I'm a mum... here's why you should always pay your family to babysit your kids

• Matilda Hannah, 24, from Staffordshire pays her sister to look after her little girl
• She said it was important to pay her because ‘time is money in this economy’
• Matilda said she did not know why paying her sister was ‘controversial’ 

A mum has revealed why she thinks parents should always pay their family to babysit their kids.

Matilda Hannah, 24, from Staffordshire routinely pays her sister to look after her baby daughter and does not understand why some view it as ‘controversial’.

Matilda admitted to her 22,000 TikTok followers: ‘I pay my sister one day a week to help with childcare and apparently this is really controversial’.

In the clip, she said: ‘Now as much as I think obviously my sister thinks it’s a pleasure to look after P, she’s also a grown adult and time is money unfortunately in this economy’.

A 24-year-old mum from Staffordshire routinely pays her sister to look after her baby daughter – but not everybody thinks it is okay to charge family for babysitting

Matilda Hannah admitted to her 22,000 TikTok followers: ‘I pay my sister one day a week to help with childcare and apparently this is really controversial’

Elaborating on her decision, Matilda explained: ‘I was in a bit of a predicament about needing to go back to work five days instead of four due to my current career goals and where we need to be in the next couple of years’.

She continued: ‘I was excited to be going back five days and to have these opportunities but basically the extra money that I was going to be earning I would have been spending on nursery’.

To solve Matilda’s predicament, her sister kindly offered to look after her niece on Mondays.

Understanding that her sister is a busy woman, Matilda acknowledged: ‘Obviously she has her own plans and her own life – I’m happy to pay half of what I would pay a nursery and that way I wouldn’t feel guilty about taking up [her] time’.

Despite her generosity, her sister has ‘refused to take money’ from her, but the TikToker insisted on paying her as she is ‘doing [her] a massive, massive favour.

‘And as harsh as it may sound, when you have a baby, that’s your responsibility – and as much as everyone wants to help, we all have bills to pay and unfortunately that takes time. That’s just my take’.

TikTok users were divided – while many agreed with Matilda’s generous stance, some slammed her for giving family members money to look after her daughter, known only as P.

One said: ‘When my kids were little I was a stay at home mum, my friend paid me Mon-Fri to have her little boy! Extra cash for me and a fraction of nursery cost!’

Another penned: ‘I pay my mother in law 500 a month to pick kids up from school, cook tea, tidy up etc until I get back from work’.

A different user chimed in: ‘I think every once in a while payment shouldn’t be expected. I think if they’re coming at a set time every week to take care of your kids all day they should get something’.

But one TikTok user said: ‘Blows my mind. I never accepted a penny from my sister for looking after my nephew every Thursday I never wanted a penny. I wasn’t getting paid on my day off and I want to see my nephew’.

She continued: ‘Anyone who charges to help isn’t actually helping. Even if it’s 50% of the fees. I’d be insulted if my sister attempted to give me money!’

Meanwhile, another wrote: ‘I pay my sisters in takeaway food that I bring back home. I love them though & would do the same in a heartbeat’

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