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We haven't left our children with babysitters very often because we're new to our town, but we found a high school girl we trust and we have paid her $8/hr once an $10/hr once. (She doesn't specifically charge an amount) I was recently talking to a friend of mine who said she uses the same girl and pays her $20 an hour. I was flabbergasted and told her I thought it might be a little too much. She said that she pays more for people she knows and trusts. I was wondering what everyone else is paying for babysitters these days. I have a 1 year old and a 2 1/2 year old. My friend has a 2 year old and a 3 year old. |
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This is really going to be a location-based answer, I suspect. I'm sure it will depend on minimum wage near you, and quite possibly the demographics of the area. Ask around! We pay "young" friends about 5 UK pounds an hour (or a bit more, generally rounding up to the nearest multiple of 5 or 10) and middle-aged friends get houseplants :) Our kids are 5, 3 and 3, and generally they're either in bed or ready for bed + stories by the time a babysitter arrives, so there's usually not much actual activity involved. (That's why I don't feel bad for effectively paying minimum wage - the babysitter usually ends up watching a good film from my DVD/bluray collection, so it's win-win :) I'd probably expect to pay relatively unfamiliar people more, but fortunately we have enough friends of varying ages and situations that we haven't had to resort to "a babysitter a friend trusts" or anything like that. (Church is great for "recruiting" friendly babysitters :) Yeah, the girl we use is actually our pastor's daughter. :)
(23 Sep '09, 03:05)
Sabrina
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We are fairly new at paying babysitters and after asking around, I tended to get the same answers (I live in the LA area). These were the suggestions I got: $7-8 for Jr. Highers, $8-9 for High Schoolers, and $9-10 for College age students. I think that is pretty fair considering they usually just sit in my house while my child sleeps and do their homework or just watch t.v. |
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I agree with Jon, I'm sure answers will vary depending on where everyone is located. I'm in New York and have used a babysitter in the past paying $15/hour and then lowered it to $12/hour. She is someone I definitely trust and there is great value in that. I think the broader range out here is anywhere from $10-$20/hour. The best are friends who offer to help out for free! I love those friends! 1
Yeah I agree friends are really ideal (for free!). We did that once, but it was a little awkward for putting the kids to bed because they wanted to watch our kids at their house.
(23 Sep '09, 03:11)
Sabrina
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I pay a friend of mine $10/hr for our toddler. |
Seems like your babysitter has a good reputation and that in itself is such a bonus !