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Am I paying my sitters enough?

I live in Michigan (rural) and pay my sitters $8/hr.  Is that too much?  Just right?  Too low?  What do you pay and where do you live?

Re: Am I paying my sitters enough?

  • Are you talking about day care or for a night out on the town??
    imageimage
  • imageoodakay:
    Are you talking about day care or for a night out on the town??

    Not daycare, her [unsuppportive] ILs provide free daycare.

  • imageVelvetshady:

    imageoodakay:
    Are you talking about day care or for a night out on the town??

    Not daycare, her [unsuppportive] ILs provide free daycare.

    Oh I know. I was wondering if she was actually thinking about paying them. Surprise

    imageimage
  • srgwsrgw member
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    I don't have kids myself yet but it amazes me that people (especially on care.com) are only wiling to pay $5 an hour. I'd pay a high schooler that much but a college student or adult, not so much. I think I'd pay at least minimum wage to a college student or older which here in WA state is $9 something I believe.
  • I pay $10 / hour in NJ.  Very strange here b/c the kids say "Oh, I don't have a fee, I just charge whatever you give me."  What?!?

     

  • A few years ago when I was a nanny I was paid $13/hour in a suburban area.  If I hadn't moved, causing me to stop working with them, I would have discussed it being raised to $15/hour.
  • How many kids do you have? One pretty easy kid - ya that's enough.  I pay my hs neighbor $7/hr (but always round up) bc that's what she told me she wanted.  I pay my two other sitters $10/hr. I have one 2.5 year old DS and most of the time we go out he's sleeping half the time we're gone.
  • When we loved in Indiana. We paid 10 an hour plus a tip. That was for a high school senior.
  • I live in MI and am a nanny and that is a set pay but when I babysit I charge $10/hr at minimum. 
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  • imageSueBear:

    I pay $10 / hour in NJ.  Very strange here b/c the kids say "Oh, I don't have a fee, I just charge whatever you give me."  What?!?

     

    We I was younger I excepted what ever my cousin could afford to give me.  ( I was there 1-3 times per week. I didn't really had to do much though the kids (2) were usually asleep)

    If I was baby sitting for anyone else minimum wage was what I asked for.

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  • imageSueBear:

    I pay $10 / hour in NJ.  Very strange here b/c the kids say "Oh, I don't have a fee, I just charge whatever you give me."  What?!?

     

     

    They are being polite. As a kid I always said that. Every kid we use says that too. 

  • I live in a town about 1 hour south of boston and 15 minutes north of providence.  We pay a minimum of $10 per hour
  • Oh and that rate is for one kid. 
  • I pay $10-12 in Coastal NC. 
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  • I babysat from the time I was 12 until I graduated college.  At 12, I was paid $10 an hour.  That was over 15 years ago.  Once I was older, I was paid between $12-$15 and this is on Long Island, NY.

    Also, this was for watching 2 to 4 children for an evening or for preventing two middle school boys from killing their 8 year old sister.  So, it was babysitting and refereeing.

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  • Wow. 8/hr is nothing, especially for two kids! I guess I am lucky with the family I babysit for. Before they had the second kid, I was paid at least 10/hr. when the baby was born (he is 2.5 now) they paid me 15. Now that he is older I knocked it down to 12.5/hr, but she pays me 13. This is in Texas.

     Remember you receive the type of care you pay for.  If you pay 8/ht expect that kind of work. If this is a date night type care, and the kids are sleeping most of the time I would say at least 10/hr. if this is nanny/ daycare and you expect her to interact with your kids and take them to the park etc.. I would say more like 11-12/hr 

     

  • I babysit for two families about 35-40 mins away from Boston. I get $10 an hour when I sit for 2 boys (3 and 7)...and honestly, I pass up sitting for this family pretty frequently nowadays because the kids are horribly behaved and I never leave thinking I got paid enough. They're usually only in bed for about an hour before the parents come home, so I'm running around doing something with them for most of the time, and getting them to bed is pretty much a nightmare.

    The other family I sit for has 3 children, all under 8 years old. They pay me around $12 or $13 an hour, but they usually round up a few dollars. Sometimes I feel overpaid by this family because their kids are much better behaved than the other family I sit for (as in infrequent temper tantrums from the 3 and 6 year old, where I usually see tears and yelling from the other family every time I go over there).

    So, really I only take away an extra $10 a night from the second family, but I feel like I'm getting much more money because of how much easier it is to watch their children. I know every parent loves their child, but it's important to consider how "difficult" your kids are when setting a salary, otherwise you'll have a lot of turnover or declines from babysitters.

  • Working at a preschool, I often babysit for several families whose children attend the school. Everyone pays at least $10/hour. One family pays $13/hour for three kids (including one infant). I live in Madison, WI. I think it's worthwhile to take the age/experience of your sitter and the difficulty of your children (seriously) into consideration.
  • Agree with all of this. I also work in daycare and typically receive at least 10/hour.

    Most families I have sat for paid about 5/hour/child. So of course if you have 4 children, you should be paying more than someone who has one child.

    Also, you should take into consideration what all your sitter will be doing. Just babysitting or cleaning and cooking and errand running...it all just depends on what you expect.

     

     

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  • I live in CT and when I used to babysit 5 years ago I made $15-20 an hour. I think it all depends on where you live. Why don't you ask the people living around you and your friends what they pay? It also depends on her age, high school will be lower than college plus. Also if the sitters have a car or not.

  • That's not enough. Coming from a former sitter; I definitely wouldn't stay around long on that pay. Unless your sitter is horrible, s/he eats all your food and the house is a complete mess when you get home, you should up the pay to 12-15.
  • I think it's enough...

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