• Welcome to OGBoards 10.0, keep in mind that we will be making LOTS of changes to smooth out the experience here and make it as close as possible functionally to the old software, but feel free to drop suggestions or requests in the Tech Support subforum!

Babysitting rates?

How much/What should I offer

  • Don't even offer - only pay if she asks (aka BBD answer)

    Votes: 1 1.8%

  • $10/hour

    Votes: 44 80.0%

  • Dinner

    Votes: 4 7.3%

  • Other - explain in thread

    Votes: 6 10.9%
  • Total voters
    55
ChicdeaC

ChicdeaC

Well-known member
Joined
Mar 24, 2011
Messages
6,440
Reaction score
461
We have a sitter lined up for the first time next week (we'll be gone a few hours to a Christmas party) and the sitter is a good friend from my graduate program.

I want to at least offer to pay her (I am thinking she might not take my $) and don't want to be insulting...is $10/hour too much? too little? Should I just offer to take her out to dinner sometime instead?

E will likely be awake the whole time and she'll have to heat up bottles and feed him
 
$10 an hour is perfect. I would offer the money first at that rate, and then if denied, say let me at least take you out for dinner/drinks.

I of course have no children but had a few friends that babysat regularly while at Wake.
 
AnonymousDeac said:
$10 an hour is perfect. I would offer the money first at that rate, and then if denied, say let me at least take you out for dinner/drinks.

I of course have no children but had a few friends that babysat regularly while at Wake.
Click to expand...

That you know of...
 
From what I have seen, $8 is the going rate, but $10 is certainly not unheard of. In terms of not paying, it depends on how close of a friend. My neighbor's daughter watches our son occassionally, and I always pay her, but her dad brings the money back.

It is very weird because there is no set number, so the exchange of money is odd - I always make it awkward and ask if that is enough. Our last babysitter I gave $50 for 6 hours, she was happy (22 year old college student).
 
ChicdeaC said:
We have a sitter lined up for the first time next week (we'll be gone a few hours to a Christmas party) and the sitter is a good friend from my graduate program.

I want to at least offer to pay her (I am thinking she might not take my $) and don't want to be insulting...is $10/hour too much? too little? Should I just offer to take her out to dinner sometime instead?

E will likely be awake the whole time and she'll have to heat up bottles and feed him
Click to expand...

I think you are about on par. I've never had kids nor babysat, but I know that the going rate for babysitters (high school age) in my area is $8-10 per child per hour.
 
The rates are much cheaper if you are willing to let them videotape the babysitee(s) in lingerie.
 
My daughter is 17 and does a lot of babysitting (along w/ reffing soccer games.) She gets $10/hour most times.

FWIW, I think she has more disposable income than all of us combined.
 
I think I was getting $8 for babysitting older kids and $10 for infants/toddlers when I was babysitting regularly. For you, I would accept booze/dinner payments :plos:


Coach O said:
My daughter is 17 and does a lot of babysitting (along w/ reffing soccer games.) She gets $10/hour most times.

FWIW, I think she has more disposable income than all of us combined.
Click to expand...

I cannot tell you how often I think about how much money I had in middle school/high school. I had 3 jobs in HS and spent that money on the stupidest junk.
 
I'd just say you were thinking $10 an hour, and if/when she refuses then offer the dinner/drinks and don't take no for that.

For an infant, I think $10 is right.

Agreed w/ others that I spent lots of babysitting money on really stupid shit in middle/HS.


...on and Chic, for the record, if you do come out to Portland I really will watch E for free so you can go ski :)
 
Shoot $10/hr was the going rate when I was a kid. Its gotta be $15-20 these days I'd think if I pawning my rugrats off to someone.
 
palmab03 said:
Shoot $10/hr was the going rate when I was a kid. Its gotta be $15-20 these days I'd think if I pawning my rugrats off to someone.
Click to expand...

this is what i was thinking. honestly, i was getting $10/hour as a high schooler. once i got to college/straight out of school and was being trusted with actual newborns, that number jumped up pretty quickly. i haven't babysat in a couple of years, but the last time i did, i was getting $15/hour for a toddler.


eta: for the record, if she's a really good friend, she's never going to let you pay her. so it really doesn't matter what you offer in terms of $/hour. but definitely take her out to dinner/drinks after she refuses the $.
 
Last edited:
DeacHoops said:
this is what i was thinking. honestly, i was getting $10/hour as a high schooler. once i got to college/straight out of school and was being trusted with actual newborns, that number jumped up pretty quickly. i haven't babysat in a couple of years, but the last time i did, i was getting $15/hour for a toddler.


eta: for the record, if she's a really good friend, she's never going to let you pay her. so it really doesn't matter what you offer in terms of $/hour. but definitely take her out to dinner/drinks after she refuses the $.
Click to expand...

Really good friends can still like teh meths, and so they want to be paid.
 
We pay anywhere from $7 (16 year old neighborhood girl) to $12 (grad school student, through agency, background check, CPR certified, etc...) per hour for our two kids age 2 and 4.
 
For an offer to a friend (who likely won't take it), $10 sounds fine to me. I think $15 is closer to the going rate around here (especially for a more responsible person than the 16 year old next door), based upon what my co-worker pays for her sitter (the sitter is a grad student in child psych or something like that at Emory and my co-worker has a 2 year old and 6 month old - they pay her $16 with a 3 hour minimum) and what my other co-workers' kids make per hour (2 co-workers have 14-15 year old girls - they make $12).
 
KitchinDeac said:
We pay anywhere from $7 (16 year old neighborhood girl) to $12 (grad school student, through agency, background check, CPR certified, etc...) per hour for our two kids age 2 and 4.
Click to expand...

Same for our 2 year old.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top