I guess some of it depends on the exchange rate and the cost of living. I used to get about £20 for maybe 4 hours of babysitting of two kids, one 4 and one 11 (I later worked for a family friend who was a little more extravagant. £30/40 but usually for five-ish hours). But £20 could get you 4 tickets to the pictures…

Never fails. In all seriousness, a lot of French people parent like 19th century frontierspeople. It's terrifyingly awesome, although don't know if I would have the guts to totally emulate it.

Wouldn't it be funny if this irritating douche got raped by five guys right now? Like, right now?

$10 bucks an hour is being paid well if you're still in school. I'm sure the OP wants the best for the kid etc etc but there really comes a point where you're fussing too much. Your average toddler's chances of coming to any serious harm whilst under the supervision of even a mildly competent human being are virtually…

Ah, I hope so. With a dinner thrown in, I suppose $150 doesn't sound so crazy. But even a sitter and a movie should come in well below a hundred. Unless you're dumb enough not to smuggle in your own snacks.

Some of these reasons sound pretty legit, but — A hundred and fifty bucks for one night??? Not very many years ago I used to do it for the equivalent of forty. And without ever killing/maiming any kids. I know every child's safety is paramount to the parent, but seriously. If you don't know a single serious, mature…

Didn't Kirsty MacColl get killed in a jet-ski accident? That's always put me off.

Re: Wood's death - I'm gonna take advantage of Internet anonymity and go ahead and accuse Kirk Douglas.

See my other reply, because it's to a very similar comment. Perhaps I expressed myself badly, but I do think hip-hop culture has tended to wear homophobia proudly on its sleeve (to the point where it's almost become a standard feature of many tracks) far more than any other genre I can think of. Things seem to be…

I think it's the unique combination of ignorance and self-entitled arrogance which gets to me. Anti-gay singers (or anyone else, I guess) of all stripes would bother me, but I can't remember the last time I was subjected to offensive quotes, homophobic slurs and crude songs demeaning gay people from any kind of…

Benedict is concerned about my feminism! Gosh, I've come over all a-tremble.

"I think I've been drunk once, by accident, in my life."

So it turns out spending your teen years blogging about Jimmy Cagney is NOT a sure-fire way to get laid? No-one told the 15-year old me this shit.

So are these things new in the States? We've had them in the UK for a pretty long time, and as a child I always did think they looked damn tasty. Luckily never went as far as trying them out, though.

I'm still a sprog-free youngster and all my knowledge of childbirth comes from older female relatives and TV, so what I am curious about is - what do you actually do for all those hours? Like, TV and films generally only show the waters breaking and then jump to the baby actually emerging. Are you just lying there…

Sounds a tad off-kilter, but it might just work (in conjuction with psychological intervention). This nasty piece of work clearly has a deep empathy problem. Inflicting just a little of what she did to this 3-year old on her might be the only way to teach her why assaulting someone's bodily integrity is considered a…

We do, but it would be very easy to never see any if you live in particular swathes of the country. I was 16 before I spoke to a black person (and they were actually visiting from Africa).

Miriam Margoyles and Will.i.am was one of the most beautiful things to ever grace our TV screens. The story about her wanking off a soldier she caught masturbating in a tree was eye-popping. I want to see a show where they solve crimes.

Yes, that is totally what the OP was saying. When she said she was afraid some kids were claiming bullying whenever someone upset them (and yeah, that is a thing that happens. A lot.) she was actually saying she agreed with people being truly bullied. I hate to say this, because you're one of my hearted people and I…

A lot of people have said that kids will always act out to test limits, challenge authority figures etc, and that is true. But when I think of what WE thought of as cheek (and I was in school not so many years ago) and compare it to this, my mind just boggles. Even the worst kids would never go further than muttering…