October 8, 2009
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Babysitting Money
I have a friend on xanga that is a new mother.
She has mentioned in a post or two that she was interested to go out with her husband. She wanted to get a babysitter. She mentioned that $10 an hour felt a little expensive for watching one child. Here is her site: Shamrocklover
I actually thought that amount was a little low. It was my understanding that if you had someone out for a few hours, you should give the person $50 just to make it worth their time.
How much should a babysitter be paid per hour for watching one child?
Comments (143)
Minimum wage or just above it.
I say 15 an hour.
and it depends on their age.
xo
My church pays $10 per hour. But, I think they also have two babysitters at a time. So each gets that.
When I babysit, I normally make $50 or $60 for a few hours, depending on how many kids and how old they are.
woah really??? I need to start babysitting on the weekends..!!
Wait, you get paid for that shit?
Well, nevermind, given the job I did watching the Parkman kids…I suppose expecting money would be ridiculous.
Babies are a lot of work. When I use to babysit, I would get $20 an hour but only because I watched the kid during the day and I also did some light cleaning and cooking. If the parents are going out and they already put the kid to bed and you just have to check every half hour to see if its breathing, then maybe $10 is fine.
Also you get what you pay for! Do you want to pay someone $5 to be responsible for your kid! What do you think is going to happen.
ten dollars an hour is pretty much perfect.
FYI…I, as a teacher, only make $16.20/hour on an average salary (assuming a $35,000/yr salary, 180 work days, and 12-hour work days [yes, this is average for a teacher when all is said and done]). And how many kids per day do I deal with? More than any one babysitter will ever babysit in a day.
That girl is a cheap cunt. Lol, 10 an hour? You must not think your children are worth shit. You’re not gonna get quality for less.
depends on the kid–age, difficulty, whatever. maybe $8-10 per hour?
that’s what I was paid to babysit 3 boys(ages 4, 7, and 11), as well as taking care of their boisterous dog and 4 cats. usually 6-8 hours on Saturdays.
Where I work I only get paid 10 dollars an hour and I don’t get just one kid I get like three to seven kids!
At those prices I’d rather leave kids home alone than hire someone to watch them.
i dont think it’s so much about the number of children(though once you start piling them on it can be) as it is about their time. babysitters are gennerally younger people and are giving up their time to watch your child while you go out and have a good time.
i babysit for free, but that’s just because im close with the family and am around the kids all the time anyway. but i know that on nights i babysit it’s going to be a late night. given the fact that i have to work at 7 and may not be getting out of there till some time between 10 and midnight, im giving up sleep hours(most young people are sacrificing their social lives) in any other situation i wouldnt do such for less than $12. yes, to make it worth it for me to lose sleep and be tired at my crap job the next day i would have to be making more than i do at said crap job.
i think that most people think they are doing the babysitter a favor by paying them(again youth plays into this as they generally dont have steady jobs) when in fact they are being provided a service. so if she really believes it’s not worth paying for, let her stay with her kid 24/7 for the next 12 years or so. my money says she would be willing to pay more than $10 an hour in just a couple of weeks to get some time alone with hubby, or just to herself.
they get to molest my kid for an hour for free, so i say about 3 dollars an hour.
Damn, I didn’t realize babysitting was such a cash cow. And here I though babysitting was a job for teenagers looking to earn enough cash to go out on Friday night.
depends on where you live as well. minimum wage in CA is a lot higher than a lot of other places.
Lol, this is why you should get grandparents to babysit. I think I babysat two boys for 8 hours and only got $40. They were monsters.
Another time I babysat a brother and sister for 5 hours and got $50….that was about 6 years ago though.
@Slutburger_with_Cheese - geez, don’t you think that’s a little harsh?
The woman is a new mom, she’s unsure of how much the going rate is.
WHAT?!?!?!?!
I babysat 9 kids for $5/hr and I thought I was raking in the money…
I was a nanny over the summer and got paid $9/hr for working 40hr weeks, taking care of 2 six year olds and a 9 year old. I really should have been paid more, but with the economy and lack of jobs….I was thrilled to get over minimum wage.
$10 is not bad – I’LL TAKE THE JOB
Over here – i find it kinda hard to find baby sitting jobs =S
I recently babysat for 2 kids under the age of 10 for 9 hours. At the end of it, I was paid $40, and the man commented that he “threw in a bonus.” They called me the night before, and I babysat from 8AM-5PM. I also took the kids to lunch – since there wasn’t any food in the house – and cleaned their kitchen, put their dishes away, swept the floor, straightened the living room, etc., just to be nice.
When I babysat during my undergrad, I watched my professor’s 4-year-old for around 4-5 hours and made $50. Needless to say, I won’t be babysitting for Mr. 2-kids-for-$40 anytime soon.
Wow inflation! When I used to babysit I would get $20 for 4 hours. That’s a rate of $5 an hour. Crazy times!
Uh, if you want that person to actually TAKE CARE of your child, then you need to take care of them. $10/hour at the VERY fucking least, more for someone who’s experienced and has references.
Seriously… think about your kid here. Not to mention most babysitters have to clean up, feed, and bathe those children as well as make sure they don’t get into any trouble… or die, or anything. You’re trusting this person with your child’s life. You really want to short them? … If you can’t afford to pay your babysitter right, then maybe you shouldn’t be going out on the weekends.
I think setting $10/hr is too high. I would want to find someone I can trust to watch my child(ren) while I am away, so their training would influence me to pay them more.
If it’s just family members, I don’t pay as much.
$25 is about the max I pay to them for say… 3-4 hours.
Depends on the economy where you live. 25 bucks is a lot different in Ohio than it is in Houston, which is different than LA or NYC.
lol @ people being niggardly with the care of their own children.
I was paid 7 dollars an hour to watch one child for 2 hours every afternoon. Of course, he was also twelve and could pretty much watch himself. I was there to make sure the house didn’t burn down and so there was an adult in case the cops showed up.
But where I’m from, seven dollars an hour was a LOT to be paid for one kid.
I used to make 20 dollars if they were toddlers for just a couple hours. if it’s a baby you should get 50 for a few hours..because they are a lot of work.
depends on age…experience……age…..
nahh i just pay them -$40. they gotta pay me to watch my kids…
I charged 10/hr per child, and I was cheap. If it’s a baby I would say at least 5 dollars more.
Seriously, it’s an infant she’s talking about. She needs to get someone who is certified in CPR that paid special attention during the infant portion. Why? You never know what’s gonna happen. At the same time while this babysitter has this CPR knowledge, he/she should probably have some very serious common sense skills. (The house is on fire, do you grab the baby and get out or do you get out and hope the baby learns to walk in those precious moments…)
Then the ultimate: How much is your peace of mind worth, knowing someone is watching your baby and is at that moment, solely responsible for the survival of your infant child? Have your friend ask herself if $10/hour seems a bit cheapish for that kind of peace of mind… I’m just sayin’…
When I babysit, I charge $10 p/hr, with $5 p/additional child after the first one. No one I’ve babysat for has ever found it too high of a rate.
I get 7 dollars an hour at my babysitting gig.
Minimum wage, a dollar or two more per hour if they have experience with that age child, same if they are CPR certified. I am CPR certified and have significant experience with children along with having taken child development classes and the like and I’m fine with 8 or 9 dollars an hour plus half again as much per additional child.
In her post, she stressed that $20/hr was too high and that she already thought $10 was reasonable enough. She didn’t say $10 was a ridiculous price. So, yes, I do believe $20/hr for one child is a hell of a lot of money — I graduated college and I don’t make $20/hr, nor do most other college graduates fresh out of college.
I would say $10 is a pretty cheap rate too. I made that while watching a family friend’s kids after school while I was in high school about 6 years ago. With the times and all that, I would expect it to be more around $15 an hour. I think it also depends on how qualified the babysitter is. The higher end babysitters didn’t go through training and certifications for nothing. The age of the kids is a factor too. I considered myself lucky because all I did was help them with 6th grade homework and play around with them in the back yard, and I made $10 an hour. If it was an infant, I think that a little more is deserved because they require a different sort of attention.
wow, i came to say $10 an hour is good to start then increase it as any normal job would give a raise. then i noticed two extremely disgusting comments. sorry, but that really gets me when dan asked a simple question. calling this girl a c*nt because of her own situation? maybe she doesn’t live in manhattan or hollywood. maybe money is extremely tight. maybe $10 dollars an hour is all she can do! who knows! but personally attacking her is crap!
I think anything from $7.50 to $12 is fair. Literally everything is a variable though… the age of the sitter, the experience of the sitter, how many kids the sitter would be watching, the age of the kid(s), the hours expected (both duration and time of day), the chores expected (cleaning? cooking? homework? sports?), the neighborhood you live in, the economy of your area, the drive there, the day of the week, the temperament of the child, everything! This is your child you are putting in the hands of someone else; pay them according to how well you feel they can meet your expectations of what you feel your child needs. Variables as they tie into pay: The more experience your sitter has, the more they’re worth; the younger your children, the more you want someone with experience; the more children you have, the more a sitter is going to expect. It’s really common for a babysitter to find a rate they think is fair for one child and then expect you to half that rate and add it for each additional child. As an example, I expect $12/hr for infants; 9/hr for each child between the age of two and ten (which means $13.50 for two kids between two and ten, $18 for three kids between two and ten, etc) — and I have a $25 minimum (because any less simply is not worth my time). I also operate on a sliding scale. If your ass is broke, I do have compassion, and I will work with you. But not by much. I have bills to pay.
It depends on how good a job they do. I am not ashamed to say this but I am a damn good cook and I am tidy with the cleanliness and whatnot. Although I can be hyper at times – or a bit outlandish – I am good with kids. I have lots of experience in this aspect. I grew up practically on my own and taking care of my lil’ sister. Now I have a lil’ sis and bro that love me to death and I used to babysit my neighbors kids as well. The payments are kinda tricky. If you are a good parent and you don’t trust your babysitter [ Don't ever trust any unless you know the person (aunt or uncle?) but even then don't trust em' fully!] Get a camera set up so you can view whats going on from wherever you’re at without that person knowing. It’s perfectly legal if its in your own home (one would certainly hope so if it’s your child.) ~ Again trailing off.. The payments are tricky – it depends on how good a job the person does.. and how much time and also how they are with the child. If the kid hates that person obviously you should get someone they can familiarize themselves with to ENJOY the time you are away from them. For someone that cooks well – is good with kids – and is willing to be called at unexpected hours (like me).. I got paid about $300 for 4 hours each for 4 days so.. that’s 17 bucks an hour. Not bad pay if you always have people willing to have you as the sitter.
The norm today starts at $10 an hour for up to two generally well behaved kids. $10 for on kind of crazy kid. $12 on short notice. $10 for an unspecified time under an hour on very short notice. $12 for people who have never had a babysitter before.
It’s good money if the kid wants to watch a movie or sleep. Bad if extra half hours to 45 minutes are unpaid and the kid has special needs that don’t allow you to eat or use the bathroom during the entire sitting period.
Geeze, I have never gotten paid that much. Usually around $6 or $7 an hour, but if they were a little late or the kids were fussy I got tipped pretty well. Granted most of the time I had just one child, but yeah I would never get $10 an hour…nor do I think I would pay $10 an hour. That’s around the twin cities in MN though, not sure what area you’re in.
$10 an hour seens high to me. With all the things to keep kids busy now. Crap you can sit and watch a movie with them and get PAYED for it. Plus when you are sitting for a baby they sleep most of the time. It’s a rarity that you have to do much of anything in just a few hours. $10 an hour is more than people make that have it much harder than that. Of course if it’s like 3 to 5 kids, then $10 isn’t enough.
I do all my babysitting for free. My teenage nieces get about 50-60 for a couples 3-4 hour evening out. For an over night they would get less per hour maybe 10 an hour, but then the childrren are sleeping most of the night.
the person watching your child should be paid at least more than the person parking your car! these are children. pay the $50. my children are adults now, but i do have my mom here with us and we pay $25/hr to watch her so we can go out once in a while.
Some people just aren’t made of money. Nevertheless, if they have kids, they still need to be watched if they’re underage. Ten bucks is a good start. As my father says, it’s better than a sharp stick in the eye. Just because a person doesn’t have uber dough to go above that doesn’t mean they don’t deserve to go out or that they’re “shorting” the person who is watching their spawn. Any parent who gives their blood, sweat, and tears to provide for their kids deserves some time off. And not everyone can get it. Especially younger mothers or single parents who may not have that network of available people. Things like pricing should be arranged beforehand anyway. So that way there’s either a compromise to be made or otherwise.
Maybe this is me, but, no matter how much I am paid, I’d take care of someone’s kids as if my life depended on it. Why would I lower the level of my care over money? That’s just wrong. Yet I realize not everyone has the same mentality as I do. So maybe it seems right to lower the caliber of care due to the pricing. (cliche phrase in 3…2…) In this economy, can people really afford to be so picky over prices on either side? Seriously. Don’t people haggle and negate anymore?
I normally charge $5 an hour, if they do the driving, and its at their home. I don’t think its fair to pay someone $10 an hour to be in your home, eating your food, using your electric…..etc just to play with your kid and watch after them for a few hours.
In saying that, I was happy taking $3 an hour up until I was 18 (now 21). And I would again. But, along with that comes big tips. Because I charge so little (I genuinely enjoy watching children, but need the money) I always receive much more money than I would have charging $10 an hour. People are grateful. Especially when you do an excellent job taking care of their children, and home, and don’t expect them to pay out of the ass for it. They feel like they are giving you a present when they whip out a $50 after a night out, and so do you. I actually feel like I earned the money. Not because it was a predetermined wage, but because they thought I did a good enough job to warrant giving me that kind of money in the first place.
I guess its like a challenge to me. If I do a great job, then I will know, because I will walk away with much more than I asked for. BUT, even if I don’t get tipped, I don’t mind. Its not something I expect, but sometimes a welcome surprise.
Depending on the age, difficult of the child etc, how many hours, location etc
My mum brother use to babysit for me and my sister when we were younger, my parents paid him wellm he always use to stop over night.
A decent amount would be $15 per hour.
I would always babysit for whatever the
parents thought I deserved or could afford. I never set a limit. $20-$30 was usually
what I got for a whole night and I was/am happy with it. Of course, I
don’t know how to drive so I would have either someone drop me off and
pick me up, but usually the mom would always come get me since we
didn’t live very far away from each other. Sometimes, she would even
let me bring my Chihuahua for the girl to play with and to try and get
her used to dogs.
All depends on the age of the kids, level of experience with the babysitter, CPR/First Aid, how many kids, how long, and expectation of “clean up” and feeding.
I usually charge about 15 p/h though.
She could just get an au pair, You pay them probably less than 100$ a week, more if you’re nice. but you provide them with a room. Then you can dump the child on them if you have work or anything you need to do, and its a cultural exchange so both sides win.
I think it depends how qualified the babysitter is. If its just someone young without any babysitting qualifications then I think they would be happy with anything.
honestly idk i think that should be something negotiate between the sitter and child. i myself think 10 dollars is reasonable. usually on a weekend night for a couple of hours i usually pay about 60 dollars for about three hours. i think thats reasonable, no one really wants to be home on a friday or saturday night watching someone else child so i think its only fair. if its a teen like my brothers we find a balance of it since thats there only source of income too.
Ialways got $10-$15 an hour depending on the number of kids…
10 is pretty gooood!
At $50 got 2-3 hours, especially for a small baby that wouldn’t do anything but sleep and maybe need one diaper change, I may not ever be able to afford to go out without him! Wow, babysitting has really gotten steep in recent times. I never made that kind of money when I was babysitting. It scares me because I’m a new mother, too, and I have no idea how much babysitting should pay now. I’m not lucky enough to have free family nearby, either.
Wow, so much greed in the comments. But yet so many caring, generous people too. Generally if I watch kids (my nephews, ages 1, 2, 5, 6) I don’t get paid. Whatever, they’re family. So, ironically, the other day I watched the neighbour lady’s kids while she went to her night class before the other sitter got there and I got slightly offended that she paid me $10 for an hours work. But, before my nephews, I’d generally get paid $35 for a night (6 or 7 to 12ish) and I gratefully accepted. They were doing me a favour, not the other way around.
I know that I charge $15/hour + $2/hour per additional kid. I charge $17/hour if the child is under 3.
A friend of mine use to get $10 an hour.
I think $10 is fair, but this city has a low-cost of living. Maybe in a bigger city more, maybe in a more rural setting a little less.
When i sat I got $2 per hour per kid and was happy to get it. My teenage girlies are way over paid. What they get varies on the family they sit for but still, not many people can afford to go out if they have to fork over $50 or more to the sitter.
I’ll admit that $10/hr seems expensive, but I do live in a rural Indiana economy so everything is a bit cheaper here.
I use to get $50 for a day
All the liquer they can hold and sex, oh wait, did I say that out loud?
As long as it’s not a perv like you, I’d be willing to shell out more than $10 per hour.
I pay $50 every Monday (that’s the only day I need routine child care for my daughter while I work) and my hour vary on Mondays sometimes I work 8-12 and other days I work 8-2.
Then if I need someone for a work meeting or a doctor’s appointment during the week, I pay $10 an hour and it’s usually someone in my bible study who I have done the same thing for and probably not have even gotten paid. But I would feel guilty not paying since most the girls in my bible study are SAHM and I can afford to give them a little something.
Usually for date night, we let the baby spend the night at grandparents. :) But if that’s not a possibility, I’d pay $35 and we’d probably only go to dinner and run an errand, so we’d be gone maybe 2-2 1/2 hours . . . that’s usually how long we’re gone.
Personally, I don’t trust strangers to watch my kids. Only friends & family, who actually won’t accept money to watch our kids. We usually just leave lots of yummy food for their help. But, if I did hire help, I’d say $15-20/hour per kid is reasonable… And since we have 3 kids, that’d round off to around $50/$60 an hour–the price you pay for quality care! I use to babysit the neighborhood kids, about a decade ago, and I was paid $10/kid/hour.
I really think it depends on the age of the child. If the child is 7 years old, then a lower wage is probably acceptable. But if we’re talking a newborn or very young infant? I would definitely think that $10 an hour should cover it. When I was babysitting (even into my college years), I don’t think I ever made $10 an hour (except when I worked for a family watching more than three kids). Some nights the parents were gone for 3 or 4 hours and I made about $20-25, depending on the situation.
For a really new baby, it should cost more because of how fussy and needy they are… if it’s an older kid that will probably play somewhere or play video games, it would cost less.
I paid $10/hour, which was a lot higher than anyone else around here pays! It did feel a bit excessive, considering my son was 10 at the time and really, all the sitter needed to do was just be here, make sure he did his homework, and heat up some mac-n-cheese (or order a pizza) for supper. But good, reliable babysitters are worth their weight in gold, so I thought it was a very fair price.
Back when I was babysitting, I’d be lucky to get $5/hr/child. It was usually more like $2.
The people commenting that we ‘need to think about the babysitter’ OBVIOUSLY doesn’t have kids. Seriously- when you desperately need someone to watch your kids (and believe it or not, it’s not always for selfish reasons. I’d give my left arm for a reliable, AFFORDABLE babysitter for all the times I have to go to the hospital so my husband could go with me.) and you just CAN NOT afford fucking 20$ an hour. My husband doesn’t even MAKE that much! Why should we have to pay more then we even make for GOOD child care? I’m all for paying what you’re worth- I’ve been paid as much as 15$ an hour for one kid, to 20$ total for 6 kids for 5 hours. Needless to say, there is a good medium there. And I think 10$ an hour is perfect.
It depends on how old the child is, and how many kids they are watching and how long. But ten dollars per hour for 1 Child seems like a decent rate. If it’s two children then it should probably be bumped up to between $15-20 an hour.
$50?! You ARE silly. :p
I do $5/hr for babysitters. Around here, that’s expected.
Although usually I get my babysitters for free… my husband has a lot of teen siblings in the area. SCORE!
~V
@randomneuralfirings - THANK YOU. I’m so glad I’m not the only one saying “TEN DOLLARS?!”
I think it depends on the age of the child. Smaller children normally cost more since there is more work involved (feedings, diaper changes…)
Babysitting Hourly wage = k(S/6000) + c(10-a)
K = Number of Kids; S = Yearly Salary of Household Wage Earner; c = Whether or not babysitter has his/her certifications, 1 for yes, 0 for no; a = Age of oldest child
Well, when I was babysitting I made $5 an hour, this was in middle school so I think it would need to depend on the age of the child and the age of the babysitter. Older people demand more. At 12, I was happy with my $5 an hour.
Peace.
@nefrislyvre - I didn’t have time to elaborate last night. Here’s a better idea of what I mean.
If the person who would babysit for me had tons of experience, had gone through an education based around taking care of children, etc. I would be more inclined to pay them more. Someone like that, that I truly felt would do a great job and I would expect to use them again in the future would probably get $10/hr from me. I don’t think that is too high for them.
But for someone who has babysat kids a few times, with no extensive experience, I would probably not pay them more than $8/hr. That’d be about what I’d pay.
And the thing with having family members watch her is that I’ve babysat for them before and never were paid more than that to do so and most of them complain about not being able to see my daughter enough, so I think they shouldn’t be complaining to be able to spend some time with her AND get paid for it.
I was paid $9/hr for babysitting a few years ago. But then I started a real job when I hit my 20′s and that wasn’t worth my time anymore.
’round here you get paid $1.25 an hour and it’s usually paid by the state.
and people are calling her a cheap cunt? c’mon!!
the most I would pay, personally, is $4-$5 per hour with a few extra $’s because I do have three kids.
Minimum wage isn’t even $10, what the fuck?
And people are SERIOUSLY bitching?
No matter the pay, you take care of that persons child because you AGREED to it.. no? This is why I only trust three other people (aside from my husband) to watch my children – because people are not fucking trust worthy, especially since everyone is so damn greedy for some fucking greens.
Wow.
Assholes, all of you.
I used to make $12 an hour babysitting one child who was notoriously fussy, and if the parents went out of town when I should have been working they paid me anyway (it was their idea not mine and I said sure) because they felt it wasn’t fair to take away what I expected to earn.
one of the best jobs I ever had.care.com people.
I got $4 an hour for watching a baby and a 3 year-old, but it was more of a favor than a job.
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I think it all depends on both the sitter (is it a teenager? a family member?) and the child being cared for (a baby? an older child)…but in any case, $10 an hour should suffice!
Honestly, I think it depends on the age of the child. A very young child requires different things that an older child. A baby, for instance, requires bottles, diaper changes, special play time, maybe baths, naps, and the every famous vomit towel. An older child requires other meals, toys, naps, attention, yadayadayada. You see where I’m going.
I guess it also depends on the behavior of your child. :] If the child acts out, I’d probably throw the babysitter an extra 20 bucks or so…but maybe 10 bucks an hour is too high for some people. I’m not really sure what I would offer. :c
I think $40-50 for a few hours is fair. This is a valuable service – why underpay?
Depends on the situation, also there is a difference, I think, between day care and occasional babysitting.
That being said, I don’t think $10.00 per hour is too high for regular babysitting….depends on how many kids and what ages, however.
I barter babysitting with a neighbor of mine, so it’s free for me.
I say 10 sounds reasonable for one child. I would generally add 5 dollars more per extra child. Thank goodness I have older kids that can watch the younger ones. They babysit for the cost of monthly data plan. Much cheaper. LOL
@abilene_piper_lg - What? That would be a week with 60 work hours!
I pay 20 dollars a day. And she always negotiates the price depending on how many hours. I have two kids. The trick is to find someone you TRUST first and usually that person also happens to adore your kids! I only ask people within my circle of friends and never outside. When I have to take it outside I will be shelling out more money for certified/licensed/CPR trained individuals. Right now, I can’t afford that. I am really fortunate to have people who will watch them for nothing or close to it in the grand scheme of things.
I guess I was undercharging. I don’t think I ever asked for more than 5$ per hour for one child. That was 10 years ago though…
I’m an RN now and I got $285 per week (40-50 hrs) for a baby last year. That’s like $6.33 an hour.
We tried to give $20/hour (5 -10 years ago) not because we could really afford it but because we thought our kids were worth it. Several sitters tried to refuse the money thinking it was too much! When we explained our reasoning, it made them feel much more responsible for our kids. We did not go out on special date nights very often!
Ten dollars is good but for that I would expect my transportation to be paid. In Texas that is about the highest rate going I think. If the picture posted is of the little guy to be kept I might do that for a simple Thank you a few times. He is too cute.
i know that when i babysit for my neighbors, i always charge $10 an hour. And that’s pretty much a discount. If you’re babysitting an actual baby who needs to be fed or changed or taken care of in any other way, how little can you REALLY charge per hour? Definitely not minimum wage. This a child we’re talking about here, not machinery any normal person can operate on minimum wage
When I used to babysit I’d get anywhere from 7-10 an hour for 3 kids. Considering inflation, $10 is perfect. Also, if the kid(s) are younger it’s obviously a tougher job. Don’t be cheap. To a young person that $10 is worth much much more than it is to you. Trust me.
$10 an hour is normal now. It used to be 50cents when I was a kid
I would say 10/hr or more.. babies are a lot of work. And if you want a babysitter with all the qualifications ie. CPR training, it should be more. Lol, it’s pretty sad if you don’t want to pay that much.. it’s your kid, right? Shouldn’t you want an experienced babysitter to take care of your child? If someone doesn’t want to pay that much then.. don’t go out, lol.
It really depends on where you live, how well you know the person and etc. Are they paying for the food they feed them while they are watching them or are you?
I think it also depends on if it is daytime or nighttime. How much effort is involved? Are the kids asleep or awake? Are the children well behaved?
I make 400 a month plush room and board for a job as a nanny. That is definitely below the going rate, and I usually end up working more then 40 hours a week. But I get more flexibility than I normally would, if I need a day off, there are no questions asked, I get it. Also in the area where I live four hundred can go a long way, especially if you aren’t paying rent or food expenses.
You are going to see people wanting ten dollars in area where the cost of living is higher. Also it depends on the age of the “babysitter” and their experience how much you should pay them. I would expect to get paid more than a teenager would because of my experience and education.
What you pay also reflects the value that you are getting. Do you want your babysitter to help with schoolwork? Think through what you are asking the person to do, and think through how much you are willing to pay for this.
And I am not in favor of paying family less than you would a stranger. IF you are willing to pay family to do this, pay them. Do not insult them by saying that you are going to pay them, but their work is worth less to you than a strangers is. They are people you trust,you know their values, your children already know them, and they are people that you don’t have to worry about leaving your children with at all. If you are going to pay them, you need to pay them exactly what you would someone else to do the same job. it is not right to take advantage of people just because they are family.
However, on the same note, family members may be more willing for a bartering system than would someone who is not family. You may be able to exchange watching the kids for some other favors and not end up needing to pay anything at all. It all just depends.
I can see why people exchange baby-sitting duties with friends. A story of inflation: Someone I know babysat five kids (ages 4, 3, 2, 1 and 2 weeks) back in the late 60′s. She cleaned house, cooked their dinner, gave baths, etc. six nights a week while mom and dad did the bar hopping routine, often coming home after 3:00 am. For all this she was paid 50 cents an hour. I need to babysit since it pays more than most jobs in this area.
You couldn’t pay me enough to babysit. I made something like $4 an hour back in the 90s, but I was a terrible babysitter and never got hired back again. You get what you pay for I guess, haha… but if I was doing the hiring, I’d pay depending on the degree of difficulty – more for an infant or multiple kids, less for older children who can take care of themselves somewhat. So 10 – 25$ an hour depending on the situation.
my friend does it at 13 an hour. take it or leave it. it all depends on how well behaved the kids are, training, expertise with kids, etc.
To sum up what everyone has said: Depends on location due to pay per hour
Age, depending on how much you actually care for them
Tasks: what you’re actually doing while being there
I guess that’s it. Negotiate with the babysitter imo.
If you find a responsible teenager you can trust, you might could get it for less. My daughter babysits and is hesitant to ask for a lot. I think she makes about $7 an hour. We used to pay something like that, but we always rounded up with the people we liked, because we knew other people that paid $10 and we wanted our babysitter to be happy with us. I think it you’re talking about a college student, you also might have to pay more.
Also, if the baby is in diapers, that might be more significant than whether there is more than one.
i babysit and i charge $10 for 1 child, $12 for two and $15 for 3 or more. i also offer discount for more than 1 family at a time. i charge a little but more b/c i am older (27) and i have more experience. my neice babysits and she charges $8 per family per hour. so i think it depends on what you can bring and provide for the people you sit for. i have had people tell me my prices are high however most are willing to pay b/c i have lots of experience. your friend can always go cheaper and find someone not as expensive. there are people out there.
Oh my god, what have I been doing…?
No wonder I hate babysitting so much! I get $6. I manage $30 on the best of nights. I walk away feeling totally gypped because kids are a freaking handful and I’m tired and ready to kill something and can’t really do much with the money I got. I’d kill to get $10+/hour.
I charge $9 an hour for one child, and a dollar more for every child after that.
Never thought about it!
Depends on the age of the kid[s] and if you know if your kids are brats, lol. I work in the infant/young toddler room [my job] and I get 9.15 an hour so yea, 10 seems fair to me.
I babysit for free now to give people a break or just to spend time with the kiddos.When I got paid back in the day I got $1- $3,$5 later on and that was wasy back in the 80′s….so long ago that I used the money to buy LP’s! (Boston,Lynyrd Skynyrd,Queen,Kansas) and I still have them.
I think that $10 is a decent price. $50 is nice.
Oh and if the parents are late, they should pay the BS too. I babysat my co-worker’s kid once and they paid me $5 for every half an hour they were late. It was nice b/c some parents take advantage of the sitter and you know, the sitter has places to be or is tired and wants to go home etc. etc.
I’d feel lowballed if I got offered anything less than $20 an hour. Ideally I would be getting $40 an hour. They are watching your child. That’s a pretty important job. You should pay them accordingly for the amount of time you’ll be gone.
If it was a newborn or a toddler I’d say $3-4/hr. But if it was an older kid I’d say $5-10. Depends if the kid is hyperactive or something.
i babysit, an i usually just let them pay me what ever, but if i had to say – 6$ per hour per kid, plus 5 dollars per job if you bring your own games or buy things for a craft that you bring
Sigh, I’m broke poor. But I didn’t want my mom’s foster parents’ daughter to pay me for babysitting overnight for 3 days and two nights. GAH I need a job.
@nattata - And that’s not uncommon to do at least that for a teacher. I get to school at 6:45 AM for before-school tutorials. I stay until about 4:15 PM for after school tutorials, and then from there god knows how much grading and preparation I do at home.
Apparently you aren’t a teacher otherwise you’d realize just how much work it is…
I babysit for an hour every morning at the local Rec Center, and I get paid $10 an hour. That’s actually pretty good, in my opinion.
$0 bring the kid over to the grandparents lol
Over nine THOUSAAAAAAAAND
dollars.
i babysit five kids for about 10 bucks an hour.
$10 is good to me! I am a babysitter and the couple I babysit for pays me $4 / hour. They’re not very well off, so it’s okay, but it’s not something I’d want to make a habit off of. But, y’know, a poor college kid’s gotta do what a poor college kid’s gotta do.
When I babysat, I got $4 an hour… And it wasn’t even that long ago either. Geesh!
I always thought it was ironic that people would pay me $10-12 an hour to watch their children while they paid my husband $75 an hour to work on their computer.
I would love to be a babysitter but no one will hire me. These are my prices:
$6.00 an hour per child (full-time)
$3.00 an hour per child (part-time 20 hours or less)
The people I babysit for give out three dollars per hour.
yay for self sacrifice.
@Slutburger_with_Cheese - Your just trying to stir things up. Just because you pay some one a bunch of money to watch your kid does not mean that they are a good sitter. I have a friend who paid a private daycare $300 a week to watch her 4 month old part time and they had put the babies basinett at the daycare up wrong. It collapsed on the baby and he died. So obviously money means quality.
She is a good mom and never uses a sitter and when she has to for the first time I am sure she will chose the person on their skills and references, not on pay.
Oh and by the way $10 an hour is more than enough for a baby sitter.
@molly_quinne - I think it is about finiding some one who is going to take care of the child and I’m pretty sure that doesn’t have to do with pay. Are you sure you want some one watching your kid when their only motivation is how much you are paying them? This person would only have to give her kid a bottle, put her to sleep, check on her and relax.
Shes a new mom, its her first time needing a baby sitter and it’s so she can go to class while her husband works late. Not so she can go out and night. Your ignorant to be so harsh to some one you don’t know anything about. If you read almost every other comment on this blog it seems as though people think $10 an hour is enough or too much.
idk whats the going rate but I only pay $5 an hour and I tell them that upfront. If that isn’t enough I have many other options who will do it for that. Actually most girls who watch my kid have offered to do it for free in the past because he is so cute and they work with me and love him, but I always say I’ll give them 5 an hour anyway for helping me out.
@greenwoman - We can each have our own opinions on how much a babysitter should be paid. I used to babysit and I know what it entails. Someone who is being paid less money is going to want to give less effort, whereas those who are paid well want to put in the extra mile because it PAYS off.
Perhaps I was too harsh. But I still think that a worthwhile babysitter deserves a better pay than 10 dollars an hour. Keep in mind that most people who have been babysitting for a long time, with lots of references and experience, are going to ask for more than that anyway… because they’re worth it.
depends on the geographic location $12 to $40 per hour depending on age of baby sitter and expectations.
That’s redonkulous. u think 50$ an hour? or 50$ for the night? I used to babysit from 1998 to 2001 and I made 5$ an hour. That I made with a family that had two girls ages 9 and 7. What do I have to do? play with them a little, make sure they go for a bath before hitting bed, make sure they have dinner and that they go to sleep? At most probably read a bedtime story and then I watch tv till the parents get home. Thats silly to be paid anymore. In fact at one house I babysat I took care of 3 kids. and I got paid 3$ an hour. a 5 yr old a 6 yr old and a 9 yr old. She required me to babysit sometimes even when she was in the house. Like a nanny types, to take care of the kids while she was busy doing her work around the house. Even my mom felt 3$ was too little and that mother of 3 was ripping me off since she had 3 kids to take care of. But i honestly never felt I was working and I didnt mind it. I could see by their life how expensive it must be taking care of 3 kids. anywho but I totally agree with ur friend 10$ an hour is way too much. If anything with the economy and money rates changing it should be 6$ an hour in today’s world. But that’s just my opinion.
This is an excellent question. Now I have to figure in inflation and the economy, lol but I see $50-60 as a little high for an evening out. That’s actually more than you’d probably spend for the dinner and a movie.
The most I ever paid my sitters was about $30 however I haven’t needed a sitter that I “had ” to pay for 3 years. if i’ve needed a sitter recently i’ve traded my AZ/bf sitting time. i watch her kids for however long, then she watches mine, works out great, and you don’t break the bank. not to mention our kids are all the same ages.
Also my son just turned 13 so I don’t need a sitter anymore, he’s old enough now for him to “watch” his 8 y/o baby sis. the two is all I have but if all of you are willing to pay$ 50-60 dollars to have someone watch your kid sleep… because most of us do go out after the kiddies are in bed or on their way. that’s on you
however again I will say inflation and if it’s a baby or toddler that’s gonna take a lot of work than yeah maybe…. but still they’d have to be certified and stuff for that. I mean I paid 125 a week for full time sitting when my dd was a toddler. only 5-6 years ago but…
good question, good answers, tough explanations
I dunno….. I guess it would have to be up to the person who is babysitting…..
If it was me, i would first see how rich the person is and what that person is like. But mostly I would do it for free for my parets friends cause i love babies. They are soo adorable and annoying but you can’t do much to them because they are just soo darn cute and helpless…. they bring out the protective side of me.
8?
@abilene_piper_lg - I’m a teacher. That’s why I wondered about your comment.
When I babysit I have my own price per hour. $7/hour for one kid, $10/hour for two kids, $13/hour for three kids. And I don’t go above three kids. And if the parents insist on paying more than that, I decline the offer, unless they’re extremely persistent and won’t drop it.
All I gotta say is that I wish I was into babysitting these days. When I was in high school (which was 10 years ago, but still!), I thought it was a score if I got $10-$15 for a night. Food, college tuition, basically anything hasn’t experienced as much inflation as babysitting!
I think $15 or $20 an hour is reasonable. However, like you, what I usually hear is $50 an hour as the average minimum. So, if she gets a babysitter that will sit with her kids and do what he/she is supposed to do as a sitter for $10 an hour, then she’s getting away pretty cheaply. However, if she wants to take them to a daycare that’d be a lot different. :p
Also, some states require that anyone working as a babysitter have a license to be able to do so. So, I would make sure what the laws are in her state, just to be on the safe side. Trusting someone with your child is very touchy and should never be taken lightly.
For close friends and family I only charge 5$ per hour, per kid. For families I don’t have a close relationship with, $8 per hour for a single child, and $5 per hour more for each extra one. I don’t think that’s unreasonable at all. Babysitting is not an easy job in most cases.
I babysit and nanny for a living. It truely depends on many factors. The age of babysitter/nanny and experience, age of child, where you live (country, city, suburbia), extra work, feedings, bathtimes, how hard are you kids to control/take care of – honestly, animals, outings, driving them anywhere, etc. Although I hate to use these words, they are appropriate: in the end, you truely are paying for what you get. If you want someone who’s level headed, mature, willing to deal with outside conflicts (or drama as some call it that come with your family), one who can address situations, one who is CPR certified, etc, basically someone you truely trust and feel comfortable leaving your child with.) $10 is the norm for one child, a baby is higher maintance and can actually run you higher. Now if they are sleeping for the most part, you might be able to negotiate lower. (Still, can (s)he do well if some one tried to rob you, a stalker (or a problem person in your life) came around, a fire happened, will they check on your child, are they attentive to your child or the tv/phone/music etc. Things happen, the most random things to the most random people. Although we shouldn’t be fearful of these things, they are good to think about and do what we can to ensure the best outcome of these circumstances.)
Typically a teenager is cheaper. And typically get your child happy and asleep pretty fast. Typically someone older is more attentive, detail oriented, experienced and apt to hadle a distressed situation more rationally.
In conclusion find friends or family members if you don’t want to pay those high prices. If you don’t have that choice, that price might be a wiser choice in the end.
HA.
I’d just like to be paid for it period.
Last time I babysat, I got ten dollars. I babysat two children, for five hours!
One kid? Geeze those parents are getting robbed. I usually charge 2.50 an hour/kid But parents of just one or two kids seem to be more generous than that. Seriously, most babysitters don’t do that much. If the parents feel you deserve it, woo hoo!
$50 for a few hrs? you must be loaded…
I understand that watching an infant, and watching a young child are two different things. Nevertheless, when I was watching this kid (12 years old with ADHD), I was getting paid roughly $2.00 an hour. On the other hand, most of the other people I talked to siad they got paid per week. I was initially offered $150 a week, and I was working 5 days a week, 9 hours a day. And someone I know with an infant said that was the running rate for daycare/babysitting. So, I guess if you do the math that’s my input on this.
i get paid 10-15 an hour