babysitting rates?

[Loowit]

I never hired babysitters for my children.  We always used family who did it for free.  Now, my DD is wanting to start babysitting.  She has a job tomorrow for some friends with two children who are 4 and 7 I think.  It is only for two hours in the morning.  The dad was asking what DD charges, and DD and I have no idea what a good rate is.  DD is 15 and certified in first aid.  She is good with children, but all of her babysitting and working with kids so far has been volunteer work.  We are thinking $10 an hour sounds good.  Is that too much or too little?  If it makes a difference we are in a middle of the road cost of living area, mostly blue collar jobs.

[TravelingChris]

10 dollars sounds right.

[Jean in Newcastle]

Dd says that $10 is average.

[Lara in Colo]

we probably under charge, but it is $5/hour and $2 more per child per hour.  And my two girls go as a team and specialize in larger families

[Tsuga]

I never hired babysitters for my children.  We always used family who did it for free.  Now, my DD is wanting to start babysitting.  She has a job tomorrow for some friends with two children who are 4 and 7 I think.  It is only for two hours in the morning.  The dad was asking what DD charges, and DD and I have no idea what a good rate is.  DD is 15 and certified in first aid.  She is good with children, but all of her babysitting and working with kids so far has been volunteer work.  We are thinking $10 an hour sounds good.  Is that too much or too little?  If it makes a difference we are in a middle of the road cost of living area, mostly blue collar jobs.

 

I live in an urban area:

 

$10 for teens / non-drivers.

$15 for last minute jobs for teens, or for those who can drive but who are not asked to drive--generally people with some child care certification /group experience, and who have a high school diploma.

$20 for last minute jobs or for those who are going to be driving my kids from place to place as I'm picky about the car and tend to choose older people who often have higher rates. Like I hired a middle-aged mom to take them to camp int he mornings for part of the summer. She was like 45, own daughter in the SUV as well. I will pay more for that.

 

So I think that $10 is reasonable.

 

I rely on sitters so I need my good name on Care.com :) 

[LucyStoner]

Teen sitters 15 and up here with some experience with caring for kids here get about $8-12/hr.  Younger teens a touch less.  Young adult sitters get more like $15ish.  $10 sounds fine to me.  

[lovinmyboys]

I think $10 an hour is about right, but I do think teen babysitters are a little overpaid. There are lots of jobs around here that require a degree that pay less than $10. Having said that, if she is good with the kids and doesn't just play on her phone, I am sure she will find lots of parents willing to pay her that.

[SparklyUnicorn]

Wow rates have improved.  LOL  I made $2 an hour when I babysat.

 

Of course that was a million years ago.

 

$10 sounds reasonable to me.

[Starr]

Wow rates have improved.  LOL  I made $2 an hour when I babysat.

 

Of course that was a million years ago.

 

$10 sounds reasonable to me.

 

Now don't start with that $2.00 stuff young lady. Many of us remember the 50 - 75 cents an hour. :D

 

On a side note ds told me today he thinks it's weird that his college professor refers to herself as old or the good old days and she's younger than his parents.  :svengo:

 

$10.00 hour sounds good for today. In some areas it's more.

[Insertcreativenamehere]

We have PCAs for my 3 yo son with Down syndrome and pay $12.80/hr (the highest possible rate we can pay through the state.) Now, he requires a little more care than a typical child does, but he's just one kid and is happy and fun most of the time.  I have had good luck finding college students and even adults willing to work with him at this rate. 

[Loowit]

Thank everyone.  I used to babysit a lot as a teen and in college, but that was many years ago.  We decide to ask $10, and the dad seemed happy with that.  I will make sure to let her know that she isn't to be on her phone while she is babysitting, though I am sure she won't be.  She takes jobs seriously and is a good worker.

[JFSinIL]

$10 sounds fair.  So that is $20 for a chunk of her morning.  Again - fair. 

 

Yeah, I know minimum wage jobs pay less, but then babysitting, if you can get and hold onto a good sitter, is usually not a regular p/t job a teen can count on for regular spending money.  You are asking them to be sporadically available, usually hours when they could be out with friends or doing homework etc.  So you need to make it worth their while so when you need a sitter, they are more apt to say "yes" and babysit instead of other preferred activities.

 

Not babysitting really, but we have my adult son with autism's aide paid the max, $15/hour, that we can out of his PUNS state funding.  She picks him up and takes him to his day program twice a week, and two other days takes him out to the library/mall/rec center/movies(we pay for her ticket) and to get pizza or his beloved fries, for 3 - 4 hours.  She is reliable in part because she is a honest, good person, and in part because the money is decent for a p/t job.

 

I recall back in the days of the dinosaurs, er, my teenhood, my kid sister and I HATED sitting for the family across the street. They had two nice little girls - the problem was the parents would whip out a calculator and figure to the penny exactly how much they owed us.  If the pay was to be $3/hour (this was early 1970s) and they were gone 2 hours and 45 minutes, we'd get less than the $9 any other parent would have given us.  Just seemed so cheap on their part. Plus they left no snacks, and forbade any food being eaten.  A couple times they had their girls come to our house to be watched - and would send them over hungry.

 

If our mom hadn't forced us, we would have never babysat at all after the first time for that family.

 

 

Edited March 12, 2016 by JFSinIL

[AimeeM]

For two kids, and considering your DD's age, that sounds appropriate.

We paid $14-$15/hr for our 17 year old sitter - but she had extensive paid experience and a driver's license.

 

The rule of thumb here, for teens and adults sitting, is $10/hr for the first child, plus a few more dollars per hour for additional children... but having a driver's license DOES come into play (for us!) when hiring a sitter. 

[SparklyUnicorn]

$10 sounds fair.  So that is $20 for a chunk of her morning.  Again - fair. 

 

 

Yeah I'm thinking you have to make it somewhat worth her while.  If it's a full day or many hours maybe a tad less per hour, but going there and going back and it's 2 hours, paying five bucks an hour would make the whole thing not worth her while.