Paying for babysitting when two sisters are coming together??? WWYD??

[hopefulfaith]

I called one of my friends and asked if any of her girls wanted to babysit my children for a few hours tomorrow - from 5:00-5:30ish to around 9pm.  I told her I'd order pizza and find a movie for the kids .... easy money for a rare date for dh and I (although it's a work function...).

She phoned me back and said her older girls - twins - would come.  I know these girls, and they're extremely shy/quiet and also very inseparable, so it didn't surprise me - I expressed great gratitude and hung up.

....but I've never had two sitters for two kids before.  :)  How do I pay them?  Do I pay what I would normally pay for one sitter (~$6/hour and round up to the nearest 5-10, usually, depending on circumstances) and they can split it ---- or do I acknowledge that both of them are coming and pay, for example, 150% of what I normally would, and chalk it up to having, theoretically, 1:1 babysitting for my kids?

Thanks for any help!  ....our date is tomorrow.  :)

:)

[EviesMom]

I would up it a bit, but you're also out more cash for more pizza and snacks. Maybe $4/each so $8/hour total?

[texmati]

do they for sure expect to be paid? My sis and I used to do this for free for younger cousins. Maybe that's why the mom felt comfortable sending both of them?

[luv my 2 sweeties]

If you can spare the money, I'd go with EviesMom's solution.  If it would be a hardship however, then I'd call your friend back tomorrow morning and explain that you can only afford to pay your usual rate.  Let her know that you want to be honest with the girls about that up front.  They can either decide to both come and split the money, or they can decide between them which one will come tomorrow.  If only one of them comes, you can promise to ask the other sister next time, assuming you are comfortable with that.  Obviously you still have to buy a little more pizza, but that shouldn't come to too much more.   

Have a fun date!

[Marissamom]

one of my sisters and I used to babysit as a team sometimes, and we didn't expect to get paid extra because there were two of us. but I would check with the mom to see what usually happens if the girls babysit together. also, some kids who babysit a lot may have a "standard rate" while others would happily do it for free, so the money is just a bonus. 

[hopefulfaith]

Thanks for your help, everyone!

Dh and I were gone for 4 hours, and I gave each girl $20.  It equaled out to $10/hour ($5/girl/hour) but I rationalized it by deciding that dh and I get a sitter about five times a year and it was nice of them to come over and help me out so we could go to dh's work dinner.

The kids had a great time.  They ate pizza, had ice cream, and got to watch a movie.  I pretended that this was AMAZING when I got home and the kids were delighted to tell me how awesome their night was.  It was funny.  :)