What is the going rate to pay a babysitter these days??

Marcelie - posted on 10/09/2009

I have twins, i pay 200.00 per week. she came to my house every morning 7:00 AM to 6:00 PM

Amy - posted on 10/09/2009

It all depends if the person watching your kids have their license, CPR cert., FIRST AID cert. or just a babysitter. For just a babysitter, It should be $3.00-$4.50/hr each depending on the child. If it's an infant $5.00/hr each. With a license, $7.00-$9.00/hr each. Anything above that is too much.

Jodye - posted on 10/10/2009

Well I live in Texas and here the daycares usually cost about $125/week for infants. My son is almost 5 months old and his babysitter that I have now is only charging me $75/week which is a blessing. So I don't really know about where anyone else lives how they are charged.

Kelly - posted on 10/10/2009

i dony know where u live but with 5 kids thats a lot of work unless they r in bed asleep . my daycare lady charges 6.25 an. hr depending on how many hrs or if they r in bed and asleep .3 hrs if a sleep i would say 25 but if a wake i would say 50

User - posted on 02/22/2011

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[deleted account]

We are in central cali and I've been looking for childcare too. After calling a few...they average about 25 to 35/hour. I have an infant so rates are higher.

Alison - posted on 10/12/2009

I would say that the ages of your kids plays a factor but sitters have told me that it is about 8 for 1 kids and a dollar more per hour for each additional kid. 9/hr for 2, 10/hr for 3 etc... so you would pay 12/hr for 5 kids.

Traci - posted on 10/12/2009

I'm in Minnesota but I am in a suburb of Minneapolis. So prices around here are going to be a little higher than if you are - well - pretty much anywhere else in Minnesota. LOL! Anyway, around here we pay about $3 to $4 per hour, per kid for an experienced teenage babysitter. But then I've only got two kids. Having 5 kids you could probably lower your "per hour/per kid" rate a little because part of the payment is just paying them for their time. They are spending the same amount of time whether they are watching 1 kid or 5 kids. After that it's just paying them for however much extra effort they have to put out for the 5 kids vs 1 or 2 kids. That could be very dependent on how well behaved your kids are, how much they play on their own vs wanting to play with the babysitter, etc. I would guess the $10/hour that you mentioned would probably be pretty reasonable.

Jennifer - posted on 10/10/2009

I have lived in NYC and Boulder CO. I pay $12 hr for 2 kids ages 3 and 5 yrs. $10-12 is the going rate in both these areas.

Georgina - posted on 10/10/2009

Personally I would look at an alternatiive way of around this. I would try and find someone who also has as many or a bit less than yourself and exchange sitting days to help each other out at no cost. If that does not suit you then I would suggest that $20 per hour would be suitable. Depending on how much effort is required of the sitter.

Angela - posted on 10/10/2009

I work at a daycare and a lot of us babysit after hours. Most of us charge aproximately 8-12 $s an hour. I know that sounds like a lot but most of us are mothers and need to find someone to take care of our kids so that we can go take care of someone elses kids just to have money to put gas in the car. I think the rates that daycares charge (180 for 3s and 200 for 2s even more for infants) is outragous but you definately get what you pay for. I think that for someone who has a limited budget for this would definately benifit in building a relationship with a local teenager or elderly lady without grandkids of her own. I think that it is about quality and even though you will definately get that with a licensed child care provider from a local daycare the relationship you can build with someone in your neighborhood would be benificial to your whole family and them as well! When they love your family they will take good care of them!

Kimberly - posted on 10/09/2009

I run my own daycare Ms. Kimberlys Playground. I charge 22$ a day 25 3days or less. Per child. I feed them and am open 5:30 till 5:30 a day some weekends. My email is kmosley007@yahoo. You need anything just send me a email. :) Ms.KIM

Emily - posted on 10/09/2009

From what I have heard the standard is $10 per hour up to two kids and like $5 extra per hour per kid.

Lorin - posted on 10/09/2009

$10.00 an hour is the going rate for two kids in Thousand Oaks, California, I am not sure what the rate is for 5 kids but I imagine $15-18.00 would be sufficient

Lynn - posted on 10/09/2009

all family needs are not the same i babysit for a single mom with two little boys we worked out a price she could pay i try to help not put in a worst problem im available where do u live i live in winder i can help babysiting is not a job you have to love it

Elaine - posted on 10/09/2009

hi my child normally babysits for friends off ours and she pays him £10 for a 3/4 hours and he is very happy with the money

Eve - posted on 10/08/2009

In TN I have payed a daycare 15$ for a child over 3 and I haven't had to pay for child care on the weekends or nights so...

[deleted account]

In vermont I pay about $7/ hour to my 16yr old neighbor for my 6yr, 8yr and 10yr old . they are easy kids and go right to bed. I know others pay her more though. I tend to round up if they are awake most of the time andrequire more care and I round down when they are asleep most of the time.

Maria - posted on 10/08/2009

It does depends on where you live. I work for a family. I watch their 2 girls 1 & 3 and they pay me 12hr. If you want sign up for Care.com. Its a free website for either families looking for a nanny or an individual looking 4 a nanny job. You put in either the hours you need someone for if you r the parent or the hrs u can work if u r the sitter. They contact u each time when they have a job and/or nanny who lives nearby and can do the things that u require for your children. The family I'm with found me thru Care.com and I have been with them for almost a year and love it.

Isabella - posted on 10/08/2009

Hi there i Live here in Florida and I used to watch alot of kids after all they all love me but the funny part is people just did not want to even pay $2.00 an hour they want less because it is still too much and those parents who drink they are afraid of us taking there drinking money, if they can not afford it stay home, now the licensed providers really rip you off , they charge you twice as much so you go to work just to pay someone else to watch your kids . I think when you do get a good babysitter that will actually watch the kids instead of being there as a couch potato and do nothing they get nothing now if they are awesome with the kids and they like each other I pay them $100.00 to $125.00 a week I my self have 2 children one is 5 and the other 13 I can have the 13yr old watch the 5yrold but i can't because they fight to much lol ya can't win from loosing , just remember you know who it is an that they have a good reputation with other babysitting experience just don't get someone because they need a job be very careful the kids have to be happy to.

Wendy - posted on 10/08/2009

I have lived in Washington State, West Virginia, Pennsylvania, and Ohio. For 2 kids I pay $5-$7 an hour. Most of my sitters were high school girls and occasionally college age. I would love to pay more than that but just cannot afford to. I would also love to think that the more money we pay the better care we get for our children. Unfortunately, I have not had that experience. Sitters who need a little cash, who love kids, may not leave your house spotless, but your kids may be well cared for and have lots of fun....may really not care a whole lot about the money. Where else can you work where you have some peace and quiet to do homework, talk on the phone, watch movies/tv, eat what you want (you know, once the kids are in bed), AND get paid?!?!?!?! I encouraged my sitters to sleep if/when they got tired after my kids were in bed if I was going to be out late. I had one or two sitters who knew me well and knew my kids well. I also had a good relationship with their parents. I believe that good sitters come with a relationship not so much a price tag....you have to know who is watching your kids.... in my humble opinion :-)

Amanda - posted on 10/08/2009

I run a home childcare in Alaska and I charge $4.00 an hour for kids under 3 and $3.50 for kids over 3. I also provide breakfast and snack and the kids bring a sack lunch.

Jennifer - posted on 10/08/2009

Quoting Lori:

What is the going rate to pay a babysitter these days??

I would like to take a look at what people feel is appropriate to pay a sitter. I have 6 kids, 5 need a sitter. Sometimes I don't feel like I pay enough or too much etc. What's your input?

Here inOHio, The state llicensed rate is roughly $3 an hour per child.  I tip extra if my kids seem happy when I get home or pick them up.  Even more if the sitter does any of the house hold chores

Michelle - posted on 10/08/2009

My daughter charges $5 an hour for the first child and then $1 an hour per each additional child - so for 5 kids, it would be $9 an hour. We live outside the Seattle, WA area. My suggestion to her was $5 an hour for the first, $2 an hour for the second and then $1 an hour for additional - but she went with $1 per extra.

Angela - posted on 10/08/2009

WOW! I am a licensed provider and I only charge $2.50 per hour per child. I would love to watch some of your kids. A non licensed provider I would pay $2 per hour per child.

Tina - posted on 10/08/2009

Are you wanting a babysitter for the weekends or appts or are you wanting a daycare provider? For a babysitter, I think $5 an hour per child is average around here.. but I usually just pay my friend's teenage daughter to watch my kids.

Lisa - posted on 10/08/2009

I babysit and get 25 dollars a day. I am a great child care provider and have a great rep with children. It must be worth the work. I also babysit another family and they have three kids. Week end and special events are more. They color, play games and are fed very well. I would not except a child under 20 per day . A family your size would probably get charged at the very min 150. per week. It is on the average that for 1 child in daycare around here. a sitter in the 60's or 80's is the flop house kind usually that just let the children flop and dont inter act.Quality comes first. Day cares have a budget system for large families. I have five children of my own. Two are not yet out of high school, so I get where your coming from with a van load of kids. Good luck and best wishes.

[deleted account]

We use local neighborhood teens which helps. They don't yet have a full time job and they also don't pay taxes on the money we give them so it's straight take home pay. When our kids were infants we paid $5/hr but we have 1 almost 7 yr old and a 3 yr old and we pay $7/hr now. I live in MN. If they do extra chores around the house like picking up the toys or doing the dishes we add a "tip". We find that it motivates them more than just a flat rate of like $10 which we can't afford anyway.

Vicki - posted on 10/08/2009

I had a sitter requesting that much an hour in NC but that is when they were infants, Now that they are older I just asked a differnt girl in the neighborhood and she charges $5 for 3 kids. I think you need to shop around.

Lori - posted on 10/07/2009

Yeah Minnesota I have no clue!! But I was paying about 1-2$ per hour per kid (depending on the ones that are there) Some are naughtier and need to be paid more for them. LOL Just to be nice!! Since there WERE 6 I figure ten an hour wasn't horrible. Considering legally I can leave all of them but two home alone. I just don't trust them!

Michelle - posted on 10/07/2009

Wow! I was curious to know the answer to this question too! $10-$15 an hour is more than some adults make here in the mid-west...I usually pay about $2.00/hr per kid for occasional babysitting from a neighborhood teen. An evening out (2-3 hours) usually costs me $25 If I had to spend more than that we would never go out, by the time we spent for dinner and any other activity we would be broke.

Jennifer - posted on 10/07/2009

It really depends on where you live. Here in Portland Oregon, a college/adult sitter is at least $10 an hour for up to 2 kids. For 5 kids, probably $15 an hour. If you get a teenager, it could be $10-12 an hour. But if you live in a different economic climate, like the midwest or south or the rural scapes of the US, it could be substantially less. Before you hire a sitter, ask them what THEY feel is a fair wage. As a mother of 6, you need a sitter so you can get out and stay in touch with yourself and let your hair down.