Do You Tip a Babysitter?

I agree with the tipping around holidays and with rounding up.

I don't tip but I round up too. At least twice a week I'll give her $10.00 to get lunch or coffee if she takes my daughter out during the day. If she's done extra or if I'm later than I said I would be, I'll throw in a few extra dollars. I buy food or magazines that I know she really likes (for after bedtime). I always have drinks and water available (in my case Diet coke) Tha nail salon suggestion is really good but really any little extra every now and then makes sense. $8.00 is a really low hourly wage so I would be creative if I were you to ensure you keep her ;-)

i agree with the other posts, plus holidays are a good time to tip, a little extra for christmas, birthday,etc. Also, Gift Cards to a nailsalon is nice, you can get them in $10 increments usually.

Hello, I babysit for someone i met on this site actually, and its ok to tip believe me it's no easy job to take care of kids. And $8-$10 is really not a whole lot of money. I know if I got a tip i would really appreciate it. It's all up to you, if you have a good person helping you show appreciation, it's a good way to show you care too.

I tend to 'round up' from time to time-
like if you come home & she's done more than you expected (ex: cleaned/tidied up)or if you're a bit later coming home than you said...
now, if she's late or something just pay the $8/hr

you're lucky w/ the rate- my babysitter raised her rate from $8 to $10 & it's hard to find anyone less than $10 here nowadays (north miami/miami beach)- the going rate is more like $10-$15 an hour; it's outrageous!

Depends. If you hire them through an agency then yes, because they split the wage earned with managers, receptionists, etc. I've worked for a couple different agencies and the average tip was $40 per sit. While working for a private family they did nice gestures like getting me a $50 pier 1 gift card when I got my first apartment. It depends on your relationship with your sitter when working privately. While I was in college, the family I sat for really became a second family as I went to school out of state. It was nice to be a part of the little ones birthdays, pool parties, cook outs, etc. They even offered to allow me and some friends to use their jacuzzi and offered access to their vacation home. Like I said, it depends on your relationship with your sitter.

M.,

You generally do not tip a babysitter. You are paying them for babysitting and generally they are paid between $8 and $10 and that is usually sufficient.

I hope this helps.

S.
SAHM of 3 boys