what do you pay a babysitter?

[Tricia87]

There is a Deseret News story out on this topic. The author states that she pays a babysitter $15 total for 2 kids, 3 hours. I can't believe someone would take advantage of a babysitter like that. I remember growing up charging at least $5/hr for each kid.

What do you pay a sitter, or if you have babysitting kids, what do they charge?

[Wingnut]

I read that article (or the blog post, anyway) about two weeks ago, and I was annoyed with it. I agreed with the author's primary points, but strongly disagreed with her self-righteous and superior attitude.

[Wingnut]

Also, for those curious, here's the original blog post: Paying the Babysitter | In Defense of Women

[Just_A_Guy]

We have four kids ages 7-1. At the end of a 3-4 hour stint Just_A_Girl usually hands the sitter a $20. Frankly, I find that embarrassingly low and I often say to the babysitter "look, we don't know what's normal, so if we're lowballing you just say so". But no one ever speaks up.

*shrug*

[Guest]

Depends on the qualifications of the babysitter and the age of the kids. Of course, it also depends on where you live.

If it's the teen-age kid next door who is certified for CPR and Emergency, I pay $40 for my 2 kids between ages 5 and 10 for a 3-hour movie date. If it's his younger brother who does not have the certs, I pay $30 for the same age kids.

When my kids were younger than 5, I hired certified adults not teen-age kids. I paid them $10/hr for the first kid and $7/hr for the 2nd kid, so that's $51 for a 3-hour movie night.

I didn't read the article but $15 for 3 hours is ridiculous. I would only do that if I'm in the house with them. I did that when I needed to do some chores and I need somebody there to keep the kids out of my hair for a little bit. I called the teen-age kid next door who was just happy to play video games with the kids with me in the house.

[Bini]

It's amazing how a bunch of women get going. Just read the comments below that article.

I feel Anatess on this one. I think those are factors that should be considered to help gage what you pay your sitter.

[Bini]

Oh and I remember having babysat once for a family friend. I didn't get paid jack. Funny because as a young teen it really irked me. If I were to do it now, I probably wouldn't care so much, but then again I'm not doing it for the money.

[beefche]

Help me understand. Maybe I'm just an old fogey, but when I was growing up, it was typically $1-$2 per child per hour. When and why did this inflation take flight?

[Bini]

I don't use either but maybe some of you that do can clarify the difference between a babysitter and a nanny. A friend of mine, I met her through work, is a surgeon here in Salt Lake and she pays her nanny top dollar to tend to her son that is elementary school-aged. He has some disabilities that require certain skills that perhaps most mainstream sitters/nannies don't have. Like CNA experience, sign language, etc. I think that is worthy of paying a bit more.

[Jenamarie]

Help me understand. Maybe I'm just an old fogey, but when I was growing up, it was typically $1-$2 per child per hour. When and why did this inflation take flight?

I want our babysitters to actually be able to DO something with the money. If they can barely afford to even go see a movie after a 3-hour babysitting job, then I'd feel like I was low-balling.

All of the babysitters we hire don't have regular jobs (usually not legally old enough yet to do so). Their expendable income comes solely from these occasional babysitting jobs, and so I want to feel like I'm making a meaningful contribution to their honest efforts to raise money for their expenses (sports fees, school clothes/supplies, etc.) We also don't hire babysitters who just sit on the couch and only serve to make sure the kids don't kill each other or burn down the house. They bring over big ol' bags of board games and new (to the kids) story books, and they get down on the floor with the kids, and if they end up also putting them to bed they'll use the quiet time to wash the dishes and sweep the floors. That makes it worth the ~$7-8 /hr. we pay our babysitters.

[Guest]

I rarely do. Not meaning I don't pay them, just that I don't hire them. I can't afford it. I don't remember expecting above minimum wage when I babysat.

[Dravin]

The money I'd offer a babysitter or someone offering to mow my lawn, would be what I consider the value of not doing it myself. Obviously that's fluid depending on circumstances, but if it is only worth $15 for me to have a date night, or to not mow my lawn, that would be what I offer. Also, it's a good idea, on the part of both parties, to establish the rate of pay before hand, it avoids that potential angst that comes from parties having different ideas about values for a particular job. When the job is done is a horrible time to discuss pay.

Edited October 29, 2013 by Dravin

[Guest]

That's why I like my neighbor. He treats babysitting as a professional. He has a folder of certs, references, and sets his rate!

By the way, I forgot to mention that I have a kid with allergies so epipen training is required for babysitters.

[Backroads]

It has been about 12 years since I last babysat, and I recall making more than that...

I don't think the average babysitter should expect more than minimum wage, but the pay in question does seem low.

[Jane_Doe]

When I was in the babysitting business (~10 yrs ago) it struck me the very different expectations people had for a 'babysitter'.

I treated it as my business: a usual gig was I walked to your house, brought new board/creative games for the kids to play, cooked dinner, fed them, put them to bed, and then cleaned up the entire house until the parents got home. I was also CPR certified. If for some reason I had a scheduling conflict and couldn't make it when you wanted a sitter, I would send one of my 3 sisters (whom provided the same quality service). That's what I expected to do for ~$6 / hr per family (not kid).

But sometimes, I would be asked to babysit a family, and they didn't WANT me to do any of that. They fed the kids before I got there, the house was already spotless, the kids were already in pajamas, sitting down in front of movie. All the parents wanted me to do was wait till the movie was finished, and tell the kids to got to bed. Once they were asleep, I was supposed to just and watch a movie myself- for another 3 hours! For this, the parents would pay me $15 / hr.

Still baffles me to this day....

[Bini]

When I was in the babysitting business (~10 yrs ago) it struck me the very different expectations people had for a 'babysitter'.

I treated it as my business: a usual gig was I walked to your house, brought new board/creative games for the kids to play, cooked dinner, fed them, put them to bed, and then cleaned up the entire house until the parents got home. I was also CPR certified. If for some reason I had a scheduling conflict and couldn't make it when you wanted a sitter, I would send one of my 3 sisters (whom provided the same quality service). That's what I expected to do for ~$6 / hr per family (not kid).

But sometimes, I would be asked to babysit a family, and they didn't WANT me to do any of that. They fed the kids before I got there, the house was already spotless, the kids were already in pajamas, sitting down in front of movie. All the parents wanted me to do was wait till the movie was finished, and tell the kids to got to bed. Once they were asleep, I was supposed to just and watch a movie myself- for another 3 hours! For this, the parents would pay me $15 / hr.

Still baffles me to this day....

All of this could also just reflect the financial status of a family and have nothing to do with what's fair or unfair. In fact, I would bet that on average, a lower income family and a higher income family probably pay their sitters and nannies very differently just based on their networth.

[mnn727]

I used to get 50 cents an hour babysitting and $2 for mowing a lawn, that was in the late 1960's and early 70's however.

It was still below minimum wage. Come on, I'm not financing their college education, they're going to watch TV with the kids and maybe play a game or two, you really think that's worth big $$ ?? why? Even with inflation $5 an hour should be fine for 1 or 2 kids.

Now if you expect them to clean and cook, that's different.

Thankfully I have no kids at home these days.

Edited October 29, 2013 by mnn727

[Jane_Doe]

All of this could also just reflect the financial status of a family and have nothing to do with what's fair or unfair. In fact, I would bet that on average, a lower income family and a higher income family probably pay their sitters and nannies very differently just based on their networth.

That would possibly make sense- if they two types of families didn't live on the same street. (Not that house size is nessary true indicator of wealth).

[Guest]

All of this could also just reflect the financial status of a family and have nothing to do with what's fair or unfair. In fact, I would bet that on average, a lower income family and a higher income family probably pay their sitters and nannies very differently just based on their networth.

I've always asked what they charge. I've never had to set the rate. Of course, my experience is very small because I rarely used babysitters.

I realized it was the same amount of money to take the kids with us to the movies as to hire a sitter. So, the kids got used to just coming with us every Friday night. But, there are times when my husband and I want to watch something not appropriate for the kids (which is rare) so that's when we hire somebody.

There are kids from Church who will babysit for peanuts. I'm probably paranoid or something, but I've always just wanted that self-assurance of having somebody who is trained to handle emergencies, ya know? I guess it's because I have a kid with allergies and anything can happen at any moment with that one.

[Bini]

Anatess, I completely agree and think it's reasonable to pay higher for someone that has a particular set of skills that benefit your child or children. Part of me feels like it would absolutely be taking advantage of someone who is utilising said skills, and I'm pretty much paying them in pennies. I don't think that's right. I appreciate the extra training or education that someone brings to the table and in addition, benefits my kids and family, so I would want to pay accordingly.

[beefche]

It was still below minimum wage. Come on, I'm not financing their college education, they're going to watch TV with the kids and maybe play a game or two, you really think that's worth big $$ ?? why? Even with inflation $5 an hour should be fine for 1 or 2 kids.

Now if you expect them to clean and cook, that's different.

Amen. I completely agree with you on this. I'm all for being fair, but good grief. Paying $15/hr to watch my kids? Anatess's example, to me, is not just a babysitter; thus, it makes sense to pay more for that. But an average teenager to watch my kids and play a few games? Yeah, I just wouldn't pay that much.

Good thing we don't have kids, apparently.

[Quin]

This answer REALLY varies by region.

Where Im based:

Babysitters $10/hr for the first 1-3 kids, +$5/hr every extra kid

Nannies (50 hour weeks) make between $2500 & $4000 per month. Total. Up to 4-5 kids.

Childcare (group, 50 hour weeks) is between $1600 & $2500. PER kid.

But I've been places where babysitters are making $2.50 an hour, nannies $1000 a month, and group childcare is $500.

It was a shock to realize as a new mom that I could NOT AFFORD TO WORK. I'd make less than I'd pay pay out in daycare. Ugh. (Although it worked out... Started university, and not only did I "make" $1000 a month after tuition and books, but childcare was free. The IDEAL work-from-home job. I only needed 10 hours of childcare a week, and then my studying was done during naps and bedtime). Also, that for families with 2+ kids that nannies were waaaaaay cheaper than McChildcare. Huh. Go figure. Ditto... I know a lot of lower to mid middle class families who hired an au pair (even cheaper than a nanny, but they live in, so need room & board). Nannies and au pairs used to be upperclass only. But when they're cheaper than the YMCA, smart people don't worry about looking better off than they are. (I know quite a few who would rather LOOK poor, than save thousands. I don't understand these people.)

As a newly single mom I pulled on my university contacts.

I'd hire a Uni student to come over, have a home cooked meal, and study in peace and quiet... While the kids slept. $20,for the whole night + food. (I just had to make sure I worked nights!)

God. Send.

Q

[talisyn]

Quin, it's cheaper for us for my husband to be a stay-at-home dad. Weird how that works.

We love grandparents babysitting, cause they are usually happy just to be with the kids. Next time we'll pay them, I swear! We've come up with a babysitting plan, just in case gramma and grandpa are not available. $20 minimum, for up to 2 hours. $20 total, not each hour. Past 2 hours we don't go lol. If the sitter is awesome we'll pay more. And of course if the sitter has his/her own pay expectations we'll meet them. This is pretty much what I got when babysitting all those years ago and it worked great

[Guest]

Oh yeah, I forgot to mention... Mom is free. But, the problem is, she wants us to take her with us to the movies. :-)

[Quin]

Oh yeah, I forgot to mention... Mom is free. But, the problem is, she wants us to take her with us to the movies. :-)

Yeah... I try and explain

Asian Grandparents + Boundaries = Blank stare and blinking

To my friends (and non-Oriental family) from time to time. I just get more blank stares and blinking. Can't win for losing! (Course, it's also pretty awesome)

Q