have moved now. Anyway there are more animals now and I need someone to stay in the house if I go anywhere.

Jeeeez..... I reckon $2 a day and he can sell the eggs is fair...
How long are you away for - ?? If it's a week maybe $20.00, or $25.00?
If it's 2, maybe a bit more to keep him interested! haha
Sundays

I lean towards a lump sum offer too, but let the idea of selling the eggs go as a bonus to Mum or Dad for the nagging they might have to do to ensure the job is done..
However if its likely that they will need the services returned someday, I would think a token amount for 11 yo is sufficient with some sort of token gift from the destination.... E takes back to school pencils and rulers with NZ emblems when we travel across the ditch, the kids love them. Also keyrings for the special friends...

But do check with the Parents first, they might not want you to pay anything..

It might be an idea to also write down the tasks for morning and night, in order of first to last.

I have been instructing an 11 year old on kid care and he listens ( or seems to) intently, then promptly forgets.

I think it's a tweenage/ teenage thing. It just comes naturally to nod their heads when being instructed, whether they heard or understood you or not.

When the neighbour and her husband looked after my lot, I labeled all the bins and wrote down who got what along with the vets number just in case.

It may seem a bit pedantic to write every single thing down but when I looked after their cat who was on medication, and their horses and pig, I found the little list of instructions very handy. I used it as a check list so when I thought I had finished, I'd check it and make sure no one had been left out and that they all had exactly what they were supposed to have. Cat was out for the day and inside at night, lights on curtains pulled at night, lights off and curtains open in the day.... It was so easy to just feed everyone, lock the doors and forget about the curtains and lights so the check list was very very handy.

Maybe you could draw up one of those check lists like they have for commercial kitchens and public toilets, you know? Who cleaned what and when and they tick in the box when the job has been done.

It might help keep the 'minder' on track and they can feel a sense of achievement with each tick, however small that achievement might be.

I know some kids might just just tick all the boxes and not do a thing but
hopefully ratbags like that are thin on the ground.

I guess, it's how well you know the kid as well... some 11 year olds are going on for 20 years old and others......... are, well...... on the discouraging side of 11 year olds going on 5.

My parents would get two to three pages of writing paper full of instructions on how to look after my cat Nako, EVERY little thing I could think of was written down, just in case []

He stayed with them a few times and was spoilt rotten.
I think they loved him as much as I did.

Yakut