How Much Should You Pay a Babysitter?

Posted on 08 29, 2007 under Master Debaters by wahoodad |

babysitterAfter taking a break for the summer, my friend’s babysitter sent her an e-mail about sitting during the upcoming school year.  Citing “an increase in the minimum wage” and car payments pending receipt of her driver’s license, the babysitter informed my friend that her rate was going from $7 an hour to $10 an hour (my friend has two kids, ages 7 and 4).  Additionally, the babysitter said that because she opts to baby-sit instead of getting a job at a store where her shifts would be guaranteed, my friend would have to pay her for her scheduled time if for some reason my friend had to cancel the babysitter’s shift.

 “What stones!” you say.  “Cut her loose!”  In the immortal words of College Game Day’s Ticonderoga-tapping Lee Corso, “Not so fast!”  My friend’s girls don’t do so well with transition, she trusts the babysitter, and the girls really like her. 

So, here’s a real life quandary for our Mater Debaters section: succumb to the 43% raise and guaranteed-payment demands; or search for a new sitter—which in our area isn’t as easy as you might think.   For some reason, it’s tough to find a competent teenager who wants to get paid under-the-table to play with kids for a few hours at a time.  A good babysitter is hard to find, which begs the question:

How much should you pay a babysitter? 

Before anyone gets all perverted, we’re talking about typical childcare services  only.  None of that World According to Garp action!   Keep it clean people.
This is the latest installment in our Master Debaters Question of the Week Series. There are some topics that seem to fall into the consensus category: drunk driving is bad, guns kill people, Transformers are better than GoBots. But that only covers less than 1% of the decisions you and your spouse make towards the upbringing of your kids. The majority of issues tend to fall more in the gray area.

Here at Noodad.com, we take pride in delivering important advice for dads. But we realize that some of our advice is subjective. The collected readership surely has things to add and unique perspectives to contribute.

So where do you weigh in?

 

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Viewing 32 Comments

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    $7 an hour for 2 kids is way too low by todays standards!

    Most people say $10 an hour for the first kid. $2 an hour for each additional kid. My philosophy? Pay a little more than what the sitter is getting from everyone else. That way, when there is a big date night, the sitter will choose to sit for you over the other guy.
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    While I only have one child to babysit...I pay a different rate depending on the day of the week, the amount of time we will need to have child care and whether or not the babysitter was able to provide their own transportation. We live in the Houston, TX area and I pay $7 to $10 per hour.

    I also let babysitters use the wireless internet and computer in the house to \"work on school homework\" after the 2 year old as gone to bed. Sotware makes sure they don\'t roam where they shouldn\'t.

    Best-

    Erin
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    \"WHAT? Let some stranger look after my kid? I\'d just as soon leave him home by himself!\" - Bill Cosby \"The Chicken Heart\"
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    Where do you guys live? I live in IN,KY area and have never paid more than $4-5/hr. Usually I just hand the girl $20 0r $30 for the evening.
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    Maybe I live in a snobby neighborhood in Boston but my sitter in her 2008 Jetta ain\'t gonna settle for $5 an hour
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    I pay $10 an hour for two kids. I have an afternoon helper during the school year who gets $5 an hour. In the Boston area, $10 seems to be about the average.
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    $10 for 2 kids seems about right, especially if my house doesn\'t look like nuclear war happened in it while I was gone.
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    OK, what about a 16yr old babysitter who often leaves the house a disaster, sits and checks email, and now wants a \"paid cancellation policy!\" all at $10/hr.04756
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    First, anyone who leaves my house a disaster and/or sits and checks email (without permission), doesn\'t step foot back in my house. On top of that, their mom or dad is going to get a call from me.

    I, agree, there is some variance depending on the situation. Keep in mind what the job is. If you are worried about how much it cost, then stay home. Good babysitters are really hard to find but that doesn\'t mean you should automatically buckle to unreasonable requests either. Only you can know what the value of your kids , your peace of mind and your babysitter are to you.

    Both of my daughters babysit now and both do pretty well with it. Their mother and I are just as involved in the process from this side as we were from the other. My oldest has a job and babysits to pay for the insurance on the car she now drives to and from her various jobs.
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    For the love of God, have a home based career. Do whatever it takes to stay home with your children. Unless it\'s Papa or Grandma, nobody stays home alone with my daughter. If it\'s freaky Friday for me and the warden to have a steak and cherry whipped cream surprise for desert, she goes to Granny\'s and spends the night. I am at the point now that she is ready to go to pre-school type activities and am dreading the day she has to sit with 20 other caughing, hacking, snot noses for 5 hours a day. It\'s not that I want her to go, it\'s that she is ready and needs/wants that ineraction with other children. I can only stand so many 3 hour days at the park. I love her so........
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    unfortunetly, not all of us have a grandma or grandpa around to help. And yet, we still need a night out. We\'ve been using my wife\'s neice, who we pay about $20 for 3-4 hours. But because of family circumstances (hers) and the fact that she\'s not the most reliable, we\'re gonna have to find someone else.

    One thing we\'ve done is to share babysitters with friends. We\'ve had nights where we go out with our friends who have kids the same age, and we share the babysitter (either their house or ours). Works out really well (they have 2 kids and we have 1). We each chip in $20 or so and the babysitter makes out pretty well.

    Also, being a youth pastor, I have a pretty good supply of teenagers who love my daughter and are willing to watch her. I know a number of churches in our area have a babysitting network of youth who can watch kids. Usually the price is pre-set ($10 and hour seems to be the going rate) but things are always negotiable.

    While we do expect the babysitter to clean up after her (or him)self (open debate on male babysitters?), we\'re not hiring a maid. So I just expect the house to be in the relativly same condition that we left it in.
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    Excellent point PastorStan. I apologize. Sometimes we take our most important blessings for granted, I am so fortunate to have Grandma and Grandpa around at a moments notice. I couldn\'t envision otherwise, when in fact it IS more the norm to have to pay out an outside source (sitter) to have a night out or to cover when needed. Point taken and valued. Thank you.
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    How about if there are 2 10 month old twins? Will be babysitting for 8 hours?
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    Islandgurl,

    It seems that babysitting rates vary like all other expenses depending upon where you live. I'm in the Boston area and pay $10 an hour for 2 kids (7 and 2 1/2). I'm a stay-at-home dad, so I use a babysitter to get things done during the week that I can't do with the kids underfoot or I run errands that are easier without the kids. That means that I'm home during the babysitting a lot of the time.

    I also have a regular schedule with my babysitter (2 days a week for 3 hour each time when she gets out of school), so that's a factor. I also always round up, because she is great with my boys and I don't mind paying more to keep her loyal to my family if it is us or someone else asking for a particular night or day.

    You have to think about some of these things for your 8 hour adventure with the 10 month old twins. Is this going to be a regular gig for you? Are the parents just going out to a wedding or some other event for one day? How much experience do you have?

    If it is a one-time thing, I'd ask for $100 for the day. You are going to have your hands full. It's one thing to babysit two kids that can fend for themselves (somewhat) and express to you what they want and need; but handling two kids still in their first year deserves a little extra combat pay.

    I hope this helps. If you want to let us know a little more about this situation (one-time deal or trying for a regular babysitting job, where you live, your relationship to the family, your age (or just if you're a student or an adult), etc.), we can give you a less general answer.

    Good luck!

    wahoodad
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    i babysit 4 kids, ages:6, 9, 10 and 12. i get paid $15 for 9 hours a day!
    the mom set the price when i was 12! im 16 now. how do i get her to let up and pay me the right amt? (preferably w/o loosing my job!)
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    Sunflower gurl, please tell me that is $15 per hour times 9 hours a day right? Let's assume that this family is not robbing you blind.

    I would assume that after 4 years yu are pretty tight witht he kids and with the parents. I would be honest with them. DOn't ask for a huge increase but be honest with how you love the kids but for the amount you make, yu could be making a little more taking on a retail job or a waitressing job, etc.
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    Sunflower Gurl,

    PLEASE tell us that you get $15 an hour for 9 hours a day totaling $135 and not $15 for the whole day. $15 per 9-hour day for 4 kids equals 41 cents per hour per kid. I'm also guessing that you might do your babysitting on the weekends only. Either that or you're going to school and working until midnight or later.

    If that is what you're getting paid it isn't nearly enough. Granted, these kids are older now and mostly self-sufficient, but there are 4 of them. You may have put yourself in a tough spot. This family hired you when you were 12, and now their oldest is 12. They might feel that he is old enough to watch his siblings and that costs them nothing.

    Finally, you don't have to LET her pay you the right amount. Do a little research with friends and/or parents with younger kids and ask them how much they pay their babysitters. Figure out what is fair in your mind and ask for it. Unless you're doing this for charitable reasons, you need to ask for an appropriate rate. As you get older, your expenses go up. If you have your license $15 will get you about 4 gallons of gas, for example. $15 will get you a ticket to a movie and maybe a small soda, but not much else.

    Of course you have to take into account your relationship with the family, but I'm sure there are lots of folks in your community who would pay an appropriate rate for a dependable babysitter.

    Let us know more details about when and how often you babysit these kids.
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    I am 58yrs. old..I would like some feedback...Since last yr. 2007 (Oct)..I started to pickup one 5 yr. old @ noon (12pm)from school..I live in Orlando, the school is in Kissimmee (maybe 7 mile)...then we go to his home (5 mile) & i give him his lunch @ 2:15 I return 2 one school and pickup a 12yr. old and proceed (around 15 blocks) to pickup the 9yr. old..from there we go back too thier home..& make sure they do homework, and help them...(the parents do let me watch tv or go on thier computer, I pack my own lunch & dinner)..The parents started to pay me $3. per child daily..my daughter in shock told to chg. more..so I told them $5.00 per child ($15) a day....with the cost of the gas going up..I think they should pay me more..my daughter say they r taking advantage of me...Pls. u'r feedbk will help..(I go 2 thier church)..Oh and to make faster going home I pay $1.50 toll....
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    Well, it really depends on why you are doing it. Is this family in need? Are you good friends? Are you doing this for extra income or for living expenses?

    In a vacuum, you are being taken advantage of. I would ask for more. But the other variables could play a huge part in determining how much more you should ask for.
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    Dear OHmy God,

    Noodad makes a good point with questioning why you work for this family. If you are doing it out of the goodness of your heart, it's a different matter than if you are truly dependent on this income. If you wouldn't shuttle these kids around and watch them for free, is it really worth your time to do this for $15 a day?

    Let's put all the other factors aside and talk just about the monetary aspect. If the parents get home around 6:00 each night, you are working 6 hours per day. You are caring for 3 children--regardless of their level of self-sufficiency--for $2.50 per hour. If you do this 5 days a week for a total of 30 hours, you get $75 per week, or $300 per month.

    Assuming you are doing the babysitting for some extra money and not necessarily for any emotional ties or deep friendship, let's look at another job where you could work for some extra money. For argument's sake, cashier at a grocery store. If the store pays minimum wage ($5.85) and you work 30 hours each week, you'd take in about $105 per week after taxes (I took out 40% for taxes). Again, we're talking about a job where you only get MINIMUM wage. A lot of places pay more than that for even the most basic of jobs if you are dependable--at Starbucks and Home Depot I think you are even eligible for BENEFITS if you work 30 hours a week!

    So, I think you really have to look at the situation and decide if you want to do what's best for you, or what's best for the family you sit for. If the motivating factor goes beyond your paycheck, I would at least ask them for $25 a day. I based this on 6 hours a day, so if that's wrong just do the math to find your hourly rate and then back into a number with which you are comfortable. If you are doing it for the money, I would ask for even more and be prepared to walk away if they say no to you.

    A couple of things jumped out at me from your post. First, you said that they 'allow' you to watch TV and use the computer, which leads me to think that the kids are keeping themselves busy and aren't challenging you to games of Candy Land or Monopoly. That's fine, but it doesn't sound like it's a fulfilling time for you. Next, you say that you pack your own lunch and dinner. If you do this by choice because you only like certain foods, that's one thing. If the parents asked you to bring your own food, that's another story. I would, in fact, find that completely outrageous. Anyone who watches my kids can have anything they can find in my pantry and fridge (no booze, of course), and if they want something different I'll leave money for takeout.

    For some reason both parents and babysitters alike don't feel like watching kids is worth a lot of money--but for some reason when you call it "day care" you can get a hell of a lot more (I have friends who pay between $2500-$3000 a month for full-time day care for two children). The same people who leave their houses after hemming and hawing over $8 per hour for babysitting will head right out and drop $50 on a few beers and a couple of plates of rubbery chicken and butter-drenched summer veggies at an Applebee's without a second thought.

    Sorry for the long response. There's a lot to think about here. If you're doing this for the money above everything else, either get more or walk away--your services are worth more than $2.50 an hour and life is way too short. If you love the family and the kids adore you and it's a way for you to feel like a surrogate grandmother, still try to get more money.

    Finally, keep in mind that I'm in the Boston area where the cost of living is more than in Orlando (I have a cousin who lived there for a while) so my persepctive is a little different. If you need a benchmark for your area, call some babysitters and ask them how much they'd charge for the same services you provide. I think you'll be surprised at the answers.
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    I am retired..& rent an aptmt. I have been trying 2 help them, since they purchased a new twnhm..& the mom started 2 wk..I work sometimes until 7pm, since they try 2 wk overtime..The problem I am encountering now is the cost of gasoline, it's just keeps going up and I work sometimes, only 4 times a wk..yet I still think they might help with the gas. Now the (real) problem is that the dad is cheap & that I know 4 a fact, also only one child (the 5yr.old) is his..I do help the older one with all his homewk (the other don't have problem with hmwk)..

    They do have a very nice place, & I am happy 4 them..I just think sometimes that my help is not being appreaciated..I pack my lunch due to a comment that the dad said 2 me, when he was upset @ his wife..(that the growing kids eat too much!! I say that's normal) I made no comments, & his wife asked why I don't eat with them (I will ever tell her) I just did not tell her the truth.

    I told them that in June, I will not be able 2 care 4 the kids anymore (I love those kids, even when they fight) that they would need 2 get someone else,...they did not say anything.

    The gas in my car is going 4 almost $30.00, that's 2 days of work.

    Thanks 4 all the feedback...I will take everything into account.

    God Bless
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    Thanks for the additional information. The situation is much clearer now, and I'm glad that you told them you are leaving in June. The fact that they made no effort to keep you by offering more money says a lot, and I think they are taking advantage of you. While you watch their kids for $2.50 an hour or less, they are off working overtime to afford a new townhouse. If they bought a house they can't afford without working overtime, that's not your problem.

    If you've already told them that you are leaving in June, I suspect that they won't want to give you any more money. Just remember that you hold all the cards here. You can walk away at anytime. They need you more than you need them--no matter how much you care about the kids. You are not being paid enough for what you do for them.

    A 3-month notice is also very generous and considerate of you. I think you have every right to tell them you'll work for two more weeks at your current rate, and that if they want you to stay through June they have to double it. It shouldn't cost you $30 a week to make $30 a week.

    They are in for a rude awakening when they look for new childcare, and I wouldn't feel the least bit of sympathy for them.

    You're in a good position where you are retired and are just making some extra money. You could find another family closer to you to sit for if you still want to care for kids. This time, though, YOU dictate the terms. Find out what is reasonable and fair in your area. The other option is to do an entirely different job in a field that matches up with your hobbies or interests. For example, if you're interested in gardening, go to a local flower shop and see if they need help. That kind of thing.

    I wish you the best of luck and hope the feedback helps.

    wahoodad