baby sitters - what do you pay them?

[putonyourredshoes]

Hi - hope this is the right place to ask.

This is the first baby sitter I've used since DD was born, she's the 16 year old daughter of a friend. She's very nice and wants a career in childcare.

We'll be out from about 7.30pm to about 11ish.

What do I pay her? My thought was £15 but is that stingy? We're in the West Midlands if that has any relevance at all!

Thanks

For a 16 year old and before midnight I would think £6 per hour would be reasonable (especially if you have to take her home or pay her cab fare and/or collect her.) Rising to £8 per hour for after midnight and once she becomes more experienced at babysitting and can drive!

I was also supposed to say that if you would like her to babysit for you occasionally longer term, I wouldn't pay her any less than £6 an hour, especially if she is nice and good with children, as she'll eventually get poached by families who will pay her at least this much. I hope you enjoy your night out too.

I pay our teenage babysitter the same rate that I would pay an adult babysitter - ds is 8, so there's no discernible difference in the quality of service provided (and the babysitter lives 2 doors down so no transport issue). Might explain why he's quite keen to babysit (mostly involves an hour watching sky sports with ds)! But really - why should a teenager get less for the same job?

why should a teenager get less for the same job?

because they don't have the same overheads as an adult?

For a teenager it's a good bit of easy pocket money for watching TV all evening in our case so I think about £5 an hour for them is more than enough (and they get to agree up front if they don't think that's reasonable they don't come!).

Very different asking an adult to give up their evening so I would expect to pay them more.

Still don't get it. In terms of overheads, it's not cost plus pricing and I can't think of any other service where you pay based on the needs of the service provider. Why is it different from asking an adult to give up their evening?

Thanks all - glad I asked as sounds like £15 is too low.

Can't wait - this is the actual first night DH and I have been out on the razz since DD was born (she's 4). I plan to have a horrendous hangover for Sunday. Sadly DH is driving but he'll have the fun of complaining at me. Everyone's a winner!

AND ... I have a fab outfit to wear. AND ... I haven't seen some of these people for a year in which I've lost about a stone so am slim again and can wear vest top and skinny jeans. OH YEAH!!

Hope you have a great time!! Make sure you add at least an hour and a half to your expected time of return - you're bound to stay out later than you think!

have you asked what they would like?

to me £15 for a few hours work at her age sounds good

I wouldn't expect anyone to give up their evening for anything less than £20.

The only reason I would pay a teenager less than an adult would be if I also had to take them home or pay for a taxi - then I'd pay them a bit less accordingly.

I'm not sure on the hourly rate where you are, but £6 sounds OK I think. Any time over the hour, if it's under half an hour and extra £3 is fine, anything past the half hour then you need to pay the full hour.

Find out how late she's willing/allowed to stay - you might as well make the most of it

I hope you have the nicest night. Definitely agree price up front even though talking about money can be awkward. Also give estimated time you'll be back and try to stick to it as much as possible. Maybe text when leaving if you'll be slightly later than anticipated. Also leave out drinks and snacks, the heating on and always say thank you and they'll be sure to sit for you again!

I charge £8-10 for babysitting because I am older and have been babysitting for 15+ years. I am also a qualified primary school teacher. The parents recognise this and are happy to pay this for the service they receive and peace of mind. If I was a teenager just starting out with babysitting and living at home I'd be more than happy with £5-6 per hour - seems fair to me!

When I was babysitting at 16, I was on £1ph! £15-20 for an evenings babysitting at 16 is very good I think!

£20 i think, with transport home and some snacks/. Soft drinks left out !