What is the appropriate amount to pay a babysitter ?

Question

I have three boys 2,4,11. My husband and I have always had family to watch our children when we went out, but recently we moved away from our family. We have never had to pay a babysitter before, and we are not sure what we should pay them.
In the community where we are now living there is a program through the High School. The kids are raising money for a class trip to Washington, so we decided to use them, they babysit in pairs, and they say the rate is up to us, We don't want to be cheap and we don't want to go over board either. We asked them what they other parents usually pay them, but they wouldn't tell us. We have used them once for a couple of hours and they seem to be good with my kids and my kids like them. We paid them five dollors a piece an hour and then my husban gave them each five a piece for their pockets. Does that sound right, my mom says we paid them do much, and I'm worried we didn't pay enough,

Answer 1

i would say about $7-10 an hour

Answer 2

I was a teenage popular babysitter In my sorta small town I grew up in. I had parents reserving ahead of time. It all kept me so busy sometimes I had to say no! so speaking from the very experienced babysitter. Sometimes I had up to 6 or more at a time ; especially holidays b-days ect.... I 15 or so years ago charged 2$ per child per hour . I feel like even though it's been a few years that is still a resonible price still today. Afterall they are young adults ;some not even old enough for employment. (13 or older). These guys are learning responsibility, and gaing trust within there community. They should consider it a priveledge .; that should be earned; meanwhile the best rewards are the ones gained, by gaining respect of those around you. The money is a fringe benefit . two dollars a child if you think about it is 6$ an hour. Better than minimum wage. Some of should consider babysitting is a profitable business. You did spend more than you probably had to; but considering the situation School Project & all that you were right In what you did. I can see why in that case you might be generous. thanxs tink

Answer 3

Take the obvious solution and contact the other parents in your area.. You do not say where you are from, - the rates in NYC will be different than in Sydney Australia or Bombay India.. We do not know if you are talking aussie dollars or NZ dollars etc... no joke, but this is a pretty international forum.

For example, in my village, labor rates are about $4 a day - this is a living wage.. going rate.. it is just a different economy here, but since there is no high school here, and nobody else speaks English - my guess is you are not living here..

Ok - joking aside, you are very nice to be so concerned, but ask the kids who else they have worked for, which you should have done for the sake of references anyway and then contact those people. At your rate of pay, they are making $7.50 an hour - What does a local fast food place pay? Best of luck..

Answer 4

They are probably trying to be too polite. They feel rude asking for money for a job well done like most well-mannered people do.

Your mother recognises a different value for $5 than you do :)

Of course this is a bit of a generation gap thing, so dont fret about that.

You should probably ask the High school to do a survey of all these kids to see what they get for pay and whether they felt it was enough etc. Otherwise there really is no set pay rate for a favour.

Perhaps also give them job references if you liked them they may appreciate this later on when they need a job.

Answer 5

i think that if it is going to be a long time say 6 hours and up i would pay 3 bucks an hour and keep it at 5 bucks for pocket money nomater how long u stay out and if u are gone only 1 or 2 hours 5 bucks an hour.
i think u did pritty good.
i get 3 an hour and i have a partner and he also gets 3 plus its only 1 kid.

Answer 6

For 3 kids that age, I'd say a good amount would probably be somewhere in the 10 dollars an hour range, or if ure looking for a set amount, maybe somewhere in the 50-75 dollar range depending on how long u plan on being gone.

Answer 7

i would say with 3 kids any where from $5 to $7 an hour for their field trip money. and yes it doesn't hurt to slip them a few dollars more for them self so maybe when you do need them after the field trip is over you have 2 possible babysitter.

Answer 8

We pay our babysitter $10.00 per hour for prearranged hours, and $15.00 for last minute hours. We have a 3.5 yr old and a 13 month old. We usually pay extra on weekends because our sitter will change her plans for us. You paid them about right, with three kids, we probably would have paid a little more, especially if diaper duty is necessary. Dependable, reliable sitters are sometimes hard to find, so we pay to keep ours happy. (You always pay more for fundraisers anyway, so in my book, you were in line with what the average probably is.)

Answer 9

I think that it was very fair of you to give to the fundraiser and separately for their time. I personally would have given them each at least a couple of dollars above minimum wage and let them know that your children are priceless and you appreciate their being there for them. Too often babysitters are not paid enough.

Answer 10

because there is 3 and 2 of them are really young you should pay the sitter a lot. it depends on how many people are sitting at once. 5 an hour seems reasonable for more than 1 sitter.

Answer 11

LISTEN TO ME. I know what I am talking about! I would say you paid them a fair price. Typically babysitting is not like other jobs. There is no minimum wage. The "going rate" is (on average) $2.00/hr. per child. Counting the "pocket money" you gave them, the amount paid was adequate. No more, no less.