Babysitting rates per hour

[Genidef]

We live in 'greater London' ie tube zone four. I am currently paying £7 per hour for one child, plus a cab fare home which usually runs to £12. The other night we shared with a friend who had one child and upped the rate to £8, plus cab. We offered her £60 for six hours, did not look best pleased, so increased it to £65. It felt pretty steep to me! Do you think we're getting taken for a ride by this woman? The cab fare really doesn't help, I guess.

I'm in zone 5, end of the Piccadily line. I pay £4 per hour to a student who has first aid qualifications but I pay £7 per hour for a lady who has nursery nurse qualifications. The student lives opposite me and the other lady drives so cab fares don't arise.
Were your children in bed asleep or was your sitter expected to entertain/get to bed etc?

at these prices...you paid £65 for a babysitter.
My dd would treck up from dorset for that!

She gets between £3.50- £5.00 /hr .

central London - I pay £10 - 12 / hr and cab fare.!

In Surrey/Berkshire border area I get £10 per hour (per family), so it is not only London which has that sort of price for evening babysitting - though I provide my own transport, so no additional cost for cab fare.

I think that you should have negotiated rate before making the booking. Perhaps your babysitter thought they would get double their normal rate, or 1.5 times normal rate.

I live in Surrey and cahrge £5.00 per hour , am hopefully just about to sign up with one of the well known baysitting companies which in our are will charge around £5.75 per hour ( min 4 hours ) . Dont know what they would charge in Central London though.

Might be worth investigating.

Themis,

You can earn more by avoiding agencies, as it costs far more for a parent to use an agency than the rate the agency pays the childcare provider.

Also you build a relationship with the family, rather than working for random families who you may (or may not) meet before hand. Keep your own safety in mind, do you really want to meet strangers at night?

Nick, I have a few regular baysitting familes and it s all done by word of mouth.

But the extra money would be nice at the m oment but I dont know how much work the agency would bring in. I would still be arning more than I do now and they would pay for a minum of four hours.

I'll see how its goes with the stranger element part , but i have a good head on my shoulders and my past life experience has taught me how to deal with some risky things ( ex cop ).

If I was closer to you I ask you for a job and get your rate .

Hey i am in zone 5 and charge £7per/hour. I would never dream of charging my travel expenses, if i worked at marks and spencers and needed to get a taxi there i wouldnt expect them to pay it!!!

I may give up childminding and become a babysitter at those rates!

Themis, where in Surrey are you?

In tube zone 3 - we pay 7 per hour for a qualified CRB checked professional - no taxi home either.

Eleusis - Elmbridge .

Hmmm... so a reasonable distance to Sunbury then?

yes

I would think £8 ph is reasonable. Did your friends share the cost with you?

I babysit sometimes and charge £7 or £8 ph and either get a lift home or family pay for a taxi.

I have a friend who charges £10p/h who has her own car therefore doesn't need a taxi home.

Sarz- I wouldn't babysit for a family that expected me to find my own way home unless they were home before 9.30pm!! IME, all families have arranged transport to get me home.

hi there
i live in London.
i charge £7 per hour.(min 4 hours)
i pay my bus money from my pocket and sometimes i have to take 3 or 4 bus.

Im in Bristol, we pay $5 an hour for a qualified in childcare sitter. but prices are rising and for a new babysitter it is now £6.50 an hour. Mind you none of them do a lot. I have three sons, the oldest is 13 youngest 4. The 13 year old has taken to putting the 4 year old to bed! the babysitter watches her soaps!
She drives and we do not pay more for that...but she is reliable and i do trust her. also she came from an agency they tend to be more expensive.
I guess you get what you pay for. Someone you know, a student or daughter of a friend are probably less reliable but cheaper. agency recommended ones tend to be more experienced and reliable...

Good luck!

What you get for your money is important. I've always done everything... so things like: picking children up from drama class/brownies/cubs, cooking dinner, bathing, bedtime stories, as well as watching tele

Costs do seem to have gone up quite a lot over the years... 16 years ago I recall fee being £1.50 per hour.

At school this morning a group of parents were talking about babysitters, and using teenagers is still very popular and low cost. However those who had babies and toddlers, were not wanting to use a teenager, as they felt that they needed someone more responsible. So the age of your children can also affect the cost of a babysitter - the older the children the less you need a experienced babysitter / qualified childcarer... though of course it depends on the children.

Themis, if you want to CAT me (or e-mail me at eleusis at homail co uk), I'd be interested to talk to you about babysitting. We have 2 kids (aged almost 4 and almost 2) and obviously live in Sunbury.

Can you give me a brief summary of your childcare experience?

Eleusis - I'll email you

I have replied.