Okay, I have a deep question for all of you. Any mother knows that once you get a bunch of moms together for small talk, one particular question comes up at some point...
How much do you pay your babysitters?
Me? I'm in the Pittsburgh area and I pay $10 / hour.
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Never paid a babysitter! When I was a young Mom I belonged to a Babysitting Co-op. It was the best thing...we Moms babysat for each other and racked up points per hour that were good for free babysitting hours for ourselves. I loved it because I knew all the Moms and they came to your house to sit. We had monthly meetings and kept strict account of logged hours. It was so freeing knowing your kids were well looked after and it was free!!
ReplyDeleteI'm in the MidWest and I pay 8-10 dollars an hour depending on what I am asking the sitter to do. If she arrives and all 3 kids are asleep? $8 If she has to serve a meal or I ask her to give baths,then $10. It is pretty much the going rate around here and I don't mind spending money for a good sitter. It is peace of mind for me.
ReplyDeleteIf they have all three kids then I pay $10 an hour. I also take note if the dishes are done and the house is picked up or the vacuum was ran..I really appreciate that and usually add a little on top for someone who does that.
ReplyDeleteWe recently started taking babysitters with us on our vacations. A couple times to the shore, etc. When we take someone on vacation with us what we offer in advance is to pay their way (food, activities, etc) and if we leave them alone with the kids (like if my husband and I go to dinner, etc) then we pay them as a babysitter for those hours. It works out great and the girls love being able to get away for a weekend or so. We probably won't travel with three small children without a babysitter again if we can help it (for some of our bigger trips we have had grandparents volunteer to go with and it was great also).
We pay $10 an hour. I'm pretty sure that's high in our part of MI. My son has Autism, so we can't trust a teenager to be able to handle him. When we need a sitter, we call the woman who was his 1:1 aide in Kindergarten.
ReplyDeleteI give $10 for 1 hour and then $5 for each additional hour. I max out at about $20 for up to 3-3 1/2 hours. We haven't needed anyone longer than that. If the kids need to eat, I leave it all out and ready. We haven't had bath or bedtime sitting yet. I just have two kids and they are 3 and 5.
ReplyDeleteNana's are free babysitters! But when she's not available, we pay the highschoolers from my husband's basketball team about $10 an hour. I love the idea that you give a little more on top if they've picked up, done the dishes etc. I always did that when I was the babysitter, just so the mom didn't come home to a mess (thanks to my mom for teaching me that!). It might encourage them to do a little picking up too, if they know that you'll pay a little more. It's a small price for not having to clean up after your night out of the house!
ReplyDeleteI don't have kids but I know that my friends around here pay $8 per hour.
ReplyDeleteWe are very lucky in that grandparents live close by...so we have rarely used a sitter. And even then, it was the teenager across the street that we love and adore like our own daughters. We paid her more signifigantly more than $10 an hour, but that is because we know her and situation (her mom is a single mom, dad isn't involved at all).
ReplyDeleteI have 2 kids and pay roughly $6 an hour (I'm in the midwest) but I always round it way up at the end. I never pay less than $15-20 even if its just an hour and a half... I know they gave me their time and want to make it worth it. I've been told by a summer sitter that I way overpaid her at $35 for a five hour day so I guess they are happy with their rate!
ReplyDeleteI am always curious as to what people pay their babysitters. I have a 3 1/2 year old...who is the easiest kid ever (seriously)...so I only pay $4 an hour...and then I usually end up rounding up. AND....he goes to bed at 7:30, so they only ever have to watch him for about an hour and a half...but I still pay the same.
ReplyDeleteso...am I cheap? Around here (in UT) that is on the high end. I am always SHOCKED at what babysitters get paid around here...it is so sad, and if I had been a teenager around here, I wouldn't have babysat. The girl I always use makes more with my one kid in 4 hours then she does with a family of 4 kids in 5 hours. (They paid here $20 one day for 6 hours...seriously...and their kids are 7-5-3-1)
It seems most of those that have commented have more then one kid...would you all pay less if you only had one kid?
Funny you mention this today as I was just talking about it a couple days ago. I pay about $3/kid ~ so $9/hour. However, I usually end up rounding up because the cash machine isn't very good at giving me $1's :)
ReplyDeleteHere in HOME, KS I pay my sitter $10 an hour for my 6 kids. I take the nursing baby with us always :)
ReplyDeleteI live in KS and I pay $3 an hour, maybe that's cheap for here, I'm really not sure.
ReplyDeleteBut, I only have one kid - a 4-month old and he is a super easy baby. If I had more kids I would up the rate, or if my kid(s) were special needs or just plain tough to handle. I remember 25 years ago my mom used to pay $1 an hour for 3 girls . . . that makes me feel not so cheap. :)
I had the fore-thought to give birth to my babysitters! My oldest three watch the younger two for me. Free of charge - well, in exchange for room and board I suppose!
ReplyDeleteWhen my three oldest were little, I lived by my aunt who is only 5 years older than I am and we used to take turns watching each other's children.
So I have never had to fork over $$$.
This probably isn't helping.
WOW!! I can't imagine paying $10/hr...I don't even make $10/hr and I'm an adult!
ReplyDeleteMaybe it's different here in Canada, but I pay my sitter $20 for 6 hours for my 3 year old.
I NEVER pay anyone for taking all 3... I will wait until they are bigger to enjoy my free time.
I'm sure this'll sound downright crazy...but as a playwright/nanny (who takes her 9 month old daughter with her to work) and who makes a ragingly good hourly rate- tax free- in the 'spensive city of Chicago...I pay my sitter (whom I trained as my nanny replacement) my old 'one kid' rate of $12. Being in childcare, I know firsthand the difference a few extra dollars makes. And yes, there's a HUGE difference between 'sitter' (neighbor girl/grandma/snackin' after the kids go to bed) and a 'nanny' (teaches your kids French and has the pediatrician on speed dial) and the pay should vary accordingly. ;)
ReplyDeleteWow!!! When my kids were in daycare, we paid about $2.50 an hour per kid. Our baby sitters got $1 per hour per kid. I have heard of families paying baby sitters up to $5 per hour per kid. But that just seems excessive when going rate for daycares is only $3 per hour per kid.
ReplyDeleteI babysat for years and years and would charge $10-$12 an hour. We are willing to pay a plumber or mechanic hundreds of dollars for a few hours of work, but when it comes to our kids we are cheap. Interesting...I don't have any kids, but I find it interesting when parents go for the "bargain" babysitter.
ReplyDeleteI haven't needed a babysitter yet, Nina and Papa are free or might charge a piece of cake. I have one child who is 5. I used to babysit while I was in middle school and high school. I was certified in CPR and first aid through the Red Cross. I cooked dinner, cleaned up in the kitchen, helped with homework, played games with, etc the kids I babysat. I charged $5/hr for the first child and $2/hr for each additional child. I'm in Texas and that was about 11-15 years ago. I babysat anywhere from 1-5 kids at a time. I typically babysat every week 2-3 days a week. (Kind of reminds me of the babysitters club) My friend and I would work together with our schedule book. Now I think I would probably pay $8-10 per hour for my one child and expect the babysitter to feed my son (heat his dinner up), spend time with him playing games or reading books, and put him to bed. I wouldn't pay someone to just supervise him while they text on their cell phone or watch TV. I think it is one of those things where you get what you pay for.
ReplyDeleteI've never paid a babysitter. My kids are 14 and 11. I was a SAHM and now I'm a WAHM so I've always been home during the days. When my hubby and I went out or needed someone else to care for them we always called grandparents or other close family or friends. We probably need to get out more! haha!
ReplyDelete$10.00 AN HOUR!!! I remember getting paid (on very rare if ever occasions) $2.00, back in the day. I may inform my son and dil of this, it make strengthen my odds for babysitting my grand babies (whenever they finally decide to bless us with some)!!
ReplyDeleteSweet wishes,
Sara
What you're paying is the same as we pay here in Cleveland.
ReplyDeleteOn a different note, I was at the Robinson IKEA on Monday. The greatest store on earth!
I'm so glad to see this topic. I was talking to my coworker who made me feel like a cheapskate. Now, in WA the min wage is $9.50 so I didn't feel bad that I was paying $10 for 1-3yr old and 1-1.5yr old. My coworker said that $15 is what her neighbors pay. Now, I live 1hr south of Seattle in the suburbs and she lives east of Seattle near the Microsoft employees so I'm sure that has tons to do with the difference. Anyway, I am interested in the babysiting rate of pay compared with your local min wage. Ladies?
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