babysitter pricing??

[sbdw]

Could someone please give me an idea of what the going
hourly rate for a babysitter? My wife and I are going out for
dinner for valentine day and I would like to know what to
expect. We've gone out before but have alway used
family, but we can't this time.

 

[Rubbertops]

We pay $5 an hour for 2 kids. The sitters in our area seem very happy with this rate. (Our sitters are usually 13-15 years old)

 

[momtwo4]

It really depends on your area. We pay $10 an hour and we are in Ohio. Many of our friends pay $5/hr for girls who are in highschool.
Have a nice date!

 

[Think_Tink_Think]

Where I'm at in Florida (Jacksonville) I always get paid $10-$12 per hour to babysit.

 

[beattyfamily]

IMHO, it really depends on where you live, how many kids there are and how old/experienced the babysitter is.

Up here in the Boston area, for babysitting my two girls, a teenager charged $10. per hour and an experienced college student charged $15. per hour.

 

[TaraZ]

I'm in Northern NJ... I pay my sitters anywhere from $10-12 per hour to watch my 2 y.o. DD. I use college students only though-- I think HS students are a bit cheaper.

 

[kaleighmariesmom]

we used a college student who charged us $12. I thought that was a lot..

 

[ahill004]

I live in Maryland and we pay $10/hour. That is for someone aroudn college age with experience and usually infant and child CPR trained. Our two favorite sitters reguarly charge $12/hour but since they have been with us since our youngest was a newborn they still charge $10. For now.

 

[daisyduck123]

I also live in Maryland.
My DD13 (high-school freshman) gets $8.00/hour when she watches the 9yo. girl next door.

 

[sbdw]

We live in Naples, Florida
Our daughter is 11 months old and
the babysitter is a senior in college.
I think $10-12 sounds reasonable.
Right?

 

[Harlie]

Maybe I am cheap but I think its more because our sitter eats us out of house when she is over. We pay her $10/hour for all three kids, but that includes pizza supper. After she has the kids in bed she will eat and eat and eat! She will in one night eat 1/2 a box of granolo bars. half a gallon of ice cream, a ton of freezes and she will stuff the wrappers in our couch. She is really good with our kids and the $10/hour rate was what she quoted us. She just comes from a family that doesn't have those treats too often and gorges herslef when over. DH and I don't go out to often now though lol!

 

[scrapnmom]

For one child and your sitter is in college I think $10/hr would be perfect.

 

[TaraZ]

I think that $10-12 an hour sounds reasonable... we visited Naples last year, and our hotel sitter charged $15 an hour (which is always higher than "going" rate). And if you feel like you are underpaying, dinner is always a good bonus (my sitter loves that I always feed her!!!)

Have a great night out-- where are you going to eat?

 

[ilisao]

We're in Maryland and we pay our babysitter $10/hour to watch 2 kids. She's a HS senior, but we've been paying her that for a couple of years.

 

[sbdw]

Thanks everyone for their opinions. Sounds like
I was on target. We're going to a restaurant called
Chop's. Its a asian flare steak house. One of those
places you go maybe once a year. We're really looking
forward to it

 

[Kae]

Thanks everyone for their opinions. Sounds like
I was on target. We're going to a restaurant called
Chop's. Its a asian flare steak house. One of those
places you go maybe once a year. We're really looking
forward to it

We pay $5 for 2 kids. My sitter is 14. Or you could just drop them off at my mom's she is in Naples & call my kids almost daily. Misses them. Is Chop's the place owned by the same group that owns Yabba? I think my parents went there & said it was very good.

Kae

 

[TaraZ]

Wow-- $5 an hour! That's a bargain!

 

[Kae]

Wow-- $5 an hour! That's a bargain!

I know I always hope it enough. I always ask how much the Babysitters charge when I call & they say I don't know whatever. I wish a few of them would get together & set rates. it would be helpful.

Kae

 

[TaraZ]

Oh, I know! Around here the going rate is 10-ish, so I tend to round up when I pay and provide a tasty meal to guarantee she'll come back!

Though, to be fair, when I used to babysit as a teen, I rarely told my families what to pay me!

 

[stepnut]

Whoa! $10! That's outrageous!!!

I pay $6/hr for my 2 kids, ages 7&9. The sitters are usually 8th-9th graders. By the time the sitter gets here, (say around 6:30ish) both kids are already fed, cleaned, and done with chores and homework, and often already in jammies. They go to bed at 8-8:30. There are no baths, no diapers, no homework, no chores to oversee. They are well behaved and they are a ton of fun. They go to bed with no hassle.

The sitters have it pretty easy over here. And I never have a hard time finding a sitter. I'm the jr hi sunday school teacher to a class of 40 girls, and I have a list of sitters as long as my arm!