Babysitter rates can be confusing to figure out! There are so many things to consider if you are trying to figure out the babysitting rate to offer a good babysitter. Each of these factors can make a big difference in how much you will pay for babysitting. Click here to check the rates of babysitters in your area.
When I was looking to compare rates in my area, I found out that I can search for free at Sittercity.com and compare what the Sittercity babysitters in my area were charging to the amount I was paying for some of the girls in the neighborhood to watch the kids.
There we more babysitters on their website for my town than I could ever guessed so I had a lot of options to compare to.
When looking into it further, I could that the following thing to be the biggest factors in determining the rates for babysitting:
- Where you live is the biggest factor. Babysitting rates will vary widely from rural to urban areas as well and location in the country. Not surprisingly, what you pay in a small town will be vastly different from what you would pay in downtown Los Angeles!
- How far your babysitter must travel to your house. The farther he or she travels to you, the more it will cost you.
- How many children the babysitter must watch. The more kids you have, the more it will cost you to hire someone to watch your kids.
- Age of the children matters. Babies usually mean that the babysitting rate will be higher than it would be to watch older children.
- Most babysitters charge more for weekends and nights.
As you can see, I found out that babysitter rates can vary A LOT! In fact, going rates tend to be anywhere from $5 per hour all the way to $30 per hour for most daycare centers and in-home sitters and in-home care tends to be a more affordable option once you have multiple children.
Click here to see how babysitter rates in your town compare!
If you are still unsure, pay the babysitter a little more than the average babysitting rates for your area and make the babysitter happy. Because a happy babysitter means happy kids when you get home!
I also don’t bother to compare rates anymore. Why look all over for a suitable babysitter, when Sittercity has done all the work for you? Their sitters are older, experienced and you can even run a background check.
Easy. High-quality. Affordable.
Click here to see if Sittercity has great babysitters at affordable rates in your area.
This handy babysitter calculator can help you to determine the going rate for babysitting in your area based on the average rate in your zip code. It also takes into account other important factors in determining the babysitter rate.
The most important factors in how much to pay a babysitter are: where you live, the number of children being watched, the age of the sitter and the years of experience that this babysitter has.
While there are other factors that determine how much to pay a sitter, this will give you a good idea of what the babysitter might be expecting.
I always say that it is better to overpay a sitter than under-pay them. Then you can be sure that on nights when EVERYONE seems to need a sitter (like New Year’s Eve!) then your sitter will keep the night reserved for your kids!
Going rates for babysitting are different based on where you live. Wonder who pays the most and the least for babysitters? Here is a comparison of babysitter rates by area.
There are many variables that determine what you have to pay for good babysitting services in your local area. Some people have access to relatively cheap babysitting by highly qualified professionals while in other communities rates are sky high even for babysitters without a lot of experience or training.
One of the biggest differences is in the level of demand for babysitters in your areas. The more demand there is, the more you can expect to pay since childcare centers and private sitters will fill up quickly and can afford to charge higher rates. You will also want to compare prices between childcare centers and small sitters operating out of their homes. Just keep in mind the experience and education level of the babysitters involved in all cases when determining the going rate for a babysitter.
One way to determine rates for babysitting in your area is to call around and do price comparisons, asking about credentials and references as you go. For your general information, note that San Francisco and Minneapolis are two cities that typically top the lists as the most expensive cities for hiring a babysitter.
Southern states like North Carolina and Florida are often listed as some of the cheapest states to hire a babysitter in. This may be reassuring if you live in these states, but remember that prices vary from one community to another. It all depends on the demand in your town, how many qualified babysitters are in operation, and what services you are getting for your money.
Even if you live in San Francisco or Minneapolis, it doesn’t mean you can’t find affordable babysitting services in your town. It just means things are a bit higher in price there than other places of the country. This just gives you all the more reason to look around and do a lot of price comparisons to find the best possible deals.
The laws on babysitting generally do not have a clear babysitting legal age. But that doesn’t mean there are not consequences for hiring a babysitter who is too young.
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We have government set age limits for smoking, drinking alcohol, and moving away from home independently, but there are no legally set age limits for babysitters. Many parents will start allowing older siblings to babysit smaller siblings for short periods of time around the age of 12, but the age may be a bit higher for allowing a pre-teen or teen from outside the family to come in as a sitter for younger children.
Most young babysitters get their start around the age of 13, with most leaving this profession for other jobs around the age of 16. Most parents will feel comfortable with teenagers of this age coming into their home as sitters for short periods of time, but you have to take into consideration the maturity of the sitter.
When using young babysitters, it is important to get to know the sitters personally before handing your children over to them. Make sure they have the maturity to handle emergencies, discipline problems, and other things that may arise with your children. Also make sure they know how to reach you and that they have all the necessary emergency numbers carefully listed in one location. Make sure that they are actually watching your kids and not just texting their friends or checking their Facebook.
There are babysitting courses in most communities which will teach young sitters how to babysit children. This may include CPR instruction and basic first aid guidelines. Finding a young sitter who has completed one of these courses is beneficial because they will be more confident in an emergency if something were to go wrong.
The state may not set a certain age at which a child is safe to babysit, but parents are have the responsibility of deciding when a sitter is suitable for duty. This can be difficult to do if you don’t know much about the young sitters.
One solution is to share notes with other parents in your community so everyone has an easier time deciding who the best sitters may be for your children.
The other option is to hire an older babysitter, pay slightly higher babysitter rates, but know that your kids will be safe while you are away.
