How much do you pay........

[gemjoy]

your babysitter per hour???? MIL has always watched the kids (9 & 10) if DH and I go out for the evening ~ or away for the afternoon. She's getting up there in age (77) and although she LOVES to have the kids and we don't go often... sometimes we feel like it's a bit too much for her. We've found a great girl that the kids adore... she spent the afternoon with them last weekend and they had a blast!!! They had a picnic, went for a bike ride... I'm not sure what the "going rate" is??? TIA!!!

 

[rbork]

Enjoy your MIL! We have no family to babysit and pay the "Washington Rates" LOL 8$ an hour! I have DS6 and DS8 - they are pretty self sufficiant. Parents today have to compete with the Babysitter's sports schedule, boy or girl friends and other jobs. It's hard to even get one and let alone keep the same one. Hours add up too. Figure in driving time, dinner price and babysitter and your up to $120 a pop.
Good Luck and wishes to your MIL to stay healthy, able and willing to babysit for you!

 

[juliegirl]

Depends on where you lives and how old this girl is. If she is a high schooler earnineg spending $, 5-6/hr is probably about right. If she is college, earning tuition $, 8-10/hr.

Adjusted for location of course, a small town in GA would warrant a smaller fee than NYC or Boston.

It'll cost ya, that's for sure, but you can;t put a price on security and if she is really good with your kids, a premium fee will keep her loyal to your family, so you don't lose her services to other families in the area that might pay more.

You could always ask her, it may seem awkward, but like I said, a good sitter is hard to find and is worth (almost ) any price!

 

[CheapMom]

It is about $10/hour around here. Needless to say we don't get out much. Also depends on how many kids and if there are diapers involved. 2 kids ages 9 and 10 shouldn't be too hard. You could probably pay less because it will be an easy job.

 

[patrenoe]

We have paid at least 15.00 an hour for a cpr certified nanny. I would not or could not leave my child, neice or grandneice with anyone that did not have these qualifications. It is so worth any expenditure we occur.

 

[welovedis]

We pay approx $8-10 per hour for our one son (8 yo). Our sitter is certified in First Aid & CPR, and is a lifeguard so we are as safe as we can get with her. That said, we don't get out very often due to schedules and the fact that we do a babsit-swap with some friends to avoid going broke over date night!

 

[kpk89]

We pay $10-15/hr depending on the time ... she's in high school, has her own transportation (that's the BEST part, other than that the kids absolutely adore her.) We've got 2, 4 &6 yr olds. She'll be graduating soon, and we'll have to start over with a younger sitter with no wheels, and we'll start at about $7.

Funny story -- the first time we hired this sitter, dh asked her what she charges. Like most sitters in my experience, she said that she takes whatever the family pays her. So dh starts regaling her with the stories of back in the day when he used to get $1/hr for babysitting. She promptly spoke up and said that $5/hr is what most families pay her.

 

[jenr812]

We pay $10-15/hr depending on the time ... she's in high school, has her own transportation (that's the BEST part, other than that the kids absolutely adore her.) We've got 2, 4 &6 yr olds. She'll be graduating soon, and we'll have to start over with a younger sitter with no wheels, and we'll start at about $7.

Funny story -- the first time we hired this sitter, dh asked her what she charges. Like most sitters in my experience, she said that she takes whatever the family pays her. So dh starts regaling her with the stories of back in the day when he used to get $1/hr for babysitting. She promptly spoke up and said that $5/hr is what most families pay her.

Cute story

 

[pyrxtc]

well we are on the path that pays $3 an hr plus a $1 more each kid past the first and an extra $1 for one in diapers. That brings me to $7 or $8 depending wether or not we have all 4 kids or not.

 

[ceecee]

We pay $3.00 an hour around here for high school age kids. My day time sitter is a lady who has been sitting for years (60ish) charges $2.50/hr and includes hot lunches and breakfast if they come that early.

 

[chop456]

In Wisconsin, I pay $5/hour to my High School Sitter. I also pay $5/hour to my childcare-providing cousin each Monday (8 hours/day). It seems like so little to pay her, so I always round up the amount, let her do laundry anytime, invite her for dinner 2/times week and we recently bought her a cell phone.

 

[DisneyObsessive]

i used to babysit in high school and do now if someone needs me (in college now, just finished my first year). I never ask for a specific amount, but usually im offered about $10 an hour.

 

[Swimnoid]

We pay $3.00 an hour around here for high school age kids. My day time sitter is a lady who has been sitting for years (60ish) charges $2.50/hr and includes hot lunches and breakfast if they come that early.

WOW! I got more than that in the early 70s!

 

[Wendy*Darling]

we pay around $8/hour for 2 kids.

 

[marcyinPA]

I pay my sitter $5 an hour. She's 14, my kids are 10 and 6, plus we have a puppy and he probably is more work than the kids!

We live in N.Eastern PA, close to Philly and NYC. I'm pretty sure that $5 is the going rate.

 

[BrinxFam]

Around here things vary alot! I keep my nephew and only charge my DB and DSIL $15 per day. They chose to add on $25 for food and extras. I would actually keep him free of charge if I had to just to know he is safe and well taken care of.
I work at a church run Mother's Day Out program and we are CPR/First aid certified and have had background checks. One of my co-workers does private sitting and charges at least $10 an hour. She charges more for night hours and overnight jobs.
In conjunction with our MDO program we have a Parent's Night Out program two Friday nights a month (5-10 p.m.) so that parent's can enjoy a night out and know that their children are being cared for in a loving and safe environment. The cost of the PNO program is $12 for the first child and $10 for each child after that.
Just remember that as with most things, you get what you pay for so be prepared to pay for quality child care. $2 or $3 an hour just doesn't seem fair to me. At least make it minimum wage.

 

[aka-mad4themouse]

We pay $3.00 an hour around here for high school age kids. My day time sitter is a lady who has been sitting for years (60ish) charges $2.50/hr and includes hot lunches and breakfast if they come that early.

Wow! You'd never get a high school kid to work that cheaply around here! My DD15 charges $6/hr for one potty-trained child. It's more if there are multiple children and/or diaper changes involved. She also gets extra if she has to cook them a meal and clean the dishes. Last week, a couple paid her $50 for what amounted to 4 hours with the kids. Around here, you pay the babysitter really well if she's good. There's too much competition for the good ones.

 

[jackskellingtonsgirl]

I am a CPR/First Aid certified professional nanny with 11 years experience. I charge $10 per hour for the first child, $2 more per hour for each additional child. Maximum of 4 children, if there is more than one family then each family is responsible for the rate of their children separately. 3 hour minimum, 24 hour cancellation policy. I don't typically do overnights for anyone other than my full time employers.

I have newborn experience which is sometimes difficult to find with younger sitters. I don't charge extra for diapers (I figure they come with the territory). Most of the time when I sit the kids have already had dinner, or we order in. I'm not much of a cook.

 

[califred]

I have two kids one in diapers and pay the teenager 6/hour and the adult 10/hr

I am fortunate to live on a Military base and be able to use the drop in center on base for 2.50/hr for my youngest during the day if I need to. It is a fully certified center that others use for ft daycare.

My Mom is a Nanny with 24 yrs experience and she gets 10-15/hr for kids if it's outside of her normal working hours.

 

[Miss Kelly]

I get paid $8 an hour when I care for a 3 year old and (2) 7 year old twins. I'm a college student(but not for much longer! ).