How much do you pay your babysitters?

[Aimeedyan]

I'm quitting my job - I'll make more money babysitting for y'all that pay $10 an hour. I have a bachelors in child dev, written children's curriculum, taught preschool for 7 years, and served as a children's minister. Very well qualified, and lots of fun I'm less than a year from a masters in christian education, emphasis on children, as well.

Any takers?

 

[Dopey Sharon]

I used to get $1 an hour, back when I babysat! One family only paid me .75 (and they had three kids) but they had lots of snacks!

 

[Tink&SquirtsMom]

I don't because if for some reason the grandparents or my sister can't take the kids, I have a teenage brother who loves his neice and nephew and is easily bought off with food. But the going rate around here for 2 kids is $10 an hour. I used to make $12 babysitting one of dh's coworkers 3 children while I was in college.

 

[MUFFYCAT]

7-8th grade get $5-$7 an hour, high school $8-$9. After that $10-$11.
We currently have a college girl in the morning for 2 hours at $11.00 an hour.

 

[Mimi Q]

Saturday night- $10/hour for a high school girl.

 

[abeyst]

$10/hour for 2 kids and our sitters our older teenagers with cars. Our regular one drops everything when we call!

If I was your babysitter making $10/hour, I'd drop everything to babysit for you, too!!

Thanks for all the replies, you guys. It's been a big help. I know what range to pay my babysitter in, and I know where I can get a secondary income!

 

[HappyMommy2]

There seems to be a shortage of good sitters everywhere we've lived. People fight over them (as in "she's MY sitter...if you want to use her, call me first" or when we're new to an area and I ask around about sitters someone will say "well, I don't USUALLY give out her name, but if you promise it's just for that one evening..."). I was shocked by this when I first started needing an occasional sitter for my first child! Maybe the problem is worse because we're military and the military has lots of functions we are supposed to attend (military balls, etc.) so when one of us needs a sitter we all need a sitter that same night! Also our husbands are often deployed so we need sitters for those rare breaks from our kids!

Anyway, in many places, I think a good sitter could pretty much charge whatever he/she wants, and would still get called all the time. We used to live in SoCal and sitters were getting paid $10-15 or more per hour for 1-2 kids regularly. Now we live in a lower cost-of-living area and I pay $6-7/hr for a college girl to watch my two little kids and that's about the going rate.

 

[Dopey Sharon]

I have a question for those who pay different ages different amounts. Why do you pay the younger girls less money? Aren't they doing the same thing as the older girls?

 

[RadioNate]

I'm quitting my job - I'll make more money babysitting for y'all that pay $10 an hour. I have a bachelors in child dev, written children's curriculum, taught preschool for 7 years, and served as a children's minister. Very well qualified, and lots of fun I'm less than a year from a masters in christian education, emphasis on children, as well.

Any takers?

If your near San Antonio

We pay our college aged girls on average between $7-8 an hour. They often stay late night, have their own transportation, they clean up their messes etc. We tend to round so if they got to our house at 630 and we were home by 11 that would be around $40 since we probablly didn't leave right away etc and ds was asleep by 9.

We also do have snacks available but don't order pizza or have meals available.

We also have a friend who is a former nanny and I do pay her a litttle more. I think I gave her $20 for about 3 hours last week but I also feel bad since she's pregnant and due any day now and I know my son ran her ragged.

 

[huey duey & luey]

The only person I have had is my niece and I pay her 10 an hour, plus I usually leave her money to order food if she hasnt eaten. She is the only babysitter I have, and want to make it worth it to give up her sat night, she is almost 16. My kids are usually asleep when she is here, but in case they wake up I want someone here that they are very used to

 

[Cinderellagrl]

I think some of these kids (babysitters) are going to be in shock when they start looking for a full time job & realize they may only get paid $6/hour after making $10/hour babysitting.

 

[DVC-Don]

We were paying $5 per hour up to a couple of years ago. Don't need one anymore.

 

[Tinkerbelle739]

$10.00/hour(2 kids, 5 and 7) for a 17yo girl who lives across the street and works PT at the Y in the after school programs. She is worth the money.

 

[Duchie]

We have a hard time finding anyone who charges less than $8/hr. We've got 3 kids so I expect we'd pay a little more. I had one girl tell me she charged $4/hr PER KID - that's $12/hr for a JUNIOR in high school! I think that's insane, but she gets that much from other families.

 

[lulugirl]

I have a question for those who pay different ages different amounts. Why do you pay the younger girls less money? Aren't they doing the same thing as the older girls?

Well, we've only had family members or our current (college age) sitter watch our children. I have friends that pay more for an older sitter because she takes the kids to the park, cooks them dinner, gives them a bath...you get the picture. The younger sitter (15 yr old neighbor) really just plays w/ the kids while she (mom) goes out for a jog or gets some gardening done.

 

[Pin Wizard]

I've run between $2 and $10 at times. The kids of a friend...who was a single mom at the time also and knew the routine said pay them what I can. Usually $2 an hour while I was taking a class at night. A few times I had one of the "teachers" at DS's former day care center watch him. Her claim to fame was she was a "professional," knew CPR, etc. Didn't use her more than twice!! But I rarely go anywhere these days.

 

[Disney Pal]

$5 hr/ per kid. I have triplets and am paying out the nose!