£10 an hour for babysitting?

[EmpressOfTheSofa]

Is that really the going rate?

I’ve been lucky enough to never really need an evening babysitter but we have a thing coming up that my usual family or older dc can’t help with. I’ve asked around and it looks like a tenner an hour is standard? That would be sixty quid for sitting watching telly all night. I have one 10 year old who will put himself to bed. This is for a local teenager, I’ve had three offers from different kids all at £10 per hour.

If this really is the going rate I’m going to start offering my services! I used to charge half that per child for actual childminding fgs. Am I just out of touch?

Paying £15ph as I have 2 kids, it's 12£ for one. I need a cheaper option now my kids practically put themselves to bed.

Yeh, pretty much.
Childminders aren't necessarily brilliantly paid, but parents couldn't afford £10 an hour for 50 hours a week so that wouldn't be feasible. £10 an hour for a teen to look after your kids (I assume not regularly) seems fine.

It does seem high, my DS gets £8

It's not just sitting watching TV though.
You are paying them to deal with any emergency that might arise and for the responsibility of looking after your child.

£10 is what I pay for a three year old.

I think £10 is pretty cheap. It's more round here.

Yep it's made. I remember back in the day I used to get £10 plus snacks for evening as a teen and then walked home by parents

When I used to babysit as a teenager I thought it was quite a bit of work, I was playing with the kids, giving them smth to eat, getting ready for bed and reading and trying to get them to fall asleep took ages! I can’t remember how much I was getting paid and the kids were younger than 10.

Christ I pay my friends daughter £20, a takeaway/snacks and taxi home..

I pay £7 for a younger teenager (15) but £10 for older babysitters. Seems to be the going rate. Makes for an expensive night out!

had a quote for £20 per hour…we have four kids. Three a bit older and very easy kids that can be in bed but one toddler. Needless to say we haven’t been out together for years and won’t be for the foreseeable lol x

I think it's too much. About £5-6 an hour would seem fair if only sitting watching TV. Assuming it's a teenager just earning pocket money. And given lift home or taxi paid.

This is why we never go out together without the kids. No family to help, can't afford babysitters at £10/h and most friends have family who help them so can't even set up a babysitting circle.

Don't ask someone how they charge. Ask a friends teenager and offer them £20 for the night plus taxi home.

That’s what I was offering! £20, a Dominos and a lift home.

I thought that was pretty normal.

We pay £12-13 per hour. Then again they have to deal with my DD...

Family and friends get generous gifts.

Sounds fine to me. Although actually our babysitter only charges £8. I don’t know why!

Has to be at least NMW.
We pay £11 an hour for our babysitter, she is older at 39 years old.

Someone posted in a local group the other day offering babysitting, including evenings etc for half that price, they were a teen though not an experienced childminder.

That’s quite cheap unless you want a teenager

you should be paying at least minimum wage. If you want an experienced childcarer, expect to pay closer to £15 an hour. In London it can be as much as £20 an hour

I charged £5 per hour (plus dinner and cab!) when I was a teenager and that was nearly 30 years ago!

£10 is fine!

And now, as a qualified and extremely experienced nanny, I charge £16 per hour.

£10 and more an hour? Where do I sign up? I'd bring my own car, DBS check and everything.
When I was a teenager, I was lucky to get a fiver for the evening. It was usually less.

I pay my 15yo £8 an hour to watch her two siblings if I have specifically asked her to stay in for a whole evening.

External babysitter is £10 an hour round here

We pay £10 per hour, but that’s using the nursery staff who want to babysit, they are obviously trained and have first aid qualifications. I wouldn’t pay £10 per hour for untrained babysitters, but then I would t have anyone babysit who wasn’t first aid trained for kids anyway.