A Guide to Setting Babysitting Rates
You can learn a lot about what a babysitter expects to get paid by visiting bulletin boards visited by babysitters. There are also online calculators that you can use. Before asking someone to babysit, you can plug information into the calculator and it will give you a rough estimate of what you should be paying them.
What you pay a babysitter will vary based on your location, how many children you have and how old they are, how old your babysitter is, and how much experience they have. Certain circumstances can change what you will pay. Twins under a year, or babies under four months old usually cost an extra dollar per hour, because they require just a bit more attention. Special or high needs children (autistic, for example) may also bring an extra premium.
Roughly speaking, watching a child in a big city like New York, or LA will cost you between $11 and $13 per hour. Each extra child would cost an additional dollar an hour. In a rural area, or a city in the midwest US a babysitter will cost you between $6 and $8 an hour. These are fees that babysitters in their late teens to early twenties can expect to make. If you have a young babysitter, they may not expect to get paid as much.
Of course, if you have a babysitter that goes the extra mile, a little extra money will be appreciated. Some babysitters show up with crafts, or books, or movies they think the kids will enjoy. Babysitters that can drive themselves to your home are a bonus, and paying for their gas money might be a nice thing to do. Some babysitters will be wiling to do housework, which should be worth an extra one or two dollars per hour.
Of course, speak with your babysitter about his or her fees before they actually come to babysit. If they are experienced, they may already have in mind what they expect to be paid. If they are inexperienced, they may appreciate your input.
Remember, if you find a great babysitter to pay them well. The difference of $10 over the course of an evening will be well worth it if you can have someone reliable take care of your children when you are out.
Published by Frogdoc
I work as a biologist, researching the effects of environmental change (contaminants, ultraviolet radiation, etc) on amphibians. I have a wonderful husband and two babies that I love to spend time with. View profile
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11 Comments
Post a CommentPrinted this for my daughter. Great info, thank you.
Great article!! =) I always wonder how much a babysitter should be paid. :)
Very important. We always paid our's well.
Nice piece.
This is a very good article. In my area, though, finding a good and reliable babysitter is much harder then negotiating pay.
I may start up a daddy daycare ;-) Thanks for an informative article.
Bargaining power must be with the buyer in this recession, though.
I used to baby sit when I was a teenager as did my Sister. I think we made $5 an hour in Brooklyn, NY. That was almost 50 years ago so it sounds like baby sitters are a good value if they only get $12 an hour today in the city. Great article.
Wonderful guide!
great guide!