My husband and I have an 18 month old son. For the first time since his birth, we need to get a babysitter (other than a family member.) We are having a 14 year old girl from our church babysit on a Friday evening for about 3 hours while my husband and I attend a banquet. My question is what is a fair/good hourly wage to pay her? My husband and I want to be fair, but not spend beyond our means either. If this works out, we may want to have her babysit an evening every couple of weeks or so. We asked her what she charged per hour. She replied that 'whatever we thought' would be fine. I used to babysit, but that was around 15 years ago. I know the cost has gone up since then. Thank you for your suggestions.
I would probably give her $5/hr or maybe even a flat $20. I've heard that anywhere from $5-$8/hr. is acceptable. Then if it's 2 or more I always go for about $8-$10/hr.
Hi Jennifer! This is one of my specialties! I'm an RN & safety instructor & for the last 20 yrs I have taught my SuperSitter & SuperKidPower class for kids 11 & up. After a 6hr training course they are certified sitters. Over the past 5yrs I have trained hundreds of kids. Especially if the sitter is certified the kids tell me the going rate is $6 to $8 per hour at the minimum. My JR Nannys (age 15 to 18) get $12 & up or set weekly fee. They are more trained with full first aid & CPR plus Child Passenger Safety (#1 killer/injury of kids) These girls are working part to full time & driving kids to activities. I love Jennifers response about "whatever". I teach the kids "you better have an answer, this is YOUR business"!! Hope this helps! Any questions, just ask!
C. P. RN
Out of Harms Way
When I pay my sitter to watch my 2 little ones I pay her $6-$10 an hour. It varries depending on what responsiblities I left her with that day. I assume I am paying her fair b/c she hardly ever tells me she is unavailable. However, my neice in Overland Park gets paid $10 an hour for just one kid! The mom pays her very well since she has no other sitter available and wants to keep my neice.
I live in Ballwin (and I think it varies depending upon where you live, my sisters in Indiana get paid about $5/hr to babysit)...I never pay less than $8/hr, but I've know that the babysitting agencies minimum is $10.
Hi S.,
I think it depends on 2 things:
1) the amount of time you expect to be gone
and
2) what instructions you have left for her to do. For instance does she need to prepare and feed him dinner, clean him up afterwards (what are your expectations, are you having her fix him something messy that may require a bath and not just wipes or a wash cloth). Then getting his pajamas on and in bed or just ready for bed. Then cleaning up from fixing his meal, cleaning up any dishes she may of used, and picking up any toys that maybe out.
At the least she should earn between $15 and $25 for the night if not more, depending on your instructions, your expectations, and the amount of time you are gone.
http://www.sittercity.com/rate_calculator.html
Maybe that site will help. In case it doesn't pop up, I just googled 'babysitting calculator' and clicked the first link.
When a new babysitter tells me, "whatever you think" or "it doesn't matter," I tell her something along the lines of, "it should matter to you because this is your business. I want to pay you what you think is fair. What do you think is fair?"
This not only gets them to commit to a dollar amount but they also "own" their hourly wage.
I see you have gotten a ton of responses, but I thought I'd let you know what we pay. We have three kids, 8, 6, and 2 1/2, our sitter is 16 and we pay her $10 an hour.
Hi there. I live up north in Kearney. My teen daughter babysits. For a sitter that age and for 3 hours I would say at the minimum you need to give her $10 (so at least $3 or $4 per hour). Give her $15 if you and baby like her, she does a good job, and you want her to come back. My daughter gets $5 or $6 an hour if she has multiples and any cooking or cleaning is requested. :) Hope this helps and that you all enjoy your night out and baby and sitter have fun too!!!
Hi Shiela, I was just talking to some friends about this. We have been lucky and been able to get by with family so far. One pays 5 an hour, but usually rounds up(if they are gone 3 hours 30 min, they pay for 4 hours). Another pays 12, but she has 3 kids and the sitter is 18 and helps with some housework. I think since you have only 1 and she is only 14 you could easily pay around 5 or 6/hour. L.
I live in Ballwin, and around here about $8 is average for a junior high/younger high school age babysitter. I think girls that are a little older get more like $10 to $12 an hour, especially if they do things like cleaning or laundry or transporting the kids.
Hi S.,
I usually pay around $5-$6/hr. I actually paid a bit more when my kids (6 & 4) were younger and needed diaper changes and bottles, but now they can do most things for themselves....except staying alone, of course! I don't ask that the babysitter do any cleaning, housework, etc., but if they do, I'll add on a "premium" as a thank you. Hope this helps. And enjoy your night out. We all need those once in a while.
Has she taken any babysitting courses at the hospital or local college? Does she have CPR or other first aid training? If so, pay her about $10 an hour.
If not, I'd probably pay around $5. If she offers to do some light house cleaning pay her a little extra.
