How Much Would You Pay for a Baysitter/nanny?

Updated on February 18, 2011
N.H. asks from Anaheim, CA
17 answers

I have always been lucky to have family members watch my 2 children, but I am looking into using a babysitter on occasion. What is a reasonable amount to pay for a babysitter/nanny per hour? Would you pay more if she was CPR certified? Also, do you pay less if your child is potty trained? What is the going rate for a 6 month old and 2 year old? Thanks so much for sharing your opinions!

What can I do next?

  • Add yourAnswer own comment
  • Ask your own question Add Question
  • Join the Mamapedia community Mamapedia
  • as inappropriate
  • this with your friends

More Answers

Smallavatar-fefd015f3e6a23a79637b7ec8e9ddaa6

T.R.

answers from Tulsa on

I just have one son right now (18mo) I pay my cousin $15 for the first hour to cover her gas (30 min drive one way) and $3/hr after that. She's very happy with that. When I have another child (not even prego yet) I will probably keep the first hour the same, and raise the per hour after that $2-$3, depending on how old my son is.

She only babysits about 4-5 times a month right now so it works out well. I have a backup babysitter that babysits about 1-2 times a month and I pay her the same.

3 moms found this helpful
Smallavatar-fefd015f3e6a23a79637b7ec8e9ddaa6

L.L.

answers from New York on

I wouldn't expect to pay any less than $15/hr for 2 small children...and not sure what potty trained has to do with it. Childcare is childcare.

1 mom found this helpful
Smallavatar-fefd015f3e6a23a79637b7ec8e9ddaa6

D.K.

answers from San Francisco on

Depending on the experience of the nanny $15-20 per hour. Right now I have a 20 year old and pay $15 hour. I have had nannies over 30 years old and pay $20 an hour. Remember legally the nanny is an employee and you have to withhold taxes, social security, state disability, etc. We have always done this. A couple of nannies ago. We had a bad one who kept threatening to turn us into the state for disability. Luckily we had been paying like we are supposed to so it was an empty threat.

1 mom found this helpful
Smallavatar-fefd015f3e6a23a79637b7ec8e9ddaa6

B.M.

answers from Chicago on

It depends on your city.

You can go on sittercity.com and they have a calculator that will tell you the going rate based on your city, # and ages of children and qualifications of the sitter.
http://www.sittercity.com/babysitting-rates.html

I pay $10 for a college student to stay with my 10 year old girl. She is CPR certified and willing to drive my daughter to/from activities/things to do.
On top of the $10/hour I feed her whatever my daughter is eating and if they do any activities (like go see a movie) I pay her way into the theater (and they split popcorn).

A 6 month old and a 2 year old are MUCH more work than one 10 year old, but I'm not sure of the cost of living change for anaheim vs chicago. I would say you would be in the $12-$15 range for 2 kids at that age where the sitter will have to be involved. However, if you are talking about a Fri/Sat night where the sitter is only going to be interacting with your kids 1-2 hrs and then they go to sleep and she is just there watching TV until you get home and/or one of your kids wake up... you could probably pay $10/hour.

Anything less than that and you are getting someone who has either never watched little kids before and/or is just desperate.

1 mom found this helpful
Smallavatar-fefd015f3e6a23a79637b7ec8e9ddaa6

J.L.

answers from Chicago on

I have three kids...you get what you pay for...We pay $15 an hour. We are very good to her because after all she is watching our precious treasures!

1 mom found this helpful
Smallavatar-fefd015f3e6a23a79637b7ec8e9ddaa6

M.J.

answers from Sacramento on

We pay $15/hour for an adult babysitter (CPR certified, owns a daycare) watching our two kids. I think that's about average in a major metro area. Potty training doesn't affect the price; the experience level of the babysitter or nanny does, though. You'll pay less to have a teen watch your kids than for an adult.

Smallavatar-fefd015f3e6a23a79637b7ec8e9ddaa6

S.F.

answers from Santa Barbara on

We pay our twenty year old sitter 12/hour for a 2 and 4 year old. She is not CPR trained, but has a lot of experience.

Smallavatar-fefd015f3e6a23a79637b7ec8e9ddaa6

M.S.

answers from Dallas on

Excited about 9-10 and hour, more likely at 11-12, 13-14 if they've been with you a long time

Smallavatar-fefd015f3e6a23a79637b7ec8e9ddaa6

M.N.

answers from Los Angeles on

I have an 18 month old and have always paid between $10 and $12 an hour for my sitters. I think asking anything up to $15 is probably reasonable.

Smallavatar-fefd015f3e6a23a79637b7ec8e9ddaa6

D.G.

answers from Chicago on

It definitely depends on your area. Sittercity.com is a great place to start to figure out a fair rate of pay. Our sitter is cpr certified, 26 y/o, works as a nanny for 2 children during the day so has alot of experience. We pay her $13.00 an hour for a 3 y/o who's potty trained for a date night once a month. The average in my area, suburbs of chicago is around $10.00 - $15.00.

Smallavatar-fefd015f3e6a23a79637b7ec8e9ddaa6

D.M.

answers from San Diego on

My 15 year old daughter makes $8/hour for babysitting two kids that are potty trained. It would probably be the same amount even if she had to change diapers.

A.S.

answers from Spokane on

I've got 4 kids and I usually pay 10-12 an hour depending on how experienced they are (and how outrageous my children are being). I don't see why they should get less/more depending on if a child is in diapers. It's all part of the job. However, if the babysitter is CPR certified, I do pay more, usually about $15 an hour. You'll have to see what the rates in your area are but be careful. On another forum I saw a mom asking if it was ok for a girl to be asking $20 per child per hour (this woman had 5 kids) so you could see how quickly that would add up. And the girl wasn't CPR certified either. Talk to your friends, see who they use and recommend. That's how I've found all of my babysitters, as well as through my Church. My Church has a great nursery program and it's run by our Church's Youth. The girls in there are totally awesome. The Church does pay them, but it's only $12 an hour flat rate, it doesn't matter how many little ones attend that day. Some days there may be one or two kiddos in there, but other days there could be as many as 10.

When I was a girl, I just asked for whatever they felt was reasonable. Sometimes I got very little and was frustrated because I felt my work was worth more. But other times, I got WAY more than I should have. The thing was, I got most of the babysitting jobs because I wasn't asking an arm and a leg. It was all word of mouth from the mom's I worked for which is why I said you should ask around your friends. Word of mouth is big because your friends will tell you exactly why they do or do not like a specific girl (or boy). I have never called a girl that was not vetted by one of my friends or that I had personally met before.

Smallavatar-fefd015f3e6a23a79637b7ec8e9ddaa6

J.B.

answers from Atlanta on

From previous posts on here it seems to range pretty wildly depending on where you live. In Atlanta for two children those ages, you would be excited to get a good sitter for $10 per hour, but you normally expect to pay $12 or $13 -sometimes even $15. Some sitters will charge less if both kids will be asleep most or the entire time you're gone or maybe more if it's the middle of the day and they're going to really have to be involved with the kids. I've never paid more for CPR certification. It's never really come up except for when we were hiring a nanny. I've also never heard of paying less for potty-trained kids. Some people are comfortable with the 14 or 15 year old down the street who only charges $5 per hour and some are not. I'm in the "not" category. I don't mind young sitters or teens, but they have to have had a LOT of experience and come to me on a trusted reference.

Smallavatar-fefd015f3e6a23a79637b7ec8e9ddaa6

B.B.

answers from San Antonio on

Wow - I guess we are lucky! We pay $10/hour to a college girl to watch our 2 kids - 1 year and 3 years. She knows them well and knows all of their routines as her mom watched them in an in-home daycare when they were infants. I will round up - if it is 4 hours and I was planning to pay $40, I will give her $50 to say thanks.

Smallavatar-fefd015f3e6a23a79637b7ec8e9ddaa6

S.G.

answers from Los Angeles on

While in HS, my daughter usually got $5-8/hour. Now that she's in college, she's getting $12-15/hour.

Smallavatar-fefd015f3e6a23a79637b7ec8e9ddaa6

C.A.

answers from Los Angeles on

How old/experienced is the sitter? i pay btwn 7-10 bucks an hour. depending on experience, if they clean up dinner dishes, if the kids are asleep the whole time, vs actually having to entertain them.

Smallavatar-fefd015f3e6a23a79637b7ec8e9ddaa6

K.P.

answers from New York on

We have a regular "date night" sitter and we pay her $8 an hour and then just "round up" when we get home. She's in college and works part-time at my son's daycare so we asked her what she charges... usually $5-$7 an hour, but our old sitter charged $8 so we went with it!

For Updates and Special Promotions
Follow Us

Related Questions