What Do You Pay Your Babysitter?

We haven’t touched on this topic recently so I thought it would be a good time to poll our readers and see what the going rate is for sitters! My husband and I love our date nights and know they are sometimes necessary in order to get quality adult time, but the cost of a night out can add up quickly!  There are also those of us who also need sitters or nannies during the day in order to work, run errands, hit the doctor, etc.  I think it is important to talk to other moms about what you pay your sitters, so that you are not the mom who is underpaying or even overpaying!

Here are some rates below that I came up with when asking some friends what they pay. I think these rates are very fair. For me personally, I also base payment on whether or not the sitter can drive. If I have to pick up the babysitter and/or take her home, I usually pay a little less than if she can drive herself.

-Mom’s Helper (usually someone in the tween age range): $4-$5/hour
-Middle School (depending on experience): $6-$8/hour
-High School: $8-$10/hour
-College: $10- $12/hour
-Nanny or an Adult: $12 – $15/hour

Although this pay scale varies by location, number of children and level of expertise, wouldn’t it be great to know we were all paying our sitters basically the same thing? No more wondering if we sent the sitter home with too little and now they will never come back. And no more wondering if we paid too much and now we’ll always be expected to pay that much!

Another question raised was what you expect your sitter to do as far as cleaning up after the children go to bed, putting dishes away, doing laundry, etc. You may remember our guest blog from Brooke Farmer that touched on this topic with nannies. I would love to hear expectations from our readers in this area as well.

I would also like to hear what you pay sitters when they are asked to stay overnight.  Do you pay them for the nighttime hours when everyone is asleep?

Often times a great babysitter can be another parent. I value the trust I have built up with my girlfriends and we constantly lean on each other for help. (This usually occurs when we need child care during the day time hours.) It makes so much sense to have a friend watch your children so that they will have playmates, and we all save money. I think as long as the babysitting swaps stay equal between moms, this is a wonderful way to go!

So now it is your turn. Please comment below and share your babysitter expectations, rates, and opinions.