Babysitter fees...what do you pay?
I just had a babysitter on Sunday for our two kids, ages 5 1/2 and almost 7...anyways, we went to dinner and the Phantom Opera. We were gone from 4:45 pm-10:45 pm...she had to make a frozen pizza. We paid her $6/hr and gave her $40 for her time. Is that reasonable or are we being cheap? She lives next door. The kids went to her house, played in their yard for awhile...she went inside (quote the kids "for a couple minutes"), but it was long enough that the kids got worried she left them and wasn;t coming back, so they went to the door and her mom had to call her 3 times...she (the babysitter) was talking on the phone. So the kids went and played inside their house. The rest of the time she played with them, made them the pizza, watched a video, read them a book and put them to bed at 9 pm. Aside the phone call, the kids had a good time and said it was fun. We NEVER go anywhere, or hire babysitters...we might get away for an anniversary dinner but otherwise we stay home. We'd like to go out more, but it just gets so expensive. Anyways what do you pay for a babysitter? Thanks |
|
|
| Last time I had a babysitter I paid $2/hr per child.
I have two kids. you have to remember though I live in Newark, Ohio |
| The one time someone other than us or our parents have kept the kids was at the air force base daycare. If you keep their shot records on file there, they will watch your children for $3/hour (per child).
Brandon goes to preschool there, and the rates are $42.50 bi-weekly for 3 hours/3 days a week, so when you figure it out, that's $2.36/hour for preschool. |
| I think it depends on where you live and how old the babysitter is. I would think Manhattan would be on the high end of prices.
When I was in my babysitting years (ages 12-15ish), I got paid about $7 per hour, but that was in the 90s, so I'm sure the going rate is higher now (at least where I'm from). Did you ask the girl what she normally charges or what she wanted? If she's fine with the amount you gave her, then go for it. But if she normally gets twice that (or whatever), then you might want to raise it a few dollars. |
| Don't ever compare anything to Manhattan prices-- those aren't realistic comparisons. I forget the exact conversion but the cost of living is so much more there that jobs that people get paid in the low $30,000s in the midwest, people get paid closer to $60k in NYC-- and they're still considered poor paying jobs there. My best friend lives in Manhattan and her share of the rent alone for the tiny apartment that she shares with 2 other people is $1200 a month-- that's a mortgage for most people! |
| I haven't gotten a sitter in years, and even when my kids were little I never really went out. The going rate is 25 /day /child. For a night out and a teen babysitter I would think 20-30 should be enough. |
I babysat for the ex-husband of a friend when he had their daughter for the weekend. He was absolutely determined to go to this event with his girlfriend and my friend (his ex) was kind enough to arrange for me to baby sit so he could go. I should mention that he is wealthy enough that he doesn't work - just lives off his investments. Unknown to me, she told him he should pay me $25 per hour! I was there for just a few hours and he gave me $100!!! I told her I would have done it for her for free and that I didn't even look at the $ until I got home and then was embarrassed that there was so much. She said that it served him right since it was his weekend with their daughter and he couldn't be bothered to do something with her but instead went out with his girlfriend! Guess that showed him  |
| She is 15 I think??? She took the babysitting course, learned CPR and first aid.
She is an honor student and her grades are VERY important to her. She likes to do exchange programs, and went to Japan for 2 weeks, and they were host family to a Japanese student as well. I also get her to babysit the dogs, and we paid her $20 a day while we went out of town. I guess $6/hr is okay ... $3 per kid...I haven't asked around here what others pay. I use to get paid peanuts, $20 a night for 4-7 kids...at least 5 hrs...that was in the 80's. I just took whatever they gave me...I was happy to have the money, and the kids were all well behaved. |
| I'm really dating myself here, but I remember babysitting for .25/hr and thought that getting .50/hr was really good. Boy times have changed. |
ljbrigham wrote: I'm really dating myself here, but I remember babysitting for .25/hr and thought that getting .50/hr was really good. Boy times have changed.
Ha, ha, me too! I used to babysit for a couple of hours after school everyday and made $5.00 a week. As for todays prices my God-daughter pays about $4.00/hour for her baby at a daycare center. |
| I just paid $8/hr for one child, would be $10/hr for two children.
I used to make $1.50 an hour... things have changed!!! |
| I used to make $3.50/hr back when I was 13 and that was for 3 kids.
Then when I was about 17 I remember making $7 or $8 an hour for 2 kids... but I think the parents may have been making up for having badly behaved children. I would think that minimum wage would be a good rule of thumb. |
| The familiy next door has 4 kids but often times they have family over. They often come over and ask if I can babysit in 10 minutes. When I babysit there is anywhere between 2-5 kids plus 2 dogs (which usually dont bother me, but these are just as bad as the kids)...These kids spit on me, hit me, and do not listen to anything i tell them. Here is the icing on the cake, once when my sister was babysitting, the 4 year old tried to kill the 2 year old... There is nothing I can do but send them to their room. Which doesn't do anything, because their parents never yell at them....Now I am 17 almost 18, and I've been babysitting since I was 13. I am a very responsible babysitter and I love to babysit, but these kids are a challenge. I dont want to sound stuck up or anything but $5 dollars an hour, for 10 min notice and kids who are terrible...How do I tell them, that this isn't fair? |
| We just had this conversation on another board. Everyone views it differently. The majority said they should at least be paid minimum wage for one child. A couple of dollars more for a second child.
I would have paid what you did. The babysitters on this board, in tx, are all paid around $10+ an hour. If someone wants to get paid that "from me" for watching tv, heating up a prepared meal for them, and probably screaming NO several times an hour then they can keep their eyes closed and continue dreaming. I believe in tipping everyone and paying people what they're worth.. I babysat ever since I was 12 and just don't think a kid should be paid that. jmo. I think in-home daycare providers are different than babysitters, btw. I'd understand them getting paid more appropriately. We pay ours 6.50 an hour. |
When I was a teenager (1960's) I had a regular babysitting job watching 4 little boys that lived across the street. I got paid 50 CENTS an hour, which was higher than the going rate of 30 cents an hour because there were FOUR of them!!!  |
| They are taking total advantage of you...IMO.
If you want to continue tell them exactly what goes on. And because it is 4 kids, I would say a raise is in order. Make it high if you don't want to do it anymore, if they are willing to pay it, then they must like you. If you don't to anymore, get a job someplace else, and tell them they need to find a new babysitter. We have two well behaved kids that love to be babysat once in awhile....but we rarely go out. We pay $6/hr...with a top up say $36...to $40. I only expect her to play with them, and give out snacks. It's a cake walk for her to come here. |
| Jillian2222: You are being taken advantage of. Your babysitting is a business so you must set your own rate. Call them or the next time they call you for a babysitting job, you have to pipeup and tell them what your new rates are. I would also tell them that if there are more children then their own, that their is an additional rate. At the time they call, ask how many children will be under your care and set your rate by that. Decide your minimal per hour and how much per additional child.
When my children were younger, if I was at a friends and we decided to go out together and leave the kids with a babysitter, I paid the babysitter what I would have if I had hired independatly, not a pool type pay. Another words, whatever the hourly rate was I paid for my kids and my friend paid the hourly rate also. We didn't do a $5 an hour take care of all the kids it was $5 an hour to take care of mine and $5 an hour to take care of friends =$10 an hour. Anyway, good luck with your babysitting business. |
| I just started babysitting an 8 1/2 mo. baby this week and today the grandmother wanted to know if $2.50 hr. would be okay. I know that my jaw dropped because that just sounded obserd, but I didn't know what to do so I just said ok very shyly. I am thinking about kindly approaching the subject tomorrow.
What are your thoughts? |
| You definitely have to talk to whomever is paying you and amicably settle on a price before starting. I think $2.50 would have been appropriate 30 years ago but not now! |
| Jillian 2222,
I agree, you're being taken advantage of. I wouldn't wait until the next time they call you though. I would actually create a document (just a little flyer or something) listing your "new" babysitting rates, something like, "Minimum wage/hr for 1st child, $2.50/hr for each additional child.", and even include on the flyer, "please call ahead for scheduling (same day scheuling available for a fee of $20.00). That would discourage the last minute requests for babysitting, but still leave you open to it if you really wanted the extra $20.00. I would then go over and cheerfully give them your new flyer, and explain that you're giving this out to all the people you occasionally sit for and wanted to be sure they got one as well. Explain that you have several financial goals you're attempting to reach, and that sitting is your "business" that you are running to help you acheive those goals. As far as the children's behavior goes, if they treat you like that, you have the absolute right to simply say, "No. I don't want to watch the kids anymore, their behavior is just too much." And leave it at that. |
I pay 125 a week that's super cheap all I have to do is drop him off & she takes care of the rest.....as far as a night out we go with family or close friends (that we don't have to pay) but I hear that others are paying 10-12 hr  That's steep or maybe I'm just cheap |
Lil J starts going to a daycare provider next week, and she's only $4 an hour!! woohoo. That rocks  The military requires all these discounted prices if you choose to do childcare on base (since you're living in govt housing and they offer free insurance for them for anything that goes wrong with the kids in your care).
I'm going to hate when Mr J gets out of the military! |
| Yesterday, I was babysitting a little girl (17 mos.) for 7 hours and they paid me $100.
Just think of how much daycare costs. These people are doing you a favor and your taking advantage of them. It seems to me that you have to make up an excuse as to why you paid them so little. You were going to do it anyway but this just makes you feel better! I wouldn't expect any of them to do it again. I work a fulltime job and they asked me to do it on my day off and $100 or more was what I was expecting. I'm doing this for you as a favor. just on personal note Stop taking advantage of people! You should be very embarrassed of yourself!  |
| Remind me not to use you as a babysitter. That's a lot of money for 7 hrs. Lucky you. |
| My 20 year old daughter is a college student and still babysits from time to time for a very few families. She gets $7 to $7.50/hr for one or two kids, who are well behaved.
Jillian, the way to handle it is to say no if the notice is too short, the kids are too many and/or too wild, or the pay is too low. In this case, it's all 3. You can also say, when they ask that your fee has gone up to $7.50/hr for 1 or 2 kids, and $2/hr for each additional kid. That will probably stop their asking. A long time ago, when I was 16, I babysat for 3 kids all day, 5 days a week. The 7 year old was afraid of the police, was angry I wouldn't let him play with fire crackers, and when I put him in his room for a time out, climbed out the window and shinnied up a bush to the roof. The mom decided that the $40/week she was paying me was too much out of her pocket so she wanted to barter with me, and give me her old clothing in exchange for sitting. Now, she was at least 3 sizes larger than I was, 15 years older than I, although she did her best to dress like a teenager, and she had vastly different taste than mine. Not only that, but I was trying to save for school, not to dress in hand me downs that some woman with 3 kids thought were cute. I quit. |
| Wow! I think most of you have very inexpensive sitters. I'm not a mom, but I've spoken to others in the neighborhoos. The going rate around here in the northern burbs of Illinois is $12-15 per hour. The kids won't work for anything less. |
melody003 wrote: just on personal note Stop taking advantage of people! You should be very embarrassed of yourself! Guest, I think this depends a GREAT DEAL on where you are located. In some places I see people talking about ADULTS sitting for $5 or $6 an hour for multiple children, and in other areas kids are getting almost twice that much for one.
Good luck to you! |
| When I was a kid the babysitting rates I got were .50-.75 per hour. Only the cheapskates gave me .50 though. Needless to sat this was a long time ago...1970's. |
| I have a rotating group of sitters for the summer and i pay my "college" sitter $10 per hour for three kids (my oldest is 11 - youngest is 6). I'm increasing her to $11 this summer.
For the younger sitters, I pay $8 per hour, but was considering a 50-cent increase. I don't live in an affluent area...so I guess my prices are not too low compared to what I have read so far. Thanks for sharing. |
wendy58 wrote: When I was a kid the babysitting rates I got were .50-.75 per hour. Only the cheapskates gave me .50 though. Needless to sat this was a long time ago...1970's.
Okay I was sitting in Staten Island then and making at least $2 an hour. Home day care rate averages are definitly available with a google search. in some places $2.50 and hour may be reasonable - thsi was the first site I found: My prices are infant-2 years....$125.00 week 2 years until potty trained $100.00 week (two weeks with NO accident) Everyone else....$85.00 week think of it if mom is working for minimum how can she pay minimum to the babysitter? |
| maybe its because some of these posts were 2 years ago or maybe its different areas but $4, $5, $6 an hour seems too low. I was 13 when i started babysitting and was paid $2.75 an hour. However I am 21 now and get $10-$13 an hour. I think starting pay for new babysitters should be $7. You are leaving these babysitters with your children and you should pay a decent amount to at the very least show your appreciation for what he/she is doing for you. Its not always a walk in the park to watch children. Think about how exhausted you feel after watching your own children for a few hours. The more experienced the babysitter the higher the pay. Thats just my opinion. However I know when I have children of my own and have a babysitter watch my kids I will pay well because I will be leaving my most precious possessions with her and there is no real price on keeping them safe, sound, and comfortable. |
| I am not even going to give a hint towards my age by telling you what I used to make at babysitting! But I will tell you that when I was a Brownie, Girl Scout Cookies sold for 45 cents a box!!!! I suppose alot depends on the area of the country you live in also. Where I live, no one could ever afford to pay that for babysitting. That is probably why I see so many people at the malls & restraurants with their young children! |
| $13.00 an hour for a BABYSITTER
LPN's in my town don't make that much!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Perhaps a PROFESSIONAL with a college degree who actually teaches something to your child and provides a service more than babysitting/ Most baby sitting jobs are a few hours of watching TV with the kids, preparing a simple meal or often just watching them sleep. Babysitting is traditionally a "first" job for a responsible kid, not a career. Now if you are talking a "trained nanny" you might be talking a higher wage but BABYSITTING so the parents can go to a movie I don't think so!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! |
Tasker's Mom wrote: $13.00 an hour for a BABYSITTER
LPN's in my town don't make that much!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Now if you are talking a "trained nanny" you might be talking a higher wage but BABYSITTING so the parents can go to a movie I don't think so!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!I work as a Babysitter at local Resorts and Hotels. My rates start at 16.50 per hour for the first child and go up from there. There is a 4 hour minimum and in addition I receive a $10 transportation fee and usually a tip of $20-30 dollars more. And believe it or not, I'm booked year round. It this high? It's probably more than I would pay but I don't buy Prada either. I enjoy my job, I love children and I have fun playing, dining and readying them for bed but time is money and mine is worth whatever my clients are willing to pay me. |
| That's wonderful!
People at hotels expect to be paying a lot for everything though. Do you care for the kids in the hotel room, or aer you taking the kids AWAY from the room for a few hours? |
| We just had a sitter for the first time last week and we were thinking $10/hr and we asked her what she charges and she said $10, so that's what we paid her. |
| Sitters in northern Michigan charge around $4-$5 per child per hour. So for our two 8 year olds it would be $8-$10 per hour. |
I wouldn't pay more than $10 an hour for a babysitter, and that's for both my kids. If that means, no one will babysit ...that's fine.  |
| I made .50 and hour. |
| wow even I made $2 an hour a hundred years ago |
kerry wrote: wow even I made $2 an hour a hundred years ago
I guess we were behind the times in rural Ohio 
I babysat for three families, that were neighbors--- almost every weekend. They would all go out, and I would take turns staying between the three houses. That is where John and I spent many a Saturday night. My parents always thought it was "safe" because the kids were there. 
Between them- they had 8 kids. I started watching the first families kids when they were all really little-- infant to 4 or so. I got .50 an hour from each family. As I figure it-- they were usually out for 5 hours. That is 2.50 a family or 7.50 total. Humm.... I was robbed I think..... That was the mid- late 70's. Should I ask for back wages?????  |
| I have 3 children, 6,9,&11 and I pay a sitter $6/hr. The hours are 3:30pm till 2am in my home. The kids go to bed at 9pm and don't need constant supervision. The sitter occas has to take them to activities less than 3 miles away. She also has to make them supper which is always something easy or pre-made and just needs to be heated up. I think this wage is fair because she has it easy because the kids are older, usually off at friends house playing and then they go to bed. This is what I pay while I'm working, but if my husband and I are going out or we need last minute sitters, I pay a little more.
I live in Illinois and don't make a ton of money. I see where some are asking $10/hr in some places. What is the sense of working if 1/2 goes to the sitter. For older kids, I think $2/hr per child is enough. Younger ones that need more care....$4/hr should suffice. Also keep in mind that they don't have to pay taxes. My sitter makes approx $300/wk tax free. Do you think that is fair wage? Am I way off?? |
| I have 10 years of babysitting experience and my basic fee is $14-16 per hour or $100 a day. I do a great job and my kids are always happy and the parents love me. On a regular babysitting job I pick the kids up, make them snack,assist with homework, cook a full dinner( no boxed junk made with fillers), play games with them, tuck them in and read them a story. I always clean up whatever dishes i use and i always leave the house cleaner than when i left it. I am worth what i charge. |
| You sound great!
But how do you both pick them up AND leave the house cleaner? Lol Thanks for sharing. |
| There is a wonderful daycare close to my house that has at least 10 or more adults rotating from group to group. They charge a flat fee per day. The youngest babies are $26/day, toddlers/preschooler are $25 and the school age kids that are only there before & after school are $3-5/hour (if you have more than 1 child there it is $3/hr each and $5/hr for one) and on days with no school it is $17/day(or more than 5 hrs). With 3 kids I still paid less than the sitters around here are quoting me! Why would anyone pay more for 1 person when they can send their kids to daycare and get several people watching their kids for less? If I paid a sitter $500/week (which I was quoted), I should just quit my job now so I can afford to live. Fortunately, I was able to find a sitter to watch my kids for the same amount that I paid the daycare. My kids love being able to stay home and my oldest can play with his neighborhood friends after school. |
Abuckie wrote: kerry wrote: wow even I made $2 an hour a hundred years ago I guess we were behind the times in rural Ohio Not only Ohio but New Mexico & Texas too! I thought i was hot stuff getting $2/hr back then! lol I guess i am going to be spoiled as I pay $10 a DAY for pet sitting here........and she stays overnight. That will be one thing i REALLY miss when i go home.  |
| I'm in the NW suburbs of Chicago. In the 80s and I think I was 12 yrs, I was paid about $4/hr to babysit. Well, I'm told that for a high schooler expect to pay $10-12/hr. I consider myself extremely fortunate to have found a fantastic licensed day care in someone's home for $200/wk. That is considered very inexpensive around here even for home care. A facility can cost about $400/wk! I have a great Mom and also a great friend that stay with Evan for free! I'm not sure how long that will last once he becomes mobile, but it's great and I'm so thankful for fantastic support! |
| Hi, I am 14 years old and i'm thinking of babysitting. I live in manhatten NY. I have 2 younger siblings which I have babysitted often. I can make simple meals and snacks and do simple first aid. How much do you think would be reasonable for me to ask for per hour? Thank you, Joel |
| joel, is all your homework done? |
Ali wrote: Abuckie wrote: kerry wrote: wow even I made $2 an hour a hundred years ago I guess we were behind the times in rural Ohio Not only Ohio but New Mexico & Texas too! I thought i was hot stuff getting $2/hr back then! lol I guess i am going to be spoiled as I pay $10 a DAY for pet sitting here........and she stays overnight. That will be one thing i REALLY miss when i go home. God I would love pet sitting for that price. The going rate here is $20+ A POTTY BREAK! |
| This is coming from a babysitter... $2.00 an hour?! Really? I'm surprised people who are parents on here don't realize how hard taking care of children can actually be... It should be more like $8.00/hr especially for two children or more. And definitely if they are difficult children. $2.00 is ridiculously cheap |
| I think it is ridiculous to pay a babysitter-a kid-minimum wage. Some of us only make minimum wage ourselves. |
| The reason most babysitters don't get minimum wage is that while the position is one of responsibility it is usually and hopefully one of just "being there, just in case." If you're expected to not being doing homework and actively playing and feeding and changing and teaching then maybe we've moved from being a babysitter to being a daycare or daycamp worker and that probably should be a different situation. I'm not sure. There are lots of positions like this in life; like being a superintendent of a building, or a house sitter. There is no way most people could pay even minimum wage for every hour to have someone sit in a house 24 hours per day. For many, many years I was "on call" carrying around a pager ready to pounce on problems should they occur. Most of the time it was just part of my responsibilities and included in my salary. Only one company for whom I worked had a different scheme. They paid a set amount to be the lucky one to be on call --a "nightly per diem" if you will-- and then paid an hourly rate for handling any problems, all on top of your salary or regular hourly pay. But even their per diem didn't even come close to paying minimum wage for carrying that dang beeper all night nevermind all weekend long. |
Didn't find exactly what you're looking for? Search again here:
Custom Search
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|