Babysitter spinoff: how much do YOU pay?

[maya44]

Just curious as to what is considered normal payment where you are.

Here nightime adult sitter runs $10-$12 per hour.

[mommyofshmoo]

Here in Seattle (close to downtown) sitters run around $13-15 per hour. That is for an adult sitter. Some college kids are closer to $10-12 and some highschoolers are more like $8.

Families with several children including babies may pay more like $16-18 for nanny-ttpe services.

[mirlee]

We pay the neighbor kid down the street about $2 an hour when we need someone to just hang out with our son and play while we do something like reorganize the basement or some other task where we really can't have him under foot. We pay other sitters about $8 an hour. Our friend usually will watch him and has been known to work for dinner. She is ds' "other"mom, so she doesn't feel she can take payment for just playing and loving him. Even if we hired out a sitter, we would still do $8. If someone wanted more, then he would just come with us if that is possible. I am not willing to pay more than that.

[Lil'M]

I pay $12 for our regular adult babysitter who does laundry, etc. when the kids are asleep. She started at $10 and I've paid her more over time. If I use a young teenager who needs a ride and does nothing around the house when the kids are asleep, I pay $7. Those that are a little older and drive to my house I pay $8. College students get $9-$10. This seems typical in our area.

[HappyLamb]

In my neighborhood, high school kids get $5. College age people get $8. "Nannies" (ie- adults who do this full-time) get between $10-$12.
When I have a sixth or seventh grader come over as a "mother's helper,"- the going rate ies $2 or $2.50. A real bargain!

[mammastar2]

We pay our current highschooler $7/hr. We paid one whose first job it was $5/hour, with her mom down the street as back-up. A particularly experienced girl we paid $8/hour. All highschoolers, though.

[moonshine]

I am happy I just found a sitter who will take $10/hr for 2 kids. She would have taken less, but we generally pay $10-12/hr, and I felt weird paying less.

[mommyofshmoo]

Oh-just noticed I didn't answer the question- what do *I* pay.

I have a few sitters I use. I pay between $10 and $13.

[MomInCalifornia]

15 an hour for an adult sitter
10 an hour for a HS'er
Free with grammy and papa!

[SMR]

Dang!! When I was babysitting - probably 8 yrs ago.. I made 3 bucks an hour! and guess what?? I was ecstatic about it!!!
I feel lucky to have tons of family around who will babysit for free when this lil' bean is born... I don't think I could afford 50 bucks every time dh and I wanted to go out for a few hours!

[dharmamama]

I know a woman who keeps a babysitter on retainer. She pays the girl $25 a week to be available Friday and Saturday nights as long as the woman has requested her services by Wednesday evening. If she asks the girl to sit after Wednesday evening and the girl has already made other plans, oh well.

If the girl does sit for her, she gets her $25 retainer for the week plus $10 an hour. If she doesn't sit, she still gets her $25 retainer. This way she's almost guaranteed to have her babysitter of choice any time she wants her.

Must be nice ... if you ahve the money.

Namaste!

[AngelBee]

$7.00/hr to my brother who is 17yrs

My dance students often offer to pay ME to babysit! They would gladly do it for free if I let them.

[PancakeGoddess]

we don't use a sitter these days but our mother's helper gets $5/hr to play with the baby while I get work done at my desk. He's 13yo.

[RubyWild]

I don't pay anything. I started a babysitting co-operative, instead. I love it. My daughter knows all the moms and kids and rather than feeling like she's being babysat, it's a playdate at a friend's house.

If anyone is interested, there's a great book on how to start a co-op. Smart Mom's Baby-Sitting Co-Op Handbook: How We Solved the Baby-Sitter Puzzle. I know it's not an option for everyone, but I like to share the idea for those who might benefit.

[philomom]

Our high school sitters get 7$ an hour.
Our college students or grown-up get 10$ an hour.

[aprons_and_acorns]

We have a great high school senior who lives up the street. She's planning a career in child care, beginning with tech school classes next fall. We pay her $8 an hour. Plus an open-fridge policy, of course

We her!

[LunaMom]

Our teen babysitters (we have two) get $7 per hour. We only have one child. If I had two, I might pay more, especially if one was a baby...but then again, I never left DD with a sitter when she was a baby anyway!

[P-chan]

High school sitter gets $8/hour. Her parents (friends of ours) told us that that is on the high end and if the house isn't spotless when we get home, we should let them know.

College sitter gets $15/hour. We are overpaying her too, but I know that she could earn close to that with an on-campus job. We all adore her and think she is worth it, especially because I have a child care subsidy grant through my employer that offsets some of the cost.

We never have these sitters babysit after bedtime, but if we did I would try to negotiate a lower rate for sleeping hours.

I have one active, non-napping 2-year-old.

[nicole lisa]

We pay our awesome teen sitter $8./hr and he and DS order out for dinner and we get movies for them to watch. This way DS gets a fun night, with a special dinner just as DP and I are getting.

[PancakeGoddess]

I'm wondering, for those who pay more to older sitters and less to younger sitters, why?