Going Rate for Sitters

I think teenagers should get $5-$10 a hour and if your hiring someone with education in early childhood, another mom, a nanny, or any adult I would expect anywhere from $8-$12 a hour. That is a huge leap your babysitter is asking for. I pay my next door neighbor neighbor who's 15 years old $20.00 for the night to watch my 5 year old.

I think that is too much! Paying 8-12 for someone older with education...maybe, but not your average babysitter expecially because it is all under the table. My sister in law who is 22 babysits for her uncle and makes $10.00 per hour and she watches 3 boys, 3, 7 and 11.
Good Luck!

Hi J.,

I think that is insane. My husband, who has a college degree, just got back into the job market and he couldn't even find something that pays $12.00 right away. Plus, your sitter asked for a 50% pay increase? That is just unrealistic. If she was older and had some sort of early child development degree and she was more like a nanny (cooking, cleaning, etc.) I would think $10-12 would be fair. Other than that, I think she should appreciate what she is getting and understand that it isn't like that in the real world. Sorry if this sounds harsh (I just re-read it), but I think younger generations expect so much more to be just handed to them, they seriously lack an appreciation for what they have, and the concept of hard work and good work ethics are out the window.

I guess it would depend on how old she is. We pay our sitter 8.00 per hour and she is 17.00. I think that pay for babysitter's is getting out of hand! The younger the babysitter the less we pay.

Hi! I am a 23 yr old single mom, and do some babysitting. I have a profile up on babysitters.com and sittercity.com to find families, and both say that the pay range for a babysitter is from $5-$15/hr. It depends on the age/experience of the babysitter, and how much you are willing to pay. A lot of people pay $10+ now, which I could never imagine paying, but it has become very common. If you want a high school student, $5-$10 is a good range, more like $5-$8. If you want someone older, with experience, you are going to have to be willing to pay $10 or more usually. I do it because I like it, not just for the money, so I have accepted $7 and $8. But I also have been a nanny and worked in a daycare center, as well as raising my son alone, so I have more experience than any high school student you might find. I actually just got a HUGE offer last weekend... of course it was a Dr with a lot of money and I guess nothing better to spend it on, he considered asking wednesday for saturday night to be short notice (I don't think it is), and he offered me $25/hr and as many hours as I wanted. So there are people who pay a LOT out there too...

But most people I know won't babysit for anything under $12/hr, but they are all my age, with their own children too. Everyone says I am letting people take advantage of me by babysitting for less, but I feel it is still plenty for babysitting. When I was in school... I was excited for $3/hr, so I won'to complain about what I am getting now. And besides that, I am a single mom to a 2 1/2 yr old, with not a lot of money. I never pay a babysitter, and if I had to, I couldn't imagine doing anything that would even be worth $8/hr! To go out with friends, pay for everything you are doing, plus like $50 for the babysitter? Thats just not worth it for me. I am lucky to have a mom living close by who complains that I never let her watch him, and is always happy if I find a reason to. I hope this helps a little... I guess it just depends on what you are willing to pay! I see you live in Eden Prarie, thats not too far from me. I am ok with $8/hr if you are interested!

J.

I pay $12 an hour for four/five kids - my 13 year old technically does not get babysat. I used Sara's Sitting Service, she charged $8 an hour for two.

I do inhome daycare during the day (full) and charge $3.50 per kid per hour for date nights or weekend outtings. From one direction, some may say that this is far too cheap, but when I go out and have to tick off $8 an hour or $12 an hour on top of what we spend, we don't get to have as good of a time as we could! It's crazy what they charge down here! I just started letting my 13 year old babysit if we're staying in A.V.

I would agree with the other moms 12dollars is too much I pay around 6 or so for my three that are 7,6,3. But I try to take into consideration if they will be sleeping or anything aswell and usually round to a whole number.