What to Pay Babysitter?

The going rate is about $5.00/Hr. But, if you only have one child and she is potty trained, and the sitter is not experienced, then you may be able to go lower--just ask her!

when I was younger I would babysit and I got paid $40.00 that was over nite and I did a lot with the child so base the pay on how the child acts to having her there watching her if the if you were watching the child what do you think you would charge.

I have 3 kids (6,4,7months)and it is very difficult to find a good reliable sitter you can trust. I pay $10 hr. and a minimum of $50. I have to say though that when my husband and I get away we start early and make a long evening of it. I have just found that the better you pay a sitter then the more likely they are to sit again. Kids these days have so much going on with friends and school that it can sometimes be hard to get one to sit.

Hi E.,

I am familiar with the West Akron area as I live in Green. I have encountered this same issue and over the past several years with different sitters and feel that I can give you solid advice.

I think the pay should depend on the age of the sitter, the going rate, how much you can afford, how easy your children are to sit, your relationship with the sitter and her family, and the expectation of the sitter and her family. I don't consider day care rates to be an appropriate factor because 1) day cares care for more children, not just your one or two, which increases their pay and reduces the attention given to each child, and 2) babysitting is only for a few hours versus the 8-10 hours per day, 5 days a week senario of day care. I also don't factor in the pricelessness of a good babysitter - we love our regular babysitter but could not afford to pay her what her services are "worth" to our family as far as being irreplaceable.

With that in mind, for a 15 year old girl who lives in your neighborhood, I would pay her 3-5 an hour depending on your income and her expectations. It could be that she and her family expect the going rate, which is more like 4-6 for one child, 5-7 for two. But if you can't afford that comfortably and would be less inclined to use her with those prices then that's not a good price. If you explain that to her I'm sure she'll agree she would want you to pay her a rate that allows you to use her as much as possible.

I know with our sitter that she accepts a little less from us $6 for our 3 kids aged 5, 3, and baby, because she enjoys her time with our kids as they all get along well, and because that way I use her a couple times a week instead of only a couple times a month.

As for those suggesting $8-10, I can tell you no 15 year old sitter in this area expects that; although they may hope for it!

E.,
In my opinion, I think around $7 is fair. However, if she is an exceptional babysitter, you may want to pay her $8 or up.

J. F

Ouch! I have wondered the same thing and everytime I ask a potential sitter they tell me, whatever you think. Which does not help me at all. They usually watch my kids for me, but apparently I am on the low end. I don't at all think a good sitter isn't worth it, but it isn't easy to afford a night out when you add $50-60 a night for a sitter! If I had more money, I would pay more....but I don't so I can't right now. We pay between $4-$5 an hour for a 13 yr old and $6 for a college student.

My kids don't go to daycare...so what is that hourly rate? My daughter went once for a short time and I was thinking it was around $3 an hour for a toddler. So I guess comparing that it seems to make sense..I don't know. Maybe I'm clueless. Well or maybe I am just blessed to not need sitters much to know. :-)

M.

Hi E.,
I've recently asked this question and the resounding answer was $5/hr for one and $7-$8 for two.
Hope that helps,
J.

My neighbor is about 15, and charges $5/hr for one child. You definitely want a good sitter, and want them to come back, but remember, she probably isn't paying taxes on what you give her so you don't have to pay as much as a "real job", she is right next door so she doesn't need a ride to and from a "real job", and if/when you do have more children, you'll have to increase the rate. I think $5 to start is fair, and if you decide to raise it later, you can always do that. It's hard to go in the other direction. Snacks or pizza and pop are a great incentive, and when your daughter is older, it can also feed her! Have a great night out!

I don't think I ever realized that this was such a big topic. My mother in law watches my son, so thankfully I don't have to worry about that.
I wanted to find a someone who needed a sitter, and I was think around 3-4 dollars an hour.
I guess I have a lot to think about next year, because I am due in December and don't want to leave two children with my mother-in-law and want one to have a sitter.

Hi E.. I was wondering if you were planning on having another baby anytime in the future? I ask b/c if you start too high then you may have a hard time to afford her in the future. I think that $5.00/hour is more than fair and should make her happy. Give her incentives also like pizza money and stuff like that or ask her what her favorite snack foods are so you can stock up before the big night. Also, depending how you feel about it, I sometimes let my sitter bring a friend. It makes it feel like easy money to them as long as you are clear that the attention is to be on Macy. Good luck. Also, good care is priceless and we all wish we could afford more but it has to be reasonable enough so that you can afford to go out and have a sitter.

You really have to pay about minium wage these days. (More if you have more than one child.) It's expensive, but good babysitters are hard to come by. As a high schoholer, she could be working somewhere else and getting minimum wage and regular, steady employment, so you really can't scrimp here if you want her to be available when you occassionally need her.

Depending on your neighborhood, and knowing that a kid can go out and make AT LEAST $5.15 an hour in a steady / consistant job, I would pay 8-10 dollars an hour. It seems like a lot, but you do want her back! Also she may make less per hour at a steady job like at Kroger, but she would also get 15-20 hours a week. In babysitting, it's only a few hours once a week...if you don't call to cancel. So she needs to be paid so that the work is worth it and to keep her from looking elsewhere. Finding a decent sitter was my worst problem when my kids were young. I can sympathize here. If you find a good one, hang on to her! P.

Hi E.! I often wondered the same thing the first time we used a sitter. We have two children (5 and 1.5) and we pay $8/hr. If I had one child I would probably pay $4-$5/hr. My sitter was quite please with what we pay her...she even made reference to it being more than she makes at her fulltime job as a child care assistant, as she only makes $7.50/hr there and is watching 3 children at a time. Good luck with your first time out (w/ a sitter) and have fun!

my son is a freshman and he gets paid 5.00 an hour for one 8.00 for 2 kids......

Hi E.. We have a 2 1/2 year old and pay our sitters 10$ an hour. However, we only use college students and currently our regular babysitter also works at Brendan's daycare (so he loves it when she comes over). She is CPR certified etc. I would probably pay $7-8 for a high school sitters-- has she taken the Red Cross babysitter's training? It is offered by most cities.

I probably pay more than average, but the comfort I get with my sitters is well worth it to me.

I base it on what I pay daycare--it turns out to be $2.50 per hour. Since she is your neighbor, I'd take it up to $3.00/hour. I asked my co-workers and they agree!

Wow! I've been wondering this myself. We've just started using a sitter recently. Usually my mom or my sister-in-law watches them and until very recently it's only been our older two (the baby went with us). I've been reading some of the responses and I was getting ripped off as a teenager, I guess! As an adult, I worked as a full-time nanny for 2 1/2 years with seven kids and I wasn't making anywhere near $35! (I wasn't even making half that and I did everything!)

We have a 13 year old neighbor girl babysit on the rare occasion that we get a sitter. She seems very content with what I pay her. I pay $2/hr per kid, $1/hr if they're asleep (like after bedtime, not naps). It comes out to $4/hr now and $6 once our youngest starts staying, too. We're in a rural area, so there's not much competition, I guess. Sometimes we round up, but I don't want to set a precident that I can't afford. I took into account what I wanted to pay once all three were here and what I wanted to go up to if we have another. I usually stick with the $2/hr, even if we're out past bedtime, but I figure I can resort to $1/hr when asleep if she ever does a late, late night or an overnight for us.

Now, our sitter doesn't have to do anything, but be with the girls. If she does dinner, it's ready for her. She doesn't have to wash up the dishes. She doesn't have to do baths or help with homework. She doesn't even have to get them into bed at a set-in-stone time. All I pay her for is to be with the girls. Sometimes she brings her twin sisters who are a year older than my oldest and they play together. I suppose if I required more, I'd pay more. Something to consider.

Good luck!

L.

A lot depends upon how much the sitter will be doing for you. Cleaning up, baths etc... or literally taking care of your daughter. I'd start with $7.00 per hour and see how it goes especially since you are comfortable with this young lady and would like to keep this on-going. Good Luck!
M.

E.,

$5.00 per hour seems to be the going rate, at least in the Warren area. I know of someone whose neighbor recently went through baby sitter class and they also told the girls that most sitters are making $5.00 an hour.

C.

I pay $3.00 per hour per child here in a rural city in Michigan. It's probably best to ask her what she charges, my daughter is now babysitting and has been asked by several parents. Just remember a good sitter is hard to come by, so hold on to her, it could be a long time before you find another one! Mine will graduate this year, she works in my child care and babysits for my youngest on the weekends occationally. I pay her well, and give her some little pearks every so once in a while!

I have 2 kids and I pay our sitter $10/hr ---- but I know my neighbors pay only $5 (I think this to low)... I think between $8 to $10 would be fair. I know some people who pay up to $12, but this seams high for a high school girl to me.

Hello E.. you are right that it is priceless to find a sitter you trust and takes great care of your child. What I would suggest to pay her for a Saturday evening if it is about five hours or so is around $25. Hope this advice helps.

Most people I know, including myself, pay between $5 and $6 an hour for high schoolers. Since she's younger, I'd say $5 would be fine. When she gets a little older or if you have more kids, you can increase it to $5.50 and then to $6. We've also used college girls, and we pay them $8. Hope this helps and good luck!

~L.

Hi E.! It looks like you do have a great situation and it is so good to get out on a real date sometimes. We have a 16 year old sitter for our 8 month old baby boy and she has already had about three years experience with older kids as well as little ones. Based on that, we pay her about $8/hour. It's worth it to know that your child is in the best hands.

My dtr is 12 and had Red Cross training. We live in Michigan and she charges 2-5 dollars an hour. I think it's a pretty fair rate. She actually babysits for us and we usually pay her $5/hr because she has to watch her sisiter. It's more of our way of giving her a little extra bank money. When she sits for our friends they usually pay her $5/hr too. But, she actually gave some of our freinds money back once because the child went to sleep at 8pm and she got there at 7 and didn't feel right about taking the $40 they tried to give her-she said all she did was watch tv, so they should have to pay her that much. I think if you just talk with the teenager, she'll tell you what she thinks is fair. Just be open with her and tell er you just aren't sure. She'll let you know ;)

Wow. DHS only pays 1.80 an hour for a child under 3. I am not looking to make any profit off from it and I can't charge her any more than what the state pays. I too live in Michigan.

T. V

hi my name is M. I live in Michigan i pay my babysitters that are of that age about 5 dollars an hour because as you know little ones that age take alot of energy i think 5 is fair. She will enjoy the money I am sure of it. I hope this helps. M.

I have a 3 1/2 year old son and we also found a wonderful sitter in our subdivision. We asked her what she wanted per hour and she said whatever we wanted to give her... We have started her out at $4 an hour. Our son is very easy going, he doesn't have seperation anxiety so she doesn't have to deal with a lot, other than playing with him and feeding him. But I will tell you what else I do... Whenever we ask her to sit at the last minute I always give her a little extra. And when she sits for us on New Years Eve, we have our other sitter, who is her girlfriend sit with her and we pay both of them very well for that night. I make sure I remember her Birthday and never forget Christmas :)
I have a 2 month old daughter now though, so I'm going to have to up my pay rate, not sure as to what to though?? I'm thinking $6, but I guess that could be a question I put on this site...
Good Luck!!
J.

Hi E.,

I pay my babysitter $5.00 an hour. It is worth it to me to be able to get out of the house. Also before we allowed her to babysit we asked her to take the babysitter corse through the red cross. It teaches them first aide and child crp. The cost is 25.00 But it helped her to get other clients as well and it gives us a peace of mind. She also made her money back in one day of babysitting for us.