How much on average do you pay

[TritonGlenn]

My boy is about the age that I am actually starting to trust a sitter to take care of him every once in a while so that my wife and I can go out to a movie or something like that together. He's old enough to know right from wrong, and I know he would talk if the sitter did something wrong like inviting a friend over or something like that.



But I have no clue what to offer a sitter. I don't want to under-offer and offend, and I don't want to pay a fortune either, even though I'm willing to pay much more for a great sitter than someone who will just sit there, watch tv and talk to her friends while my son runs amuck.



My boy is about to turn 6, is really a sweet kid, but loves to play rough stuff - like wrestling, "light saber fights" (Wii and with little fake lightsabers) and talk a lot. And talk. And talk. And talk. (Takes after his ol' man) :lol:



I'd like to pay a sitter to watch him in my home from say... oh... 6 to 10, or 6 to 11 on a Saturday night.



Edited to add - I have a large dog that likes attention too, and I know she would be trying to get the sitter to pet her. Should I pay more for having to deal with the dog wanting attention? The sitter wouldn't have to do anything extra for the dog because my son controls and cares for the dog. Just wondering if this should be seen as a problem?



Any advice???



All the best,

Glenn

 

[ND Bass]

Glenn, I have two teenage daughters (17 & 15). They typically get about $3 per hour. I'd say if you find a good one (close by so you don't have to pick/up or drive home, cleans up nicely, etc) you might want to encourage them and pay a little more.

 

[Jim in VA]

Depends on the area. For me, the charge is $5/hour for the neighborhood kid (we tip an extra $5 on top). That's considered cheap. Some charge in the $7 to $8 range and I won't even start about the professional rates! Nothing extra for the dogs as they just lie around anyway. For that rate, they watch the little guy, play games, put him to bed and make sure to clean the games they played.

 

[Bill McElroy]

We paid $5.00/hr for 2 kids,.....

 

[Greg Duggan]

Glenn

i have a 13yr old and a 9yr old. the 13 is just strting to stay home alone for short periods, the 9 is still in need of a sitter.

i just paid 10hr to go to a wedding last sunday. talk about a rip off.

if i thought they would not kill each other, i would have had my son watch them both for free room and board.



GregD

 

[TritonGlenn]

Glad I asked. Thanks for the replies. Before I asked, I was considering offering a friends 16 year old daughter about $50 for the 4 to 5 hour sitting. Might think a bit less or just ask her what she would charge.



All the best,

Glenn

 

[Bill Hamilton]

I guess it depends on what your child(ren) are worth to you. Since they are probably the most important thing in your life, besides your spouse, I for one never quibbled over what a sitter cost back in the day. My kids are in their thirties now and I paid the sitter $5 an hour plus ALWAYS had snacks that I knew she liked. For what it is worth and no pun intended.

 

[TritonGlenn]

I guess it depends on what your child(ren) are worth to you.

Yeah, OK Bill. I'm not (and never have) "quibbled" over what a sitter costs. I was just trying to get an idea of what to offer.



All the best,

Glenn

 

[Bill Hamilton]

Glenn - the comment was meant as a jest about the price for babysitters as a whole and was in no way meant as a slam towards you. We pay a marine mechanic $100 per hour to work on our boat but can't understand why we have to pay a babysitter upwards to $10 per hour to watch the most important thing(s) in our lives. Just a strange corollary but I understand attempting to find the norm in your area.