Babysitting Rates Survey Results

[nannynick]

For a few weeks now I've been asking visitors to my website how much they think a babysitter would cost. Thought you may be interested in the results:

Based on 100 surveys (so not a huge number - I had to discount a lot of entries such as picking the default answer, picking a very high number, answering the survey multiple times, robots/autobots etc)

Of all the results, £7 per hour got the most votes (24%).

Breaking it down based on the number of children in the family:

If 1 child:
£5 per hour got most votes (27%), though £6, £7, £8 and £10 all got 14% of votes or more.

If 2 children:
£6 per hour got most votes (29%), £7 and £8 came in joint 2nd place at 23% and £5 came in 4th place at 20%.

If 3 children:
£6 and £7 got joint 1st place with 30%.

If 4 children:
£5 and £7 got joint 1st place with 1 vote each.

If 5 children:
£7 got 2 votes, no other votes.

So it looks to me as though £7 per hour is the most typical babysitting rate, with lower rates being expected, especially if the family only has one child.

Thought you may find that interesting. Please keep in mind that many visitors to my website may not be looking for a babysitter but may be childcarers looking for work, so that could affect the figures. Not sure if there is a way of getting an accurate survey for this kind of thing.

Interesting results- wish I got paid £7 hour for babysitting!! Whats your website address??

Interesting results at a guess I would have said £7 an hr would be what most families nationally would expect to pay for babysitting.

I know I am expensive at £10-£12 an hr but feel I am worth it and get alot of bookings and repeat bookings as I am sure you do Nick and believe you charge around £10 an hr.

I used to charge £7-£8 an hr up until 2yrs ago when I decided to increase my rates as had so much work I was turning it down and felt I should be earning more for my qualifications and experience and still get plenty of work.

I've just upped my rate to £10 per hour from £8. I do a minimum £30 booking and charge for travelling one way. I was going to register with sitters I think they were called but you only get about £5 or £6. I wouldn't do it for that, its barely minimum pay for unsociable hours, I'm surprised so many people think thats what it is worth for a quiet night out.

Message withdrawn

MissSunny, I think you are right... for the past 3 years it has been something parents in my area could afford. Now that isn't the case. The market has changed and I feel for this coming winter season rates charged by experienced qualified nannies for evening babysitting are likely to come down.

eastmidlandsnightnanny - I'm impressed that you can get up to £12 per hour for evening childcare. You are right, from 2006 onwards I've charged £10 per hour for evening babysitting... but I'm now looking at dropping down to 2005 pricing (£8 per hour for evening babysitting, 3 hour minimum).
Like you the vast majority of my evening babysitting work is repeat bookings. Over the past few months those families have been struggling to afford to go for an evening out, so I've been averaging only 1 or 2 evenings a week.

While I may be worth more, if the market won't support that rate then I won't get the work.

danthe4th - I've always had a minimum booking (of 3 hours) but haven't charged for travel for a long time now. You are right in saying that agencies pay childcarers a lower rate, they also advertise that hourly rate to parents but then add on booking fee and membership fee - so the rate per hour that parents see isn't the actual rate they pay. It's good marketing by the national agencies but I feel it may be a little misleading. Morally I don't feel right about having a low hourly rate then adding on additional fees.

It is surprising how childcare generally is under paid... under appreciated. But that has always been the case and I doubt it will change. Some parents do appreciate us, do pay us well but those families at the moment seem to me to be few and far between. If you look at message threads on Mumsnet about babysitters - some parents say they pay £4/£5 per hour... often to a teenager. As a teenager I remember charging £2 an hour (that was many years ago though). Teenagers will always be able to undercut our fees... and if the children are of school age then parents will be happy leaving them for a few hours with a teenager. Thus why I aim to target parents with babies & toddlers, who I feel are more likely to want someone with childcare experience and qualifications.

interesting results nick

btw your site is fantastic

as you know i charge £10ph and have min booking of 4hrs and make it very clear that even if they use me for 2/3hrs they still pay £49

i also charge if they cancel me within 24hrs the same fee

i have my regulars - but also do a lot of new familys through my netmums and Nj ad and all are happy to pay £10ph

tho my area is quite rich

blondeshavemorefun - just out of interest how do you enforce the cancellation charge? Do you have clients sign a contract when booking?

Blondes - I'm wondering what part of the country you are in. In my area houseprices are quite high, people commute to London. Childminders charge £4.50-£5 per hour per child. Yet evening babysitting work is very much lacking at the moment... at least for me. Maybe I need to remove my picture from my website, it may be putting people off

Nanny nick i only charge the £12 an hr fri-sun as I dont want to reguarly give up my weekend eve but will for £12 an hr.

I have to say I dont often babysit more than once or twice a week. I have had a regualar wed booking £10 an hr for past 4mths but had a night nanny job booked from last week so have stopped that as cant do both and will recommence when night nanny finishes - they are the least well off (if that makes sense) family I have worked for but value the peace of mind whilst they are out as they have a baby with a heart condition so appreciate the fact I am a qualified childrens nurse.

I have been paid as much as £25 an hr that was a one-off where other nanny didnt turn up to babysit and I ended up with 5/6 children for the evening who had never met and was manic!!!

I recently did a babysit an hr from home and was paid £100 for 7pm-1am (well was booked til 1am but let me goat 12.10am) and this is what I quoted as long way to go and they have said they will book again.

guess it depends how much babysitting work you need for me I am happy to go a few weeks without any bookings and also happy to do every night in a week.

Sitters charges 5.75-6.24 per hour plus a £4 booking fee. I wouldn't pay £10 or £12 on a reglar basis. Although there was once a MN who came to b-sit for a simlar rate and she was lovely and DD still asks about her. So, I can't say I'd never do it. But, I'd have to really really want to go out to pay that.

Anthene - out of interest, how often do you use Sitters? As they charge they £51 per year (£12.75 per quarter) membership fee... I was wondering how much of that membership fee is allocated to each booking, if you see what I mean.

Can I just ask those of you who charge £10ph- do you tidy up/iron etc when the children have gone to bed or do you just sit down and watch telly? I currently charge £4-£6ph for babysitting but tend to tidy up etc aswell. It seems very odd to me to pay someone £10 an hour just to sit down and relax!!

Not trying to have a go- just curious!

Tidy up after the children's activities (for example if we were making playdough, baking cakes) but certainly no ironing.

Nannies can often get £10 per hour during the day, yet the same nanny may get paid less in the evening... why? Is it less work, or just less valued work?

Not all children are good sleepers, not all children go to bed easily, children may wake frequently during the evening, children may suddenly become ill, may wet the bed. It isn't often that I will babysit for a child/children who are already asleep when I arrive... nice when it happens but it doesn't tend to happen often.

FMFox - given your location, I would have thought you could charge more... but your age may be a factor. Many of us who charge more are close on being twice your age, so have a lot more experience which some parents will value... while others will be happy with a teenager.

im in kent - fast train to london is 22mins - a lot of my employers have moved from london to my area as such quick comuter routes

no i dont have a contract (maybe i should - have contracts for everything else ) but i have never had someone not paid me if they have cancelled - tbh if they didnt pay then i wouldnt bs for them again

fantasticmrfoz -blonde NEVER ironns - not even in my perm nanny job - i HATE it and always say at intervoiws i dont iron and always get offered jobs

and when bs, yes i sit on my bum/watch tv/.surf/read when children are in bed

my familys use me for peace of mind INCASE the children wake up/are ill etc - yes i am exspensive - but i get lots of work through my ads and agencys and all happy to pay £10ph

Nick, I suppose you have a point about the £51 per year fee. I usually ask current nanny. But as we are in the midst of a nanny transistion I have used sitter quite a bit in the last week.

Regarding your question about whether the same nanny is worth less in the evening, I do think a qualified nanny brings less value to the situation in the evening. If someone is going to look after my kids for most of their waking hours than I care about things like his/her eating hanbits, ability to speak properly, a healthful lifestyle, etc. But, if I'm hiring a one off sitter in the evening I don't really care if her idea of culture is Eastenders.

Agencies with membership fees which then give a lower per-hour rate are great for parents who use a babysitter often... not great for parents who only go out a handful of times a year.

Athene - thanks for replying... looks as though in a typical year you would use the agency enough to justify the membership fee.

Interesting what you say about a qualified nanny in the evening bringing less value. You are right that when children are asleep parents may not feel that a qualified nanny is needed.

fantasticmissfox I generally take care of any of the childrens needs if they includes making/cooking tea, bathing, stories and bed I will, helping with homework, baby feeds inc tidying up afterwards.

No I dont do any additional chores but then wouldnt of a daytime either I just provide childcare.

Parents are willing to pay the rates for peace of mind most of my families I babysit for are either people staying in the area for one night so want to ensure someone experienced and qualified enough, families with young baby/ies and those with children with additional medical needs.

Fantasticmissfox, to be fair most of my bookings that I charge £10 an hour to are on holiday, at a wedding or staying at a local hotel so are quite happy to pay as at most it is twice in one week.If it was for a more local family on a regular basis I would charge less. My 14 year old daughter tends to get those bookings and gets paid £5 per hour as the parents know i'm just over the road.We live in a small village in the cotswolds and get a lot of visitors in holiday cottages locally and thats where most of my bookings come from.