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Sunday, January 4, 2009
Babysitting help
This Saturday we are getting a babysitter to watch the kids so we can go to a holiday party but since it's our first time with an actual babysitter we have no idea how much they get paid these days... any suggestions... Help!!!
My sister-in-law, who lives in Rochester, said the going rate around there is $5/hour. (Where we live in Westchester, it's $15/hour or more!) So if you want to be nice, you could use that as a base maybe and add $1/hour per kid. You could also ask the sitter if s/he has a rate. How did you find your sitter, btw? I'm curious. Have a great night out!!
btw--this info, my sister-in-law got from her 15 year old neighbor who babysits. And she actually said "at most $5/hour." It's funny though because that was the rate I was at by the time I was in HS and I'm from a rural town 1 hour east of Rochester even!
I'd be curious to know where you're getting your sitter, too.
There are two babysitter ads with prices on the Rochester version of Craigslist; one is a mom offering $9 an hour for someone to do the sitting, the other is a sitter offering to do the sitting for $12-15 an hour.
That second price seems a little steep to me, but then, I'd gladly pay up to $40 an hour for a night on the town (and I think Rachel would go as high as $60 an hour for 8 consecutive hours of sleep).
But, really Tara, it's the best thing in the world you can do. Change your life, really. Everyone should do it.
Okay--my third comment here on this post! But I talked with another person about this--a girl in her 20s in Greenwich, CT. A lot of her friends have part time jobs and babysit frequently. She pointed out, it's really who is babysitting that will cause the huge range in price. She said her friends, who master's degrees, in their 20s, will babysit for $15-$20 an hour, or more. But the parents know they are getting someone extremely responsible, with lots of experience and intelligence. But if a parent is paying a teenager, even in Greenwich, she said she thinks they pay $5-$8/hour.
So whow knows. But it does make sense that if you're getting a child care professional, you ought to pay more than a teenager who has only babysat for 6 months or something.
Okay, last babysitting comment!
Mike--are you referring to trying to get 8 hours of straight sleep or having a baby?
An informal poll of Physical Therapists in the northern VA area has produced the following ranges:
For 1 child: $6-7 an hour
For 2 children: $7-10 an hour
Where the babysitter fell within the range depended largely on what was required of the sitter. Will (s)he be putting the kids through dinner? Bath? Bedtime? Or does (s)he just get to show up while the precious angel(s) are already asleep, raid the refrigerator, make unlimited long-distance calls and watch TV?
6 comments:
My sister-in-law, who lives in Rochester, said the going rate around there is $5/hour. (Where we live in Westchester, it's $15/hour or more!) So if you want to be nice, you could use that as a base maybe and add $1/hour per kid. You could also ask the sitter if s/he has a rate. How did you find your sitter, btw? I'm curious. Have a great night out!!
btw--this info, my sister-in-law got from her 15 year old neighbor who babysits. And she actually said "at most $5/hour." It's funny though because that was the rate I was at by the time I was in HS and I'm from a rural town 1 hour east of Rochester even!
I'd be curious to know where you're getting your sitter, too.
There are two babysitter ads with prices on the Rochester version of Craigslist; one is a mom offering $9 an hour for someone to do the sitting, the other is a sitter offering to do the sitting for $12-15 an hour.
That second price seems a little steep to me, but then, I'd gladly pay up to $40 an hour for a night on the town (and I think Rachel would go as high as $60 an hour for 8 consecutive hours of sleep).
But, really Tara, it's the best thing in the world you can do. Change your life, really. Everyone should do it.
Dear Robyn: I know a great couple in Gloucester Mass who love little ones and pay is lots of loves, hugs and kisses.
Loves
Nonnie and Papa
Okay--my third comment here on this post! But I talked with another person about this--a girl in her 20s in Greenwich, CT. A lot of her friends have part time jobs and babysit frequently. She pointed out, it's really who is babysitting that will cause the huge range in price. She said her friends, who master's degrees, in their 20s, will babysit for $15-$20 an hour, or more. But the parents know they are getting someone extremely responsible, with lots of experience and intelligence. But if a parent is paying a teenager, even in Greenwich, she said she thinks they pay $5-$8/hour.
So whow knows. But it does make sense that if you're getting a child care professional, you ought to pay more than a teenager who has only babysat for 6 months or something.
Okay, last babysitting comment!
Mike--are you referring to trying to get 8 hours of straight sleep or having a baby?
Tara - Baby. I think.
An informal poll of Physical Therapists in the northern VA area has produced the following ranges:
For 1 child: $6-7 an hour
For 2 children: $7-10 an hour
Where the babysitter fell within the range depended largely on what was required of the sitter. Will (s)he be putting the kids through dinner? Bath? Bedtime? Or does (s)he just get to show up while the precious angel(s) are already asleep, raid the refrigerator, make unlimited long-distance calls and watch TV?
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