Mom goes viral after leaving a chore list for her toddler's babysitter

The internet is buzzing after a Missouri mom posted her way of getting household chores done while still making time for a date night.

Katrina Ivan, an eighth grade science teacher and small business owner from Kansas City, took to TikTok to show off her way of offering her son’s babysitter a few extra bucks. 

As Ivan and her husband were planning a romantic night out, she knew that chores were piling up, and the house was messier than usual. As she penned a note to her three-year-old son’s sitter, Ivan listed off a few optional chores - each with a set dollar amount. 

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"I was like, ‘here's what I need done,’ and I just assigned money values to each [chore]," Ivan told Fox News Digital. "And [the sitter] was all over it."

Ivan’s note - which has been viewed over one million times on TikTok - follows the honor system. 

"Just let me know if you decided to do any of these and the grand total I owe you on top of the babysitting money," Ivan wrote to the babysitter. 

The prices varied for each chore - $10 for sweeping and mopping the kitchen floor, $15 for cleaning the refrigerator. 

Em Rice immediately jumped at the opportunity to make more money while the child slept. According to Ivan, the 18-year-old high school student is one of her former students and has been babysitting for her family for years. Ivan wanted to give Rice the chance to take home a bit more money as she prepares to enroll in a firefighter program upon graduation. 

"I heard the Ring Doorbell go off after we left," Ivan told Fox News Digital. "We were barely out of our neighborhood and she was cleaning the front door. I was like, apparently she did like the idea, because she really started on it right away. She ended up making really good money."

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Babysitter Em Rice plays with Katrina Ivan's three-year-old son. Rice has been the family's babysitter since Ivan's son was an infant.  (Katrina Ivan/@kivankc)

The idea has sparked conversation online, with viewers debating everything from paying babysitters extra to complete chores to the amount Ivan offered for each task. 

"I think $10 is too cheap for some of these tasks considering the amount of work [and] size of the mess," one TikToker commented. 

"I would love to be offered this, especially if the kiddo(s) are sleeping," another chimed in. 

Ivan even shared photos of her home alongside the note on TikTok, hoping to create a conversation regarding the stress that parents may be experiencing. 

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"There are not a lot of people out there putting the worst parts of their home on TikTok," Ivan said. "You see creators who have pristine homes, and you just know behind them is the clutter of junk that they've moved to take that video. I took literally the messiest parts of my house and put it out there." 

Katrina Ivan (right) smiles alongside her family's babysitter Em Rice (left).  (Katrina Ivan/@kivankc)

According to a 2022 study conducted by The Ohio State University, 66% of working adults with children claim they feel burnt out from parenting. Ivan hopes that her idea of normalizing asking for help - while still providing an incentive for those around her - will encourage other parents to do the same. 

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"It just kind of shows that parents are all struggling right now," Ivan told Fox News Digital. "So instead of drowning, why not just reach up and grab a life support? If you need a village, and you don't have one, a lot of people are turning to TikTok to be their village."