My daughter has just gotten her first babysitting job. They are wanting her to tell them how much to pay her. We have no idea what a good price for babysitting is. She is 16 and will be driving to their house - which is not far,,,,about 6 miles. She will be watching 3 children for a few hours a night or 2 a week. None are small babies. So,,,,we are wanting advice on what to charge since they are wanting her to name the price. Any advice is appreciated
My daughter got $25 per day for an 8 hour shift with one six year old (she did it for 5 days in a row when the girl's day care was closed)...it was a good week for her. That being said, $25 a day PER KID would be money I might fight her for... . $2-3 per hour per kid is generally a fair rate (especially if the babysitter has to feed/clean up after kids). When I'd babysit, I'd tell the parents 'what ever you think is fair' and then if it was good, I'd go back for them (or if the kids were good I'd go back)...I had a couple of terrible horrible no good very bad kids that NO amount of money would get me to babysit again...most were great, though.
yep, yep....I paid $10 and hour, maybe more depending on the length of time, to my sitters in the past.
Since it's her first babysitting job, maybe the best thing would be to throw the ball back in their court, like Vita suggested - "Whatever you think is fair." She might end up getting more than she would ask for on her own.
My babysitter said she normally charges $10-$18 (big range!) for three kids. She just turned 18 and is at JCC for early childhood ed. I am a really cheap person, but we love her to bits and is worth it.
Here is a Thread where we discussed this last year. Hope it helps: http://www.4042.com/4042forums/showthread.php?t=15244&highlight=babysitter Grace
But we're talking 2-3 hours in the afternoon for kids that are almost old enough to tend to themselves, right? For up to 3 hours, for 3 kids aged 10-14, I'd say $20 is fair. If it's a weekly thing, 5 days a week, kind of like after school care, I'd say $75-$100 a week. She is afterall, 16 and pretty much just there in case of an emergency. If the kids were younger, I'd ask for more.
But no offense...there is a big difference between a "daycare provider" and a teenage babysitter. I would not pay that much for a "babysitter" that is still underage. I would say about $6-$8 an hour.
Exactly there is a difference and as a daycare provider I would charge more than $10.00 an hour for three children.
My daughter babysits pretty much upper-middle class children and she charges $4.00 per hour for one, $6.00 per hour for two. Anything more than that and most adults could not afford to go out to eat and a movie. Over charge and you will wind up with no customers. The adults pick her up and bring her home. They provide a meal, if necessary, and snacks. She is not allowed to talk to anyone on the land line nor is she allowed to have anyone in the house (or property) that was not pre-approved by the owners of the home and dear ole' mom. Grace
Heh, I didn't realize I was upper middle class. That's what our sitter charges for our 18 MO and 3.5 YO. Of course I think it's a deal, if anybody knows my kids.... lol Wait, that is 4 per hour for one and 6 for the other. Maybe it is 3 & 7? So I pay 10 bucks an hour.
Yep, kind of think you are upper middle class. Might want to check your math. Either way it turns out to be way to (is that the right "to" / "too"?) much for a family to pay if they are going to have dinner and a movie. We figured it all up once and came up with what was considered in our house an appropriate dollar amount and she has a lot of repeat customers. Grace
Thanks for all the advice. She tried to let them decide and give her what they thought was fair but they didn't want to. I think she's going to settle with $20 when she stays a few hours. They seemed OK with it. Thanks Again!!
