Are you looking for a babysitter to look after your children for an evening or to pick them up one afternoon a week?
For parents who are new to Belgium and have a limited social circle or no family nearby, finding a trusted babysitter may seem like a challenge.
Thankfully, there are several reliable services which offer this type of childcare, and The Brussels Times has created a guide to show you where to look.
Babysitting practicalities
Before summing up the various options, there are some key facts to know about babysitting in Belgium.
In Belgium, babysitting is allowed from the age of 15. Unlike in France, there is no legal framework for babysitters, and they generally work in a personal capacity. This means that they do not have to register with the National Childcare Office (ONE) or its Flemish equivalent (Kind & Gezin).
Their main task is to take care of the children, and they therefore cannot be expected to carry out household tasks. If the babysitter is happy to do so, they can be asked to pick up the children from school or drop them off at their after-school activities.
Most people do not sign an employment contract with the person looking after their child. Babysitters performing this service who are paid a limited fee and do not work more than eight hours per week with one or more employers are not subject to the National Social Security Office.
Babysitters who work more than eight hours a week need to be taken on as an employee under a contract, resulting in quite high costs.
Babysitters usually charge prices in the range of €7 to €10 an hour, but there are cheaper options. They cannot be paid through the service voucher system (titres-services). The insurance coverage for this service depends on the company or organisation (see below).
Official platforms
There is only one organisation offering a somewhat regulated babysitting service in Belgium: Gezinsbond, a Dutch-speaking organisation that works with a subscription-based model.
They offer a childcare service to their members at over 800 locations in Flanders and Brussels. Each of its babysitters undergoes an information meeting with the local babysitting coordinator, who 'vets' people offering their babysitting services. Parents can also turn to this person with questions, remarks or complaints.
Gezinsbond is the only organisation where insurance for civil liability is automatically included in the service, and the babysitter is also insured during their travel.
The pay is €5 per hour, but babysitters have to be booked for at least two hours. For an overnight stay (between 22:00 and 08:00), the cost is €25. The fee is paid directly to the babysitter, but it is customary to give them a small tip.
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There used to be a French-speaking equivalent to Gezinsbond – La Ligue des familles – but from September this year, it shifted its focus to providing babysitters to parents of children with disabilities.
This is a financially accessible (recommended rate of €8 per hour) but also safe solution: babysitters must follow three days of training before being approved by the organisation.
Parents must live in Brussels or Wallonia and must join the association to benefit from this service.
Online services
While babysitters working for these companies likely have at least a basic level of English, some platforms can help parents find an English-speaking babysitter in Belgium.
One example is Bsit, a Belgian platform for babysitting, which suggests recommended babysitters in your region or neighbourhood. Babysitters have a profile where parents can see availabilities, experience with certain ages and other features.
For €1 extra, parents can take out physical damage insurance with Bsit, which covers the children. Another platform, Babysits, is a babysitting community for parents and babysitters.
Both systems rely on the reviews of other parents on the platform. Babysitters can also review parents to inform others about their experiences with families.
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When using a babysitter on these platforms, it is recommended to take out domestic staff insurance with your insurer (around €50 to €90) to cover the babysitter.
Among the apps, the price varies greatly from one babysitter to another. According to Babysits, the average pay is €7.88 per hour, but this excludes the monthly cost of using the platform (which can be up to €15 per month).
