My husband and I have an ongoing argument about the amount I pay babysitters. He thinks I pay too much and I am just going by what another mom had told me in the past. Will you PLEASE tell me how much you pay per kid, per hour? This would be a tremendous help. I really do not want to under pay and I don't want to pay too much either-- maybe I would go out more. Anyway I would appreciate feedback on this matter! Thanks!
Friday, December 7, 2007
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5 comments:
I probably pay $2 per kid per hour. I think that's super cheap. If I pay much more than that, the mom's of the girls are horrified. I mean, they are kids watching my kids. So anyway, in total about $6/hr but sometimes we throw extra on the top. If I was paying an older person, I would probably pay more. Currently we have a 15 year old babysitting for us and all we have to do is bleach her teeth. Bliss.
I pay 5.00 an hour for my 2 kids. I tell myself that if I hire a 11/12 year old I would pay less because they have less experience, but I end up paying the same as the older kids.
In our last area the girls were charging $10/hour. They were good and all - but good gracious! I refused to sell my soul for that. So here in our area (Irvine) I trade with other moms. It's free - you just have to watch other kids for a day or night. If I could find a decent babysitter for $5 an hour for my two kids I would sing hallelujah! Let me know what the final consensus is so that I can negotiate a deal should I ever need to (gulp) hire a sitter.
Wow! I'd like to know what you have been paying Heather! I have heard that $2/hour per child is about the going rate. However, when you have a very young child who requires more work, you might consider paying a little more if the babysitter is VERY attentive. I always get TONS of references. You can also do things like telling your sitter when you call her to ask her to babysit you will pay her a certain amount for the night (decide what you can afford and tell her that amount). I think when you tell a 12/13 year old that they will make $15 for 3-4 hours of work they are pretty excitied about it. Remember, they have no other source of income. Try to remember what it was like when you were that age. I'm not suggesting you take advantage of them because of thier age, but, usually they end up putting your kids to bed and watching TV, or texting their friends for the rest of the night. If I know my sitter reads to, and plays with my kids, cleans up after them, and my kids love her I would probably pay her a little more. But as I said before, the going rate is about $2/hour per child. Girls who are charging more than that need to go out and find other employment! Think of it this way; if you took your kids to daycare for 9 hours a day, you would probably pay anywhere from $25-$45/day per child, consevatively. That's about $3-$5 per hour. But, this is with ADULTS, in a facility that is not your home, with meals and activities included. A teenager in your home, with your food, that you will probably have to clean up after should not make more than a daycare provider! I think we should pay babysitters like waitresses. The base pay should be $1/hour, then if we like what we see when we get home we can "tip" them for "good service." Who's with me on this?!
Just a side note. I have found that the 13-14 year olds make the best sitters because once the girls start to get a little older they have less interest in babysitting and a lot more distractions!
Sorry about the novel I just wrote. You asked! :o)
I was told the following and it is what I do and feel it is fair...I have a friend that said she pays $2.00 an hour for the first kid and every kid beyond that .50 cents per hour. So I have two kids, I pay 2.50 an hour.
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