I'm going out of town from Saturday-Tuesday. My regular sitter is watching my 5 1/2 year old son and 2 dogs. She generally comes on Saturday nights, I always allow her to come with her fiance, and I provide dinners for them. Having said that, I just wanted to get some advice on how to pay her for the Saturday-Tuesday time frame. I typically pay her $10/hour for nights when I go out. When she dog sits, I give her $25/night (plus money for food). She is planning a wedding, I want to be fair, but, I don't want to go broke with the payment! (And, of course, she is too nice to tell me how much she wants/thinks she should get!)
PLEASE ADVISE!
Will your son be with her all day on Monday and Tuesday or at daycare? What time will she arrive on Saturday? My employer reimburses up to $120/night for additional child care incurred by a person traveling out of town for work overnight. I know several friends who have agreements for $100 per night. You might make it a bit more on the weekend and less durng the week IF your son will be going to childcare during the day.
I would go with five to six hundred for the trip. What you are asking of her is to ensure the safety of your child for several days. This is not an area where you want to save money. You want to pay her enough that he is all she is concerned about, 24 hours a day!
$100/day seems pretty reasonable to me, but Anita brings up a good point about childcare during the week. If your son is going to childcare and she can go to work or do whatever she does then you can pay less for those days, but I will still think $40-50 on those days if she's going to be having to make dinner, lunch, drop off and pick up at day care, etc.
I pay my sitter $25/hour. When she spends the night (or the week) we usually negotiate until we are both happy. Just ask her, "If I need you for this time frame, how much will make you happy?" Then tell her that she can call you back once he figures it out. If the amount is not making you happy, counter offer and see what happens.
Even if ur son goes to daycare, she is still responsible for him if he is sick. DO NOT CUT CORNERS HERE!!! $100/DAY. As a nanny who has been doing overnite jobs for 15 years, i have stopped babysitting for families that do not pay me for my time.
