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Paid childcare

Discuss everything related to paid childcare here, including childminders, nannies, nurseries and au pairs.

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Original poster

How much do you pay your babysitter?

62 replies

ssd · 27/02/2005 19:29

Following on from the last thread, I was wondering how much you all pay your babysitters and what area you are in?

We're hardly ever out, but I guess the £2 an hour I got as a teenager to babysit might have gone up a bit?

OP posts:

Are your children’s vaccines up to date?

Set a reminder

Ameriscot2005 · 09/04/2005 18:08

I know people that babysit for free . I wonder what you can read into that!

roisin · 09/04/2005 18:10

I used to babysit for free when I was a teenager and a student
I looked after some high-maintenance kids as well!

appleblossom · 09/04/2005 19:16

I once had a teenager (dd of woman at work) to babysit, agreed a price for the evening £15 I think, but I came home early to find her upstairs trying on all my makeup!!!! Glad some of you mentioned sitters as have just been looking at the website. Would you recommend??

RTMTMML · 09/04/2005 19:21

I'm off out tonight to a party and my babysitter will get £4 an hour. She's fab and my kids love her. She babysits so that she can study and being paid is a bonus. I pay all my babysitters the same rate. They're happy, we're happy and that's that! It's not about how much I do or don't love my kids or appreciate my babysitter. It's what we've agreed. I had one lad tell me that I should pay more. I didn't use him. I had one lad tell me it was too much money. So, as long as me and mine are happy...... BTW all my babysitters ask when they can babysit again!

Ameriscot2005 · 10/04/2005 12:45

Hope you had a good night out, RTM..., and came home to live children and a street free of ambulances and fire engines .

tamum · 10/04/2005 13:08

Dealing with children's nightmares is hardly rocket science, is it? I babysat loads when I was a teenager and was perfectly competent to comfort distressed children. It's so much easier now in any case because of mobile phones- if there's any possible question of a child being ill most babysitters would just ring the parents surely?

RTMTMML · 10/04/2005 13:09

couldn't believe it Ameriscot.... the screaming and the wailing and the flames...... lol

Had a brilliant night out. Rolled home and posted online (like you do).

All safely tucked up. DS1 was awake when we left. DD1 had just gone to bed (not sleeping), the DTs were awake but she put them to bed. DD2 was making a lot of noise when we left, despite having been in bed for about an hour. The babysitter coped admirably (wouldn't keep using her if she couldn't). She didn't call once. Do you think that that is because I said "you have the number...don't call"? lol

And she was more than happy with her £4p/h. She got a lot of study done and will be sitting for us again in a few short days.

jothorpe · 10/04/2005 13:35

As a teenager back in the 80's I started by charging £1.50 per hour for babysitting. Mind you, I wasn't looking after babies... but instead 4 & 6 year olds.
Over my college years, I recall that the amount I charged for babysitting went up about 50p each year.
So based on that, if I were still babysitting now, babysitting fee would be about £10 per hour.

For babysitting now, I use a local well established company which only provides qualified and experienced nannies as babysitters. My youngest has just turned 3mths so I feel it is important that my babysitter has experience of caring for babies, toddlers and school aged children. Before any discounts, the company charges £8 per hour, but as I've been using them for close on 5 years now, I get discount.

Do babysitting rates vary around the country? Perhaps some areas are cheaper than others.

blueteddy · 10/04/2005 14:02

Our sitter gets £20 for a normal night & £30 for a night like new years eve.
She is happy with that, as the kids are always in bed before she arrives & she watches sky sports all night, which she cannot watch at home!

jambo1707 · 10/04/2005 14:34

i work during the week and pay my babysitte £200 per month she watches them mon-fri 8.00-3.45.

If i go on a rare night out i normally pay £10 even to family members

jothorpe · 10/04/2005 23:08

jambo1707, I don't think you're employing a babysitter... more a childminder (if she's caring for your children at her house) or a nanny (if she's caring for your children at your house).

£200 per month she watches them mon-fri 8.00-3.45.

I make that £1.19 per hour (7.75 daily hours multiplied out over 52 weeks, divided by 12 to give hours per month of about 168hours - 167.9167 for those of you who are precise about this kind of thing.)

£1.19 per hour is a very low wage indeed... do you really only pay £200 per month?

giraffeski · 10/04/2005 23:57

Message withdrawn

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