How much to pay babysitter?

Question

We are hiring a babysitter for the first time. She is 18yrs old and has babysitting experience plus she has worked at the daycare my 3 yr old son goes to for 2 years. She will be watching our 6yr old daughter and 3year old son. She will be here from 6:30 Till about midnight. what do you think will be appropriate to pay? By the way we are in a small louisiana town

Answer 1

$3- $5 an hour

Answer 2

I think about $40 would be cool, usually when its a small time frame u dont charge by the hour

Answer 3

6$-9$ sounds about right

Answer 4

$7-$8 per hour sounds fair. Make sure she is certified in CPR

Answer 5

Well if u are intending to pay her for a night out here and there then a regular set fee per night would work, I wo uld go around $7 hourly...  And If u are planning to use her for more hours like daily then I would set up a pay schedule like $5.50-6 hourly... Daycares get about $208 weekly to watch a small child under 3.. So if u figure this out, for 40 hours a week they only get like $5.20 hourly.. And that is base pay, if u really like the person then u can give more. See how she is with ur kids and then u can add to it, I would probably start a bit higher for the fact that she will have another child as well.. So around $6.25hourly would work nicely... Its the right amount to payout so that u can still afford to hire a bb-sitter... :)  Good luck

Answer 6

Honestly an 18 year old girl can be doing alot especially over summer so take it as almost a favor that she'll be doing this for you. Two kids is not an easy job to deal with at such a young age so be a little courteous. Since their is no Louisiana minimum wage may I recommend that of your neighboring state of Arkansas which is 6.25 an hour. Hope this helps.

Answer 7

the fact that she already knows one if your children is a plus.  and finding sitters in a small town can be difficult (went to college in a small town).  

is she feeding them?  usually would get more

cpr certified?  usually gets a little more

bathing the kids?  

driving distance to her house?  if it is in a neighboring town I would give her a lil more

bed time?, if it is early then she has an easy job, if the kids go to bed at 8, then she is only doing activities with them for 2.5 hours.

i would say 50-60 (that is with you staying out till 12:30)

Answer 8

okay i get 4 dallors an hour for 2 kids and 6 dallars a hour for 3......for your sittuation pay 4-5 dallars an hour b/c the sitter is 18 and has good experience...so about 35-40 dallars for that time period only approximate

talk to her and ak her what she expects then you can decide from there or you could just giv her...dont gib her off b/c she wont come back

Answer 9

8 dollars an hr

Answer 10

my sister gets 100$ dollars a week monday-friday

Answer 11

I have been a nanny/babysitter for 4-5 years and I get $12-$15 an hour. It all depends on experience. I would say nothing under $10.

Answer 12

as a babysitter I charge $3 per child per hour.

If you're not sure you can ask her since she has experience she might have a rate

Answer 13

I'm almost 20 and I usually get $10 an hour, but never expect or request this much.  If it is a weekend, I would pay higher than if it was a weekday,(ex: 9 weekday, 10 weekend) as teens like to go out on weekend evenings.  I would say at least $1 above minimum wage.  I get just over $9/hr  through a company I work for, no matter how many kids there are. Most teen sitters will never decline/argue what you suggest as a fair price, but they do take offense is it is too low, and if she has another job other than the daycare and she is taking time off to watch your kids, make sure your pay at least match the hourly rate she would have gotten (i have taken time off work to babysit, and the parent has given me less than minimum wage and i find it rude and insulting, b/c if someone knows you would be making more somewhere else but takes off b/c they are all you have you they kind of hope for the parent to match what you make to make it not a waist, I make a little over min. at one job)  Make sure you talk to her about what she usually gets or what she sees fair, a lot of times a teen does not feel comfortable telling a parent that what they are getting does not seem fair or match up to the going rate, be sure to tell her you don't know what the going rate is and don't say "other parents said this amount", b/c then if it is too low they will feel obligated to deal with it, people will often agree with their friends, so what other parents agree with you about may not b what they would give.  Most people I know give 9-10 in my area, but i'd say at least 8 an hr.  if you do a flat rate for the night i'd say around $50, def. no less than $45

Answer 14

At least minimum wage, and I would suggest an extra dollar/hour at least for each extra child.

You are hiring someone who is trained, and older (which generally/hopefully means more responsible) so you really need to pay more than the $2/$3 rate many 13-14 year olds are willing to accept.

I know if you pay more it gets expensive really quick, but remember that these are your children you're entrusting to another person! Really it's a question of what you're willing to pay for your children's safety/happiness (within reason of course - I know we'd all pay the world if we could for our children's safety!). That you're leaving them with someone capable is well worth the extra money.