How much should I offer to pay babysitters?

I am a teacher and babysitter and I charge 25 minimum. I charge $20 an hour for one family that I’ve been working with for a while as she’s a single mom. People often charge that much because they are career Nannies. Its definitely okay to pay a younger person who will accept whatever you give them but that comes with having less experience and professional with kids

And if they have credentials like cpr, newborn courses it is usually goes up. Also depending on the age and number of kids you have

@Janyia yeah I guess it’s just hard for me to see how it’s such a high rate still. I don’t know any starter jobs that pay $25 let alone $25 after taxes. I was a babysitter my whole life and it was one of the easiest jobs I’ve done

Im a career nanny in Atlanta and my average rate is 25 per hour. It really depends what your requirements are in a sitter. If its for an occasional date night and you are comfortable with someone with little experience, id say 20ish an hour and kick in pizza money. If you want extras like safety trainings, any house cleaning (this includes washing bottles), or planned activities, the rate should increase to reflect that. Now if you are looking to have this person do full time or part time care on a weekly basis, they are a nanny, not a sitter. This would be their job that they rely on to pay their bills and not only deserve the standard rate of $25 to start but it should be taxed as well to protect both of you. If you have any questions id be happy to answer any that you have!

@Victoria thanks! Idk how people afford it! If I didn’t have a pension on the line I wouldn’t bother working I’m basically breaking even & working my ass off at the same time 😅 it makes my heart break knowing I’m gonna be missing so much of her life

It was hard for me to see that too but it is what it is. I wish it was subsidized by our country.. $20-25+, cash, per hour, after taxes, untaxed 😮‍💨 is a lot but it’s the going rate. And then added with the fact we lose income going on maternity leave and sometimes have to spend years rebuilding financial stability or savings, it’s a lot to stomach

@Mercedes yeah seriously idk how they don’t help cover some costs for child care , even if it’s towards day care 🥲

I’ve had a couple of babysitters throughout the years and I pay 20 for one kid and 25 for two. I’m in California tho, I’m sure NYC is comparable in prices.

Its brutal. Im lucky enough to have a nanny friend offer me a great discount, but its def going to sting taking care of other peoples kiddos while someone else is taking care of mine. Plus not being able to work as a proper nanny the last nine months because families need a year long commitment has destroyed savings. Been living off of short term part time jobs and babysitting gigs. That plus no employer benefits like health insurance put us in a hole before we even get to maternity leave. I feel like the US is one of the least family friendy countries in the developed world. Paid maternity leave and subsidized childcare should be a given, not an outlandish thought. Ive had lawyer and doctor families struggle to keep up with childcare costs. I feel like its impossible for nearly anyone to have a baby here.

You can try finding someone on June care! That’s what I’ve done

https://app.junecare.co/r/kica

I babysit for my best friend twice a month to help her out bc of how expensive it is! Her husband and her both work the same weekend, she gets her mom to help one night (4pm-12am) and then I do the next night , the 4pm-3am shift, I charge her $140 she has 3 kids, 6,5,2 years old. Thankfully she lives two houses down so I bring them here and feed them and play with my kids until bed time basically. we are in Pennsylvania. They can’t afford to hire anyone, The going rate is $15 an hour here…

I think it depends on how many kids/ages and what exactly they are gonna be doing but i would say no less than $15 an hr without knowing anything else

An occasional babysitter is one thing. But a full time baby is a luxury most people cannot afford

My part time nanny is $30 an hour in California and she is the best. We use her as an occasional babysitter too.

childcare is more of a luxury, it’ll be hard to find a trustworthy sitter under $25. when i was a babysitter (before marriage and my own family) i’d babysit on days i wasn’t in high school and i was still paid $50 per hour and per child. i’m in california but i imagine new york might be more pricy

I’m in California and I pay my nanny 16 hourly I paid my mother’s helper 15.50 and my other mothers helper gets paid 20. I’ve paid as much as 40 hourly for sitters and 60 to have 2 on site at once with twin infants and a toddler but generally speaking i think that 20 is reasonable and I typically don’t go over 25 if I can help it.

I would only pay someone that if they were paying taxes on it. I am fine with paying high school girls 20-25/hr because I know they are doing it as scrap money but these women who want 25/hr for a full time job and refusing to report taxes on it are abusing the system and I refuse to work with them. If I have to have a 4 year degree and pay $ for a license and pay taxes and ss then everyone else has to.

@Haley there aren’t really many other options for me . I work anywhere from 8.5 to like 18 hours/day and all hours pretty much. Idk any day cares that are open till 2-4AM

@Allison I agree. I think $25 is crazy tax free. Can’t think of any reasonable job that pays that much after taxes. I was a supervisor for an entire kids program and was making $20 on the books with no benefits

I’m a registered nurse and if I went back to work, then I would make 40 to 50 an hour and after tax that would only be 25 to 30 an hour! Healthcare professions only work for people who have free childcare from family.

With some professions we did tuition beyond 4 years, student loans, licensure fees, portfolio fees, website fees, continuing education credits, licensure renewal, etc etc. and busting your ass working, then that $50/hr means nothing especially as a single mother I’m barely getting by. The worst is paying a sitter to watch my kid while I catch up on my work 💀 like maam I am in debttt 🥴