Babysitting rates

W~T~9/15/06 · November 2013

I have a 1 & 3 yo, this is our first time paying a babysitter. She's a college kid who has to drive a ways to our house. She'll be here about 6 hours (7p-1a). My 1yo goes to bed at 8:30 and my 3yo by 9-10. How much should I pay her? Thanks in advance!

allardr · November 2013

I do $10/hr (one kid) so 11-12/hr for two and maybe a little extra since that is very late. I don't pay for gas, I figure it's up to them to make the decision if the pay is worth the commute (like all of us to when taking a job).

*It is very much by area though! we just moved here (Iowa) and the babysitter said her rate was $7/hr. I just found that to be horribly low so I paid more. I like to make them happy I figure they'll put more effort in then and want to continue to sit for you.

cmytutu · November 2013

$14.00 / hr. includes gas.

SunAndRain · November 2013

I pay $10-$12/hr for our one toddler. I've read that each kid is an additional $3.

The gas and travel thing is hard. One of our baby sitters lives a ways away and I don't pay her for these things.

But I do round up, and I always pay a full hour even if we get home early, so they always get paid more. (so if we were gone 3.5 hours, I'd figure 4 hours at $12, which is $48 and we would round up to $50...which is $14/hr).

I only use experienced babysitters. I tried training a young girl who was my "mom's helper" for a while and though she was awesome and would make an outstanding baby sitter, her family moved away so I feel like all that effort I put in to training her (which was actually a lot) didn't benefit me at all n the long run. So I'm done with that

Whether your child is sleeping or awake during these hours is irrelevant.

ELF4321 · November 2013

For two toddlers, at least $15 an hour, plus maybe $5 for gas. Also make sure you have a bunch of good snack foods and a variety of soda and juice. Good babysitters are hard to find, and if you like her, you want her to like working for you!

MooOink · November 2013

Depends on your area. We have just one and pay $15-$18 an hour. With two I would expect to pay $20 an hour. So that would be about $120 for the time you mentioned. Especially since it's late hours.

W~T~9/15/06 · November 2013

Thanks! $120!! That's a lot of money to watch two sleeping kids. I'm in the wrong profession!

MarinsMom · November 2013

we pay $12/hr for one kid and $15/hr for two kids. and usually round up to the closest whole number...a tip i guess..

Mom2Mack1 · November 2013

I have some college kids who babysit for us. I pay them $8.50/hr. for 2 kids.

Could you ask them what they charge?

melody921 · November 2013

Our sitter is $10 an hour, but as others have said, rates can really vary per area. Why don't you just ask the sitter what she charges? That's what I'd do.

janinekrause · November 2013

You can definitely ask what they charge. I live in NY right outside the city, so prices should be on the higher end. People have asked me for 10-15, never more. I have a 1 and 4 year old. I would never pay someone $120 to watch my kids for 6 hours, but that's me. I would be surprised if she says $20.

MooOink · November 2013

janinekrause said:
You can definitely ask what they charge. I live in NY right outside the city, so prices should be on the higher end. People have asked me for 10-15, never more. I have a 1 and 4 year old. I would never pay someone $120 to watch my kids for 6 hours, but that's me. I would be surprised if she says $20.

We're in LA, and pay the $18 an hour for our one child.

So unfortunately for 2 kids for 6 hours, $120 would be pretty spot on. I probably wouldn't chose to pay it either haha

janinekrause · November 2013

OMG. $18 per hour? I only pay my nanny $11 per hour during the day for one kid for most of day and two for a few hours.

The babysitters here are right around $15 or less.

allardr · November 2013

OMG $20/hr that's crazy (for our area anyway) Obviously big cities though I guess that makes more sense.

I definitely say ask first for what they charge. We did this then after interview talked about her requested rate. If it's too high you could say we'd love to hire you but could you come down a little to $___/hr. Or if it's within your range of what you'd like to pay all is great.

MaggieF516 · November 2013

I would search care.com or urbansitter.com to see what sitters in your area are charging. I'm in the Boston area which is a pretty high cost of living and pay $15/hr.

fusionbride · November 2013

totally depends on your area. But since it's your first time with this person, I think it's OK to ask them what they charge and pay them that. If they don't give you a number, I think it's OK to do it little lower on the range in your area so you can increase it if you like her and she becomes your regular sitter.

I'm in a HCOL area, and I think $12-15 per hour is the norm for 1-2 kids for highschool students, maybe a little more since it is a college student. But I'd also round up and give regular raises if you keep this sitter. Good sitters are like gold.

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