What are you paying your babysitter?

[PocketThunder]

We have little kids, ages 3 and 1 and one on the way.  We have had the neighbor girls come over for babysitting when we go out.  We always ask them how much they charge and they never say.  Everytime they say, "well, its up to you".  So we dont want to be too cheap and they never come back, but we dont want to overpay and then we go broke going out.  When we were living in St. Paul we were paying $2.50/hour per kid.  We have 2 kids so an even $5 an hour seemed fair.  My spouse said when she was babysitting 15 years ago it was a buck a kid, so we doubled that and added another 50 cents and arrived at $2.50.  Plus it worked out to an easy $5 an hour for calculations.  We were usualy gone for 4 hours so a $20 fit the bill.

Now we just moved to the burbs and the neighbor girls says the same thing as our last sitter did, so i told her we were at $2.50 and hour for each kid and she didnt really give me a reaction more than just a little "oh, ok".  I think she thought i was being fair but i'm so far out of the loop in talking with teenagers i couldnt judge her reaction very well.  So i think i'm still in the ball park but just wanted to ask what you guys were paying.  We figure when we have 3 kids we will up the rate to $10/hour for 3 kids.  Does that seem fair?

Paul
in Minnetonka 

[moparstuart]

10.00 an hour sound far for small kids

[bordin34]

I think $7-$10 an hour is fair. I can't stand babysitting, those little kids make me go insane.

[Charger_Fan]

I haven't paid a babysitter in years.

[Blown70]

NO kids I know of.  I usually try to hide other than HOME on fathers day...... waiting for a knock on the door......

[Charger_Fan]

Maybe you should poll other parents in the neighborhood & see what the average rate is, then add $.50.

[Shakey]

We have two little ones also (3 and 1.5), and we pay $10.00 an hour.

A tip my Brother offered just after becoming a Father:

Never drive the babysitter home!   

[BigRed66]

My friend's daughter babysits for us, but VERY infrequently...(usually it's my mom or my mother-in-law...for free...YAY!) However, when she DOES, we give her $15/hr. Only because she babysits for everyone else at $10/hr. She goes into it knowing we're paying her more, she does an excellent job, and it's worth the extra 20-30 bucks to know our kids, 8 and 4, are safe. She plays games, does crafts, they read...so, in my mind, it's worth it.

...and I do take her home, but, I make her ride in the bed of the truck so she doesn't make any moves on me....

I"M KIDDING!!!!!! 

[chargerboy69]

Nothing. . . Thank God for Grandmas. My in-laws lives two doors down. I never thought that I would love having them that close. We are very lucky.

[dkn1997]

I would pay maybe a little more than the prevailing wage at the local fast food joint.  better working conditions in your house for more money. that oughta attract babysitters....definately pay a bit more than everyone else.  last thing you want is to lose someone who you trust with your kids over an extra 2 or 3 bucks a shift!!!

[RD]

two kids here, $20 for 4 hours minimum.  after that, we take it to $30.  Hardly ever runs more than 4 hours though (i.e. date night, movies, etc.).

They really should not get paid more than that... I mean, the job is not that tough unless your children are satan spawn... if that IS the case, then you deserve to pay more because your kids are little shats hehehehe

[Shakey]

While we're on the topic of babysitters - how old is/are your sitters?

Ours, Shannon, just turned 16 and will only have about another year with us before she gets canned!  This decision will be made by my wife and it might be a tough one as she is an honour student, the girls love her and we get along pretty good with her parents.  They used to live about three doors down from us.

I ask the age and explain my statement because we don't want the older girls around as boyfriends may show up while we're away or other friends etc.

Heard a story about two years ago from my Wife's boss who left his two young children with the 18 year old sitter.  Her friends knew she was there, it was Friday night, they showed up with some beers, ended up in the liquor cabinet somewas was puking in the bushes, another broke a beer on the driveway - by this time, the neighbours knew what was up an intervened.  Sent the teens packing and had the parents come and get the sitter.  They stayed with the kids until mom & dad got home.  It seems they got a hold of a $600.00 bottle of Scotch, not knowing what they had.  The girl was still paying back her folks the last I heard.

[HKCharger]

we have one child and the babysitter is 59 yrs old and we pay her $850/month to watch our 2 year old m-f 7-5pm.

[BigRed66]

While we're on the topic of babysitters - how old is/are your sitters?

She is 16, and a straight-A student. Couldn't ask for a better kid. 

The other ones I mentioned, the old bags, are 62 and 60, respectfully...

[General_01]

Wish I had some insight for ya. My wifes parents usually watched the kids if we went out when they were younger.

[Charger_Fan]

A tip my Brother offered just after becoming a Father:

Never drive the babysitter home!   

Your Brother's been watching too much pron.



Or else that's one damned fine lookin' babysitter.

[kab69440]

 That does it! I am becoming a professional babbysitter. For $10.00/hr, not having to drive to work and having my "product" dropped off and picked back up... I would come out way ahead of my current situation. Plus, all those "extra hands" might help a lot of projects go a lot faster. One great thing about kids, they love to help before they are old enough to realize how much work something is. Oh, and don't worry about your children being "demon spawn".  I can fix that, and fast! It worked for my Old Man when I was a kid, it'll work for me!

[Old Moparz]

We're in the same position, one that we need to find a sitter & figure out the pay too. I also had heard the minimum wage number, but I'd up it if things worked out well & they get along without problems. My mom helps once in while, but she lives an hour away, so it's either a sleep over for my daughter at Nana's, or Nana stays over here. I like the sleep over at Nana's arrangement best though, because having a childless house overnight with a quiet morning without cartoons blaring while you sit around naked having coffee is awesome.   

[Charger1973]

My girlfriend started doing in home daycare so I know a little bit about it.  She charges $5 an hour per child and she is state registered and has taken all the classes that go along with it and then some.  She also accepts state pay for low income families and the state pays her somewhere around $3 an hour.  Anything over the scheduled time is extra (like overtime) but im not sure the details of how she works everything. Its not a lot, but it does add up when she gets more kids (I think the limit is 6 at a time, counting our own), and we never have to worry about who is watching our daughter since she is always at home.  Plus she has more toys than any kid, ever. 

[69_500]

Paul, I think that the prices your talking about seem fair and inline with what my nieces are getting when they babysit for other families. Niece is 15 and I think she gets around $10 an hour to watch the neighborhood kids, which is usually 2-3 kids on Friday nights. If you ask me, its a piece of cake. Parents leave around 7 pm to go out, and the kids fall asleep around 9:30 which leave's 1.5 hours of watching 3 sleeping children, and the TV.


I remember being a teenager though, and going over to a few people's houses when they were gone to see a certain babysitter. 

[PocketThunder]

I remember being a teenager though, and going over to a few people's houses when they were gone to see a certain babysitter. 

YOU were THAT guy!!!      

[69_500]

Yuppers. 

[jeryst]

I think you best advice, so far, is to poll the neighbors, and see what the going rate is. Paying for a service is very dependant on the location as well as the demand, and how many babysitters are out there.

Around here, babysitters get about $3.00 an hour, for up to 2 kids, but there are not a lot of sitters around. My daughter never did it regularly, but occasionally, when a family friend, co-worker, etc. was desperate, they would call her and ask if she would do them a favor and sit for them. She also said "Whatever you think is fair", and most of the time, they would pay her $25-$30 for a couple of hours, which is a lot more than the going rate that the regular sitters got.

[sick dawg]

My pit-bull Satin is very good and he works for a biscut! 

Just kidding, I really have a Beagle named Daisy and have no need for a babysitter.

[hutch]

I have two kids and we dont do babysitters at all unless they are my parents or my wifes parents.  I know not everyone can do this but I never understood why people will pay more to someone who washes their car than they do to take care of their own children.

I dont trust anyone with my kids.