Fair Rate for Babysitting

I'd say $10 is fair for up to two kids. More kids than that, charge more. We pay $15/hour for two kids for experienced, adult sitters, but we're in California (where everything is more expensive).

I am in a suburb outside of Boston (about 45 minutes away) and am paying my sitter $12.50 per hour when she does full days, so $100 for 8 hours and $50 for 4 hours. When she comes just in the morning for a little over an hour to get the boys to school, I pay her $20. She is 19 and in college with experience working at a pre-school. Her normal rate is $15 - 20 per hour but she agreed to the lower rate because it's worth it for her to work FT for a single family over the summer instead of cobbling together a bunch of families who only need a few hours here and there. Plus, my kids are older (9 & 11) so it's a pretty easy job for her.

In my recent searches for sitters, the average rate most gave me was $10 - $15 per hour. I had one woman whose expectation was $25 per hour. Needless to say, I didn't hire her LOL.

Around here it is 10 unless you have more than 2 kids then they have this sliding scale. My youngest is a teen so no sitters for me.

So far as jobs go my daughter worked for Dewey's pizza during college. They had locations in Cincinnati where she went to school, here when she was home. She was an amazing worker so they never wanted her to leave. So I am saying if it is the seasonal nature of her employment that is stopping her perhaps she should look at employers that employ you both at home and at school.

First, I know how hard it can be to find a job just for the summer. You have to get on it well before summer gets here. My oldest turned 16 this year and have not had luck finding jobs. The main reason is because they waited. It has less to do with their experience and more to do with timing. In my area, $10 to 15 is the going rate. A full week, full time is about $200/$250 a week (pays regardless of 40 hours etc). Of course, it could be more depending on number of kids and hours. One of my girls has a babysitting job twice a week for $20 a day. You may want to suggest your daughter contact the park district to see if they need any camp counselors or other help. That was one my kids never thought of.

Our daughter was paid $10. per hour for one child and $2.50 for each added child.

Pet sitting was usually was $20. per day. She would go for an hour in the morning and again an hour in the evening. She fed and watered the dog and also played with the dog.

She also house sat.. That was about $25. per day.. But she got to live in the house the entire time. Pool, Pets, pick up mail and newspapers.. AND then they always gave her a very generous tip.

Your post is a great reminder for parents of younger kids to be sure that their children do part time work through high school so they don't get in the bind your daughter is in.

She'll probably find that $10 an hour is pretty standard, but also that a full day rate is not going to be that much per hour. It's ridiculous how little we pay day care workers in this country, but day care centers and family day care providers make it up, at least a little, in volume by having more children in a licensed facility. There are economies of scale.

Your daughter might make more if she were qualified to do additional things like giving swimming lessons or teaching dance. Same with tutoring for summer school kids who need review and skills work. Those are things that parents pay for separately, so a combination plan without the hassles of parent transportation might help her add to her hours. If your daughter can drive kids to activities or take them to museums, she can charge extra for her gas and the convenience it offers the parents - she'll have an advantage over high school kids with restricted licenses. But she needs to get going because school is out and many parents have already hired college kids who've been out for a month.

My son started pet sitting at age 10, and he kept expanding to include more people and more services for vacationing or overburdened neighbors. He mowed lawns, watered gardens and flowers, pulled weeds, spread bark mulch, brought in mail and packages, took out trash and recycling, emptied dehumidifiers, cleaned up storm damage (branches, etc.).

The professional dog walkers/pet sitters in our area charge $15 for the first visit, and $10 for additional visits during the day. That includes walking or playing, some sort of interaction and socializing, as well as feeding and giving medications. A lot of college kids and vet students do house sitting during vacations, something a teen or tween couldn't do. They charge extra for that of course. You could very simply call a few pet sitters in your area to inquire about rates, or ask your neighbors/friends what they do.

A lot of people who have their kids in family day care may be looking for help during a week or do that day care is closed for the provider's own vacation.

The friends who want her to babysit probably know the current rates and if you ask a few of them (or better, have your daughter do it), it will be evident if there's a pattern to rates.

If your daughter has office skills and facility with MS Office, she may also be able to temp. Her lack of experience might be a problem, and it would certainly conflict with daytime babysitting, but if she has enough of a professional demeanor and wardrobe, it might be another option.

That is very geographic specific. I paid $12.00 / hour for a 7 year old and not potty trained 2 year old. I expect $10-$12 these days for a 9 and 4 year old who use the potty.

Pet sitting - what does she mean? I have a cat and paid for a pet sitter to come into my house for years when I am on vacation. Pet sitter comes once per day for about 30-60 minutes to play with cat if she wants to play, clean two litter boxes, clean water and food dishes, put clean water out and add to food as needed (dry food). My cat also gets a daily pill - but she has been doing it for years and doesn't fight it. I pay $8/day for this service. I would expect that pet sitting a dog that needed to be walked several times per day would be more expensive.

Good luck!

I haven't hired one in a while, but when I see them advertised in our neighborhood on our website for area it's around $10/ hour.

Now a friend of mine looks after our other friend's child and gets paid $25 a day. And the local daycare here is just over $30/day.

So if she was babysitting for families during the day - she might want to charge a flat day fee because no one would pay $80 say for a full day (8 hours).

Good luck to her :)

It depends on the number of kids and the ages.

A 5 and 8 year old is about $10 an hour around here. Now she can charge more, but should plan on not being called on as much. There are so many cheap camps for this age that the parents will not pay as much for a sitter. Age 4 and under I would charge more as a babysitter.

In my area, $10/hr is pretty standard.

I pay $15/hour for my two kids and I've always lived outside of major metro areas. I paid $10 when I only had one.

I hire college aged and older sitters who drive. If I had to hire a high school or junior high aged kid who needed to be driven home, I'd probably lower the rate a little. Having a sitter who can get himself/herself to and from the job is worth paying more for, in my opinion.

Around here, $10/hour for one child, and $12-15 for 2+ kids.

When I was in school, I became certified to be a lifeguard. As I had always been on swim team, it wasn't difficult from a skills perspective, and didn't take that long to complete the certification. Anyhow, even 20 years ago, I was making $15/hour to be a lifeguard and teach swimming lessons. I understand the job pays more now. The hours are good, and I always returned to school with a great tan! ;) It's probably a bit late for this year, but it's something she should consider for next year.

It depends on your area. My 20 year old has babysat for years for the same 4 families in our neighborhood.

They have 1-3 children each. Around here, when you find a good sitter who is active with the children, people will outbid for services. My daughter babysits at least 1 night a weekend.

She's never set a rate but she averages more than $10/hr. She's never been paid less than $100 on a weekend night and a couple of the families pay more because they want her more often.

This summer she's also doing an unpaid internship with an entrepreneur and representing them a events. Great opportunity but no $$$.

She also works with me part time with our company learning about our business and is on my payroll.

I pay my house/pet sitter $25/1hour visit twice a day when we are away and $40/overnight.

Again, it depends on your area and the going rate in your area. I'd say here it is an average of $10/ hour