What's the going rate for a babysitter?

Question

I have twin 2 year old boys, both in diapers, what should I pay a 16 year old neighbor to babysit per hour?

Answer 1

I have four kids and I know its too expensive to pay a babysitter for my 7 month old, 2 , 4 and 6 year old so we sadly, just dont go out without our kiddos. I would consider the time of day you are leaving, how long you will be gone, as well as the energy level of your children. I think you should pay more for day hours and less at night if the kids will be asleep most of the time. I have heard anywhere from 3-5$ per hour per child! I really think if your sitter is good and the kids like her/him then you will want to pay more so she doesnt find a better babysitting job somewhere else. Your sitter will be available much more often if the pay is good! Also if you can keep things as simple as possible for her, then she may not need to work so hard and you can pay less. Have fun and enjoy getting out!!!! With 2 y/o twins, I'm sure you really need some time away!

Answer 2

I pay appx 8$ an hour for an 18 year old cousin to babysit my kids, Im about to hire a new sitter who is CPR and first Aid certified, and has also taken some early childhood development classes and pay 12$.

What I would suggest is, think about how long you are going to be gone, if you are going to be out for 5 hours. For twin 2 year olds, Id suggest 30-40$ would be fair. Given the girls age, itd be enough for her to enjoy the money, and hopefully wont break your wallet.

How much would you want to baby sit your own kids if they werent yours?

Answer 3

For twin two year olds ( what a handful!) I would expect to pay at least $5. an hour. You want to be able to use the babysitter again so you should make it worth their while. And provide plenty of snacks.

Answer 4

i always asked for $2/hour/child, but that was almost 8 years ago. i'm not sure what the rates are, and i guess it all depends on where you live, cuz around here, the rates are much higher. most of the babysitters around here are making almost as much an hour as burger king employees, around $7/hour sometimes that's per kid too.....so i say talk to the girl's parents and see what they think will be reasonable. or just go straight to her and tell her you can't pay over $X and see if she will take it.

Answer 5

Depends on whether its a periodic couple of hours here and there or a regular job.

We pay our periodic babysitters $5/hour for 3yo and 4mo.

When we had a regular sitter coming every Friday and Saturday for 3-4 hours per night we paid her $100/month (that was back when we had just one kid, so we probably would have paid more for 2).

Answer 6

2 dollars an hour per child is what i charged

Answer 7

probably about 7 dollars an hour

Answer 8

about $2.50 a hours. or maybe 3 dollars a hour because sometimes toddlers can be a handful