First-Time Babysitting: Tips for Negotiating Pay for a 2.5 Year Old

[chefpenny99]

My DD is babysitting for the first time tonight and I'm hoping the people she's sitting for will have an amount in mind that they will pay per hour. But , if they don't does anyone have any advice on what a reasonable amount is. A bit of background information: it's one little girl who is 2.5 years old.

 

[PamperedDor]

Sorry is it your DD or your DH?

 

[chefpenny99]

OOPS! That would be the DD.

 

[chefsteph07]

How old is your daughter and how long will she be babysitting?

I have a 4 yr old and when my babysitter started watching her she was 14, my daughter was just 2 and when we would leave for a few hrs in the evening we'd give 20 or 25 dollars.

Now that my babysitter is 16 and driving and my dd is 4 1/2, we have upped it a bit to keep her! (she also has a PT job so it's hard to get her at times!) If we are gone from like 6-11pm (standard times we are out) we might give her $30-$40, plus now she drives herself to our house instead of DH picking her up (only lives about 8 min away) but we do take that into account for gas, time, etc.

But to answer your original thought, NO, we have never given an HOURLY rate. LOL

 

[Jenni]

I pay my 14 old niece $4 and hour.. she doesn't have much of a social life yet so she is more then happy to babysit any time I ask. I have a 8 year old boy who doesn't need much. She just watches TV and feeds him...

 

[chefpenny99]

She's 15 and it will be for about 4 hours.

 

[chefsteph07]

She's 15 and it will be for about 4 hours.

I'd say $15 would be appropriate then, maybe $20. if she gets more than that she needs to be around when the parents want her!!! LOL

 

[chefsteph07]

I pay my 14 old niece $4 and hour.. she doesn't have much of a social life yet so she is more then happy to babysit any time I ask. I have a 8 year old boy who doesn't need much. She just watches TV and feeds him...

Yeah, my babysitter didn't have a life either when I first got her! Now she has her own cell phone, car, job, etc...I tell her I am HONORED when she can babysit for me for one night! ha ha

 

[chefpenny99]

Thanks for the input. I had suggested to my DD that if asked, she tell them $3/hr which would fall into the ranges you guys have suggested.

I was at a loss because I haven't had to pay a sitter in three or four years and we won't discuss how long it's been since I was a babysitter! LOL

 

[ChefBeckyD]

The going rate around here for one child is $5 per hour - that is what I pay a 14 yr old to watch my 4 yr old.

 

[mrshamel3808]

When I babysat in high school I usually asked for $7/hr. for 1 kid and $10/hr. for 2. I varied it though with who I babysat, depending on ages (when I babysit now I do it for free actually). I didn't babysit enough to have a solid system but I did charge hourly.

 

[pamperedpnina]

Its interesting! My little sis is 15 and she just got a job for this week 4.5 hrs 2 days $8/hr but that's the high end of what kids are payed here I've heard as low as $4 but most I believe pay at least $6Now when I was younger I'd sometimes get $10+/hr maybe that's why I hate the idea of getting less then $10 for any other job I do LOL

 

[Crystal Patton]

I have three boys, 6, 3 and 1 yrs old. I have two babysitter who I use A LOT when my DH is on the road. One is 17 and drives, the other is 15 and her folks pick-up and drop off. I pay them both the same - $10 an hour. They know that my business depends on them and they are very dedicated, so I want them to know I appreciate they're avalability. Plus the boys love them both!

 

[troggt]

I would see what the going hourly rate at a daycare is, and pay that rate

 

[candiejayne]

Babysitters, Nannies, Pet Sitters, Caregivers, Housekeepers & Tutors and Private Lessons - Care.com is a good sight to look up other sitters in your area and see what they offer, and what they charge. It will give you a good idea what she should expect.

 

[4menandalady]

I have 3 kids and depending on the circumstances I have paid anywhere from $10 to $15 an hour. I want my babysitters to want to come back.

And FWIW I would not use daycare as a guide. I pay very little per hour for daycare when you break it all down. I would not want my babysitters making that little! LOL

For one child I would probably pay 4-6 an hour. HTH

 

[floccies]

We have a 15 year old watch our kids for $25-$30 per night (3 or 4 hours). We have 3 kids -- she gets the higher value for watching 2 or more kids. The lower value if she is just watching one.

I put an ad in the paper a year ago. Most adults wanted $20-$30 PER HOUR. (More than we could afford.) AND some of them even insisted that the kids be at their house and we pay $30 per hour. (made me wonder what they were thinking when they called about the ad).

 

[etteluap70PC]

I pay 5$ an hr. I tend to round up if it makes it easier to pay her. This is for 2 kids 4 & 7.

 

[pcchefjane]

We paid a 17 yo girl to watch the grandkids (2-1/2 yo and 7 months) while I went to the Atlanta area training from 9:30-1:30. We paid $30 since she had two she had to care for, especially the baby being fed, etc. That's about the going rate around here.Now what I made as a teenager...keep in mind I am 56 yo! I had one couple who paid 60 cents an hour and did it to the PENNY! They added an infant and my pay went up 30 cents an hour for the 3rd child... I guess it was easier to divide by the minutes that way! LOL! The most I was ever paid was $5 an hour for 2 boys and I mainly played with them an hour and put them to bed. I stayed 4-5 hours at a time.

 

[lauradahl]

I would see what the going hourly rate at a daycare is, and pay that rate

I did this when we were at the Women's Expo and that little gal watched Nolan ... DS. She could not believe what I paid her...said she had never gotten that much before and do you know what the daycare rate was?
$3.50 an hour. If no one had ever paid her that much before, that's a crime! I guess in our 'neck of the woods' the rate must be less. The school girls that sat for me (and drove) 4 years ago or so said they got $2 an hour per kid. I thought that was a crime then too!!! It's worth a lot more than that..to me anyway...as a mom and to my business.

However it's worked out, the rate should be discussed so that the sitter and the parents are OK with the 'deal'.