My daughter just turned 5 and we've never used a babysitter outside of daycare or family.
I have become good friends with a lady at work who has a couple teenage daughters. My daughter & I have been to their house & met her daughters. So, I'm thinking about offering to let them babysit for me occasionally, especially the younger teen (14 years old I think?). The oldest is out apply for "real" jobs already :)
So, my question is - how much do teenagers get paid per hour to watch a 5 year old? Maybe $5?
It wouldn't be overnight, and may or may not include a meal. Probably would want to base amount on them not feeding her & perhaps leaving extra if I know they are going to feed her?
I would probably have her babysit on a weekend for a few hours for me to have a break :) And probably to clean the apartment LOL
Thanks for your tips mamas :)
Thanks for all of the input! I will discuss it with them, including their mom, but now I have an idea of what other people pay too :)
If I plan to be cleaning the apartment while my daughter is being taken care of, I will most likely take my daughter to their house. So no driving on their part would be required. Youngest isn't old enough to drive either :)
No idea when we will try this, but I feel more prepared now! Thanks ladies!
whatever you pay needs to be the same regardless of whether she has to put some food on the table. she has to be there regardless. I always laugh when I read the answers from moms who think they should not really pay because the babies are sleeping. really thats a joke. the sitter has to be there regardless. its not her fault your going out at night why should she be penilized?
It does have something to do with your area as far as rates. That said, I have a 16 yr old who regularly babysits for about 3-4 families on our street.
She averages $12-14 and hour CASH for appx 6pm-1am. She has babysat for a couple of the famliies all day 11am-1am and received $120 cash.
Again, it depends on your area.
You get what you pay for the the good sitters get snapped up real quick and they stay with the families who take care of them.
When we were using sitters for weekly date nights, we guaranted $40 just in case we had to cancel, etc. Then we added on top of that. Our weekly date nights were $60-80 CASH.
I always charged $5.00 for one kid, and an extra $2 for every kid after that, with a minimum of $20. Lol. So, I would get $20 if I baby sat for 4 hours or less, and an extra $5 an hour after that (for one kid...) Meals were usually included if it was that time. I never charged extra for feeding them, because I was getting fed too so that was my 'extra pay'. :) I didn't mind getting a check from someone I knew (the ladies at my church, for example) but If I don't know them well I always required cash.
$5 doesn't get you much nowadays....i would say $8, but depends on where you live too
We do $7-$8 hour with a round up to the nearest ten to give her a little tip. Baby-sitters are expensive. If they are driving to you in their own car then definitely $10 or more per hour (or give them a specific gas allowance on top of the hrly. pay to cover mileage). I would never ask a baby-sitter to clean house/apartment, just concentrate on the child care and pick up only what is being used for that need. Cleaning has a another price list all together.
I definitely think the age of the sitter matters as far as price. The girl we use is 12 almost 13 yrs old and we pay her $5/hr for my 2 kids who are 4 and 2. We are typically gone 4-5 hrs. Her mom drops her off and we drive her home. If she was older and was driving then I could see paying her more. I think for a preteen babysitting for an evening and making $25 is exciting to them. A teenager who has lots of experience really considers it a job and deserves a few more $$ an hour. It would be a good idea to have a talk with the girls to see what they are expecting so they don't feel jipped.
I think $5 is reasonable, but you should actually discuss it with her mom. I had a 13-year-old watch my boys at her home (our music pastor's daughter) and she has a 3-year-old sister there as well. I talked to her mom first about possibly having her babysit and then what her mom was comfortable with for her daughter earning. Parents have a say in employment at that age and might prefer that their kids not get overwhelmed with what is more money than they are used to. Her mom might also have some stipulations, such as when and where she could babysit.
I pay someone $7 right now for my two kids for a few hours at a time (usually someone in college or a friend) but it is cash each time. Once we have our third I will probably pay about $8. I round up, so when it is normally about 3 hours, maybe a hair more, I pay $25, so it amounts to a wee bit more but I like to keep things easy. I've babysat for anywhere from $5 to $10, depending on the family. I never set my own rate. The most kids I've watched were 4 or 5 for $8/hour. Some of them were school-age, though, so needed very little supervision. You could ask some moms in your area though because as several people have pointed out, babysitting rates vary by location, sometimes even within a city depending on where you live.
This is a very regional question. In KS the going rate is 5 per hour. In HI it is more like 9.
I think $5 an hour to watch a 5 year-old sounds right. But obviously this varies with location, so you might want to ask some neighbors or friends what they pay in your city.
We have 3 kids and pay our sitter $10/hour, she's in her early 20's.
$10 an hour is what we pay a babysitter when we use one which is few and far between. I prefer to stay home with our son. I pay well because I want to make sure he is taken care of. They don't fees him a meal unless I order pizza for them an I just have them set the dishes in the sink. Hope this helps.
We pay $10 an hour for our 3 & 5 year olds, but the sitters are 19-20 and drive to our home. We always provide a pizza for the kids and sitter too.
Had the girl across the street twice and she is 14/15 and we paid $8 an hour
We want them to be sure to treat it like a real job that is VERY important. And we want them to keep coming back!!
Wow, babysitting has gone up you all live, hasn't it!?
My opinion is definitely different from the others.
One kid= $4/hour tops. Is she easy to take care of or a handful? I'd go up or down from that fee based on my kid.
3 kids= $6 or $7 an hour, depending on good the sitter is.
Teenagers are mostly in high school and are looking for easy money tax free. You'd be surprised to learn that many will do it for $3/hour. Especially if they like your kids.
Every sitter I've used in my community charges between $3 and $4 an hour for one kid.
