What do you pay your babysitter?

[crayon3448]

$9 an hour, I have one DD who is 8 months. I take her to the sitter's house.

 

[HM]

My 17 (nearly 18) yo daughter babysits. She makes anywhere from $10-15 an hour. Her best 'clients' pay her really well because they like her and want to keep her as their sitter.

She used to work for my sister for a couple weeks a summer for weeks she didn't send her kids to summer camp. It kept her busy but it didn't pay well at all. She generally got $150-200 a week.

 

[PatsGirl]

I agree with other posters that maybe I should just give up my "real" job and start babysitting. I think it is ridiculous to pay sitters 12-14-even 20/hour and its only getting higher because the market is driving it that way Even the teacher aides that have early childhood certificates, cpr, first aid, and other qualifications make around $12 in this area and then taxes are deducted. Of course, there are variables to consider: infant/toddler care vs. elementary age, daytime hours vs. sleeping hours, number of kids, etc.

FWIW, I no longer need a babysitter for my kids but the last time I paid for one (about 3 years ago) I paid $6/hr and the sitter drove to my house. DD16 charges $6/hr to babysit now for one or two children (she has her babysitting certificate, cpr, first aid, etc) and MY expectations are that she will play with the kids and make sure she has the house in the same order it was left in so sometimes she has to do dishes or help the kids clean the living room, etc.

Because parents over the last decade have been raising the pay bar for sitters it has become increasingly impossible for middle-class families to afford a night out and that's a darn shame. Not to mention that teens start to think they are worth $15/hr and refuse to wash dishes, flip burgers, or do yardwork for the $10 most of those jobs pay