whats going rate these days for babysitting?

Question

ive got a babysitter lined up for when i go out but i dont know how much to pay her.

she is under 25 and basically when she comes round to babysit- my kids wont be awake, in fact they wont wake up whilst she is there so she will just be sitting and having an easy night.

im not sure how much to pay someone though. i will leave at 7pm and will be back for around 11pm, so its not that late.

she hasnt got experience so shes not qualified childminder or anything.,

can anyone who has a babysitter or who is a bbaysitter plz tell me how much going rate is.

Answer 1

We had a babysitter the other day and payed her £10 for the evening, she is 15 year old with no real experience but she lives next door and her mum was always on hand if there were any problems

Answer 2

The first thing I would do is ask her how much she charges an hour. The reason is if she has a fee in mind and you don't meet that fee, she will never sit for you again.

Also you have to realize that while the kids may not be awake, she is still using her time to be at your house when she could be doing other things. So her time is worth money.

If she tells you whatever you think if fair you might want to consider around 8 an hour as she is 24 years old. If you need someone cheaper you might want to find a 15 year old to babysit.

When I was in my early 20's ten years ago I charged 8 an hour, but I had 3 years preschool teaching experience and was getting my Bachelor's Degree in Child Development. I had CPR and frist aide training as well. This was in the San Jose Bay area too so people pay sitters more there.

Answer 3

My view there is no such thing as a going rate for a evening babysitter. I feel the babysitter should really be telling you how much they charge, rather than you telling them how much you will pay. They are providing you with a service.

Your children are very precious to you and in the event of something happening while you are away, you want to know that the babysitter will be able to cope. Peace of mind is priceless. The most important thing I feel is that your children must get on well with their babysitter, that you must feel confident in the babysitters abilities and thus have no concerns leaving your children in their care. If you are confident in your babysitters abilities and their fee is acceptable to you, plus your children adored your babysitter when they met them, then all parties are happy and you may have the same babysitter for many years to come.

"they won't wake up whilst she is there" - How can you possibly know that? While children may be asleep when a babysitter arrives, anything can happen while you are away. They may have a nightmare, may wet the bed, may have a nose bleed (remember dealing with that as a babysitter), have an illness, stop breathing! Something could go wrong in the house, water leak, power cut, fire... anything could happen.

In my view, many parents these days will try to hire a babysitter with experience and with childcare related qualifications, regardless of the children's ages. Peace of mind as I said earlier is priceless.

Answer 4

I live in a mid-sized city and I work at a child care center with University students who are studying to be teachers. They babysit and make about $10 (which I think is a LOT of money... I used to be happy making $3 when I was a kid!)

My daughters have just started to babysit and they would be happy getting about $5 an hour. But they're very young, and your sitter is older so I would go with somewhere between $5 and $10.

Answer 5

I charge $25.00 for 3 hours and $6.00/hour + an additional $2.00 per child over 2 kids, but it depends on the family and hours. I would only charge like $4.00 an hour after 11pm because you are right I am not really doing anything, BUT like a Saturday from 5p-3a for a family of 3 would run about $50-$60 I am also certified and trained too!

Answer 6

I have been babysitting for 10 years now. I currently charge 8-10 an hour for 1 kid 12 for 2. I am also expireneced and do projects and stuff with the children. I would pay anywhere for 6-8 an hour for someone who is unexpienced. =)

Answer 7

I used to nanny 6 kids and when the parents were out late i wouldnt ask to be charged my day fee because of the fact that the kids were sleeping. They would pay me $8/hr. The only time they would pay me more if the kids were sick and would be awake or if they asked me to do some light house duties while they were gone. Dishes from supper etc. But i think $8 is more than fair.

Answer 8

You're trusting this person with your children, so you need to pay accordingly.
I would go with whatever the minimum wage is in your area and add a bit -- at the very least. My sitters all work for a university day-care, and I pay them what the day-care pays them, about $8 an hour. If I can afford it, or it was short notice, I try to give them a little more.

Answer 9

My babysitter typically sits for me from 6:00PM to 11:00PM and she gives my toddler dinner and sometimes a bath and puts her to bed. I pay her $8/hour and I live in the Baltimore/DC metro area. I'm 38, and when I babysat as a kid, I got maybe $5 at most to sit for 3 kids, so the rates have definitely gone up. :)

Answer 10

I charge 6 dollars an hour. or you can say 10 cents a minute, that's only because parents would tell they would be home at home,if i was babysitting from like, 5:00pm-11:00pm at five dollars an hour. and they come back at like 11:45pm and say they don't owe me another five,because it wasn't an whole hour,i've been late to alot of things,because of parents like that.so now,they would really owe me another four dollars and fifty cents for that. you can try that.