How Much Would I Pay a Sitter If I Am Home?

Updated on February 27, 2012
S.M. asks from Denton, TX
16 answers

I work from home and would like to hire someone to basically play with my one year old for a couple of hours in the mornings, 4 days a week so I can get work done. All they would have to do is keep him occupied, play in his room, take him for a walk, etc. I would be here the whole time. Would $6/hour be enough?

Also, if you are in the Denton area and know someone who could do it, will you let me know? It would probably have to be a college student because younger teenagers would be in school. They would also have to have their own transportation to get here. (There is a bus stop close to my house)

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B.R.

answers from Madison on

doesn't matter if you are home or not...especially if you are making them travel. $6.00 is too low even for where I live and I live in a tiny town.

1 mom found this helpful

R.H.

answers from Austin on

I am a part time teacher and although I could use the funds, I would steer clear away from sitting while a mama is there. Its like having a boss share a desk with you--nah for me and for my college level son to taking that sort of job.

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J.T.

answers from Dallas on

you pay the same you would pay if you weren't there - they are still there, using their time, working :) i don't pay a sitter less than $10 an hour... by the time they drive there and stay for 2 hours, it's hardly gonna be worthwhile for $12... i have a great sitter, but she's a college student with morning classes!

5 moms found this helpful
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M.J.

answers from Sacramento on

You would pay the same as if you weren't there. Babysitting is babysitting. A person's time remains worth the same amount whether you're at a movie or behind closed doors in a home office.

Pay rates in Texas may be lower than in California, but $6/hour seems low to me. That's below minimum wage. Take a look at Craigslist postings and get a sense of what others are paying.

5 moms found this helpful
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❤.M.

answers from Los Angeles on

I would pay $10/hr.
That is more the going rate, you get what you pay for etc.
You want a quality, mature individual that is going to care for your child.
Also, college students expect $10/hr at least because they can get that
anywhere these days.
Again, you want quality.
I love that you are going to be there! :)
Good luck!

3 moms found this helpful

N.G.

answers from Dallas on

It doesn't matter whether you're home, they still have to take their time to be there. I wouldn't pay them any less than you would pay any other sitter. $6/hour sounds way too low, I'd go at LEAST $10.

2 moms found this helpful

T.S.

answers from San Francisco on

I think if you want a mature, responsible and reliable sitter you should pay at LEAST $10 per hour. It's actually more work to babysit when the mom is home because she will need to keep your child distracted and entertained and out of your way.
How about $25 per day? That works out to be $12.50 per hour, $100 a week.

1 mom found this helpful

T.F.

answers from Dallas on

I would pay a minimum of $10 per hour, proably more for a more experienced college student.

My 17 yr old averages $12-$15 an hour cash for her weekend babysitting jobs.

1 mom found this helpful
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K.P.

answers from New York on

You would pay them the same rate you would pay a date-night sitter. Your expectations are the same- supervise, entertain, feed, change diapers, etc.

If you are looking for a college student, you may have better luck with afternoon hours. I would also suggest $8-$10 per hour. You can call your local community and 4 year colleges and find out if they keep a "babysitters" list. I know that my college did. As a student, you "registered" yourself (including availability) and local parents could call and get a bunch of names and numbers.

1 mom found this helpful
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S.B.

answers from Dallas on

I did something similar to this when I attended UNT. I got paid $10 per hour. The boy's dad was home and it was simply my job to keep the kiddo busy so Dad could work. I'd stop by the UNT ot TWU student center and post the job there. Someone with afternoon classes may love the idea!

1 mom found this helpful

T.K.

answers from Dallas on

you being home makes it harder on the sitter.
I pay $30 a day for a woman to watch mine in her own home. It's my gas, I drop off and pick up.

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A.E.

answers from Des Moines on

I would talk to a few different people. I think people right now need jobs they are not really all too picky on what they get paid. IMO
Tell them what you are willing to do calculate the overall number then tell them and see what they have to say.
I do agree call community colleges or maybe you would be able to find someone that homeschools and they do their schooling at a different time and could watch your little one.
Good luck and don't be fixed on the 10+, we haven't EVER paid a sitter that much. Texas maybe be different but ask around at church groups, mom groups and other forums.
Let us know what happens!!

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J.B.

answers from Boston on

I agree with the others - the fact that you're there doesn't make it any less work for you baby-sitter, so you would pay whatever the going rate is in your area. The only time you would pay less is if you hired a mother's helper, who is usually a younger teenager who plays with your kids while you're busy, but MH jobs are for younger teens/tweens and as you pointed out, those wouldn't work with your morning hours. I work from home some days and was going to hire a 7th grader to occupy my two younger kids after school and the pay for that would have been $5 per hour.

A.E.

answers from Dallas on

The minimum wage is $7.25/ hour in Texas. I would not pay anything less than that unless the person watching your child is under the age of 16. I would probably do a set rate like $105.00 or $26.25 per day for 4 days? In my opinion doing set rates for my previous babysitters worked better than per hour, just because in their eyes the hourly rate seemed so minute compared to the daily rate, which they were more preferable to for some reason. Hope this helps, best of luck to you !

M.D.

answers from Washington DC on

I think you should pay more. It's still their time that you're paying for. And it is MUCH harder to watch someone else's kids when they are there. Plus a 1 year old is a lot of work...I'd say more like $8-$10 an hour.

S.A.

answers from Chicago on

I agree that you should pay the sitter the same amount you would pay her if you weren't home. You should plan on letting the sitter do her job completely and be in your office working. When I was a teen, I babysat for a family who would hire me on Saturdays for the entire day so the husband could "work from home". He would constantly be popping in to give his baby girl a kiss, or play with her for ten minutes and so on....then it would take me 30 minutes to get the baby calmed down after he'd disappear back into his office. This drove me crazy and I quickly made myself unavailable for those Saturday jobs.

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