I'm sure the question has been asked but what do you pay your babysitter? I'm not talking every day sitter but the occasional so mommy and daddy can go out type. I just hired a college girl who used to work at my childs daycare to come over this Saturday afternoon. She didn't give me a rate so I asked if $10 an hour was good. She said yes but I just want to make sure that is not cheap. It is for 1 child. I am in NY.
They have a babysitter rate thing on sitter city. It is really nice. You put in the zip, age, and number of kids and it pops out an average.
It depends on your area. I am in a northern burb of Dallas, TX.
$10 is an average around my area.
My 16 yr old (17 this month), averages $12-$15 an hour for 4 families she regular sits for in our neighborhood. They always round up.
She is active with the children and keeps them engaged as well. Last week she took a gingerbread house kit for them to make. Of course, she runs her ideas by the mom first, then it is a surprise to she what she brings when she gets there.
When we used a sitter, we paid $60-$80 a week for our date night. You pay well to keep a good one!
College students would probably get closer to $15 in westchester. Maybe you could pay her $12?
We pay $10/hour for our two kids (6 and 9 1/2), and then I generally round up to the nearest $10. I either prepare a dinner that she just has to dish up, or leave money for pizza. I live just north of Albany (suburbia).
I'm also in NY and think $10 an hour is fine. But it also depends on a few things. How old is the child? Is the child awake or sleeping when the sitter gets there? If the child is awake, does the sitter have to feed or change the child? Will the sitter have to put the child down to sleep?
Recently my grand daughter (age 15) babysat for her neighbor so the parents could go out for their anniversary. When she got there, the baby (8 months old) was fed, changed, in bed and asleep. Basically my grand daughter said she didn't really have anything to do all evening (except do her homework). In fact, the only time she even saw the baby was when she peeked in to check on her. She was actually a little disappointed (she had been looking forward to playing with the baby)! She did like getting paid $10 an hour to sit there and do her homework though! LOL
That's about what I pay ... I remember when I started as a kid my rate was 2.50/hr! Made well over a 100/wk doing that.
My daughter is 16 and usually gets $8-$10 per hour.
I pay $10, but I also always round up....if we are out for say...4 hours and 15 minutes, I will give her $50. Took a long time to find a good babysitter and I want her to want to come back!!
I live in Manhattan and we pay our sitters $15/hour.
wow, if I lived near you, I'd babysit
This is always an amazing question. My son babysits for a friend of mine with two kids, school age kids. He gets paid $10 for the day, maybe 4 hours or so! Its usually a few hours he is there but sometimes she passes a little more to him when shes later or on date nights its something like $20 but majority of the time its $10 for the day! She used to call him mothers helper cause he would entertain the kids while she was there and now he just baby sits cause she works, its funny cause when he cant she has to get this other gal who charges her $10 per hour! I told him he was getting short paid.
The average going rate up here, Orange County, NY is about $13 per hour.
I'm in Seattle and have one child - I pay $10/hr plus $10 for travel (her drive time is 25-40 min based on traffic). She's mid-twenties, has been a nanny, and often brings her one-year-old (and a pack-n-play). I gave her a bit of a holiday bonus when she was here last weekend b/c we like her VERY much, trust her implicitly with our challenging child, and want her to be available as often as possible!
I'm in Texas, and that's what I'm planning on paying my after-school nanny next year.
Also in Seattle (for intermittent like you described): $10 per hour + tip
I CHEATED wildly, though when my son was little :) I live by the university. College students have JUMPED on my offer of $20 for the night (9pm-1am on average) + dinner. They get a quiet place to study and a home cooked meal -or pizza. House rules were; if my son woke up then to give me a ring and I'd come home. He did a couple times, but usually just to pee and go back to bed. These were classmates of mine who were living in the dorms or room mating a house or sorority/ frat. They all met my son ahead of time, and they would have done it for just the quiet space and food... but imho... money keeps people honest. For them... we were a "prize job"... since they got paid to do what they were going to do anyway!
