Babysitting Rates:How much do you pay or charge?

I think I found a summer job. A family wants me to babysit their 3 kids only two days a week but all day. 8-5.
The kids are 5,6, and 8 years old.

I have no idea what is a good rate to charge. I do not want to say too much and they decide on someone else. I need the money BAD for the summer!

I babysat when I was in high school and early college and I pretty much got paid pennies.

What do you think? I know sometimes it depends on the area you live in but I need an approx amount.

 

Hmmm. What is sub pay in your area? You might look at that and bump it up a bit...I haven't had a babysitter in yeeears so I have no idea what the 'going rate ' in my area is.

 

Short term sub 14 and long term 18.

 

Per hour?

 

Yes.

 

I was going to say $5 child/hour which would be $15 per hour for 3 children.

 

at $14 per hour, you'd be asking for $126 per day. At $18 per hour, you'd get $162... Does $150 per day seem fair? ( again, I have nothing on which to base this)

 

I would take $150 a day. That would be $300 for two days. That would be great but I am afraid to say that and they say "goodbye thats too much".

But maybe they would offer me more. Who knows. Its been soo long since Ive done this and especially now that I have a degree.

 

I've been paid as little as $12 and as much as $20 per hour.

I think it depends on the area you're babysitting in; I lived in a major city before and babysat for affluent families. Where I live now I don't think I could ask for as much.

Here is a rate calculator: http://www.babysitting-rates.com/calculator.php

 

Thanks for the calculator. It says $14 an hour so we all are not that far off. I think I will just go with that and tell them I got the info from that website.

 

Having 3 kids they can't expect to get away cheap unless they find a highschooler with no experience. You get what you pay for!

 

Yes your right!
I'm just debating on if I should tell them what I charge first or wait for them to offer me something.

 

Plus if I find a job that is more days a week or more money I will take that since this is not final yet. We are just in the beginning stages of meeting each other and about to start discussing pay.

I really need the money bad. I have to get some bills paid down and I need money to pay my student loans.

 

I think you should tell them $15 an hour, be confident when you say it. You are a quality babysitter; they obviously want someone with more experience. If they scoff at $15 you could always come down to $14.

 

I have never negotiated with the family I work for, they have always just made sure it's worth my while, and I love their kids. I get about $10 an hour.

 

wow...$14/hour?! I would have to quit my job just so I can save money! I pay my sitter $2.20/hour. That includes meals and she's available 24/7. $14 an hour is overpriced in my opinion. You may want to emphasize the expectation that you are going to go above and beyond and then some. As a parent if you told me you would take them to various events throughout the summer, provide meals, and on-going education I would THINK about it.

 

$2.20 an hour? That's way below minimum wage, she'd be better off working fast food.

 

I also find it extremely high. Maybe, like so many things, it's regional? I know what one would charge and what one would be willing to pay depends on many factors, but I can't imagine anyone I know paying that.

 

2.20/hr? is that a typo? or do you mean per kid?

I definitely think it is regional as well.

I used to get about 10 or 11 an hour when I was in HS/College and babysitting, that was about 4-8 years ago and that was at night when the parents went out, not an all day everyday thing.

If its too high, they will just send their kids to camp.

 

I've gotten between $10 an hour and $40 an hour depending on the number of kids. However, I was babysitting for affluent families in Florida. I could not make near that much here.

 

Our sitter gets to our house at 7, then puts the kids on the bus at 8. She used to watch Kira all day long, until Kira was old enough to go to school.

She opens the house up for Brian so he isn't walking into an empty house.

Then she picks up the girls at school and takes them to the house where she's sitting 3 other kids. She watches them and gets homwork done until I get there-- usually somewhere around 4.

She gets $575 every 2 weeks.

But I think that, like tutoring, rates really depend on geography.

 

I guess it depends on what the family is looking for. Someone to watch their kids twice a week and basically make sure they don't lose any appendages while they are gone? I would get a high schooler to do it for minimum wage.

If they want a teacher who is off in the summer to plan activities for their kids and keep them on some kind of routine, then they are asking for more like a nanny. In which case I think $14.hr is reasonable.

 

Even if the rate per hour is different based on region, you are within your rights to charge per child.

 

You guys are confusing me now! lol
They want me to kind of keep the kids in school mode and take them to their assigned activities and prepare lunch.

And the 3 kids are young so its pretty much what I am used to teaching now.

 

So it sounds more like nannying than babysitting (I consider babysitting just SITTING there watching the kids do their own thing and nannying actually doing things with the kids). Will you be using your car and gas to take them to activities? That's another thing to take into consideration.

 

Well I have not sat and talked about everything I will do but they did mention try to keep the kids in school mode and I would have to take them walking to one of their neighborhood activities but thats all I know for now.

I figure its only two days a week so maybe $14 an hour is not that much but if it was for a whole week that would be different.

And again I need the money really bad so if something with more days came along or more pay I would take it since I have not even really met the family yet and nothing is set in stone.

 

I paid $130 a week per kid for full time care in a youth center facility during the summer. They ate breakfast and lunch there and went on 2 fieldtrips a week plus went to the pool and had organized activites. This was in MD. So you divide that by 5 and it is $26/per day per kid. That's $78/per kid per day. Fieldtrip money admissions were included. Occasionally there was a small extra fee. So mine was less than $10 an hour for 3 kids and included lots of extras.

 

I might fo for a weekly rate - what about 250 a week for the two days?

 

See, I wouldn't pay $250 for 2 days. But again, I don't live in your area.

 

yeah, i could not pay 250 for two days either. My old sitter, a mom in town, I paid her 60 dollars a day for the whole week, so 300 per week.

I would love a job though, that I could make 250 for two days a week!!:woot:

 

Long term babysitting goes by day, not hour, typically. When I did a lot of babysitting in college, I would stay with the kids while the parents went on trips. For 3 kids, I usuallly got $70 a day.
For what this family is wanting (keeping them up w/school, etc) I would probably charge $80 a day....up or down depending on the cost of living in your area.

 

If I were the parents I would be willing to pay you $85 a day. From the details it seems like they will still be going to activities so you won't have them all day by yourself. When you are doing a long term baby sitting job they will most likely give you a day rate rather than an hourly rate.

 

It's 2.20 an hour per kid....she makes really good money. My child isn't the only one there. I pay $400-450 every 2 weeks. Multiply that by 5 kids (with at least one of them there more than 40 hrs a week)....that's decent money....

 

I get paid $10 per hour for 2 kids (ages 4 and 5). I usually get there at 5pm, put the kids to bed at 7:30 and then just hang out until 9:30/10pm.

I started babysitting for this family 2.5 years ago and this is what they offered me and I was fine with it.

 

Rates depend on your experience, number of kids, duties, etc. I've been a Nanny for different families over the years and some could only afford $13/hr and others $15-$20/hr depending on the situation. With 3 kids, I would at least ask for $15/hr...but if you really need the job and they really want you, then be willing to take and be happy with what they can offer.

 

In my area, the city sponsored summer camps are around $500 for the entire summer. This is with breakfast/lunch. Field trips are extra, but not mandatory. All of our centers have pools and I think you can pay extra to have your child take swim lessons over the summer. At this price, they do fill up rather quickly.

 

It is $650 for 10 weeks.

 

Just as a side note, I remember in high school (mid 70s) when I was excited to get 50 cents an hour to babysit! One parent figured my time down to the penny whenever they paid me!

 

You could always go on Craigslist and look under Childcare to see what other people are charging in your area.

 

My friend pays 80 dollars per day to send her 1 year old to daycare for 6 hours. If someone is expecting you to come to their house to give their children one on one attention (as opposed to a daycare with many children), really engage/play with their children, and teach or tutor them (it seems like they'll at least want you to do some type of "activities" since they want them in "school mode") then I would think you deserve more than what they would pay for daycare. A high school kid that is going to just be there to make sure nothing serious happens while the kids play by themselves is a different situation. Like others mentioned, it sounds like they're looking for more of a "nanny" than a "babysitter." I think at least 15 dollars per hour is definitely reasonable. It also depends on how much they want you to tutor/teach. If they're expecting you to plan and carry out school-like lessons for their kids, you should be getting a lot more. Tutors make at least 20 dollars and up to 40-50 dollars an hour. Don't short change yourself!