I have a 3yr old and 9mo old. My wife and I are actually starting to try and date again therefore are new to the babysitter scene. The last few babysitters we have hired do not quote us a price and instead leave it to us to pay a fair amount. Being as how we are inexperienced in this matter, we have paid different rates.
By: Chris P
About the Author:
By: Chris P
About the Author:
9 comments
Comment by Dr. Jeanie on September 1, 2009 at 12:49 am
The going rate is around $2/hour per child. My son is in preschool where they even use a school curriculum for this rate!
Comment by genie876 on September 2, 2009 at 10:21 pm
I used to babysit like 5 or 6 years ago and I got paid $30 for up to 3 hours and then $10 every hour after that. I thought that that was really good.
Comment by wonderingstar on September 5, 2009 at 7:21 am
£8 per hr for both
Comment by maximoo01 on September 6, 2009 at 8:11 pm
I think it depends on how old the babysitter is, you can get away with paying $30 for a 16 year old but I guess the older they are the more they expect. If your children are in bed by the time you guys go out for Date Night, and the sitter is there to literally sit and raid your pantry why pay anymore than $30. If they are expected to feed and bath both kiddies maybe you could think about what you’d expect to be paid if you were sitting for someone. I think you could even base it on an hourly fee of $10-$15 depends on how long they are expected to sit for and then if you have to drive them across town to their home when you get back. Tricky one I used to sit when I was alot younger but that’s 15 years back now and I would get $30 for a day with two kids under two
Comment by noahs mommy on September 7, 2009 at 9:56 pm
is it a teenager? 5 or 6 an hour is plenty for them… or maybe just a standard 30 per night.
Comment by Mary H on September 8, 2009 at 4:43 am
it depends on the age of the babysitter. usually 20/25 dollars for 2 hours or less and 5 dollars for every hour after that. if the babysitter was given short notice you should give a tip
Comment by LORI on September 11, 2009 at 3:08 pm
I think you should ask some other parents in your area how much they pay their babysitters. I used to live in a small town and the average for babysitters was around $5-7 if the sitter was an adult and the kids were awake the whole time. Then I moved to a large city and lowest I ever got as a teenager was $12-13/hr and that was for one sleeping child. It really varies a lot by area and some rates on here could be insultingly low where you live and some may be outrageously high.
In general though you pay a teenager less and if the sitter is an experienced adult or college student the rate is a little higher. Maybe pay a little more if the sitter will be doing a lot vs just watching kids after you put them to bed.
Comment by Bailey on September 13, 2009 at 8:28 pm
WHEN I BABYSAT I CHARGED 5BUCKS PER KID PER HOUR… I HAD ALOT OF CLIENTS SO I DONT THINK I WAS ASKING TOO MUCH.. REMEMBER IF THE BABYSITTER HAS CPR CERTIFICATION THEY CAN CHARGE MORE. BUT IF THE KIDS ARE SLEEPING THE WHOLE TIME I CHARGED 20 BUCKS EVEN
Comment by KT on September 13, 2009 at 9:32 pm
5 dollars per kid per hour and 10 per kid per hour after midnight.
I am 22 and do a lot of babysitting. I am a good babysitter and now I only go to the houses where I am paid well enough. Some pay be 2 dollars an hour to watch 2 kids and that is not right. Think of minimum wage…you can pay some 14 year old less then that!
They gave up their time to provide a service for you. Unless your kid is an angel (which I doubt) I would pay them more then you think because you want them to care while their there. Not just ignore the kids and watch TV.
Another suggestion is to buy the babysitter food. For example I have this one couple who always leaves me pizza money or buys pizza and pop,chips, rents movies and others things for me when the kids go to bed.
Believe me if you want a good babysitter, you pay a price. 2 dollars an hour will get you a teenager with her boyfriend over and your kids in front of a TV