Babysitting rate ?

If you are having a teenage sitter come to watch your 2 kids, how much would you pay for the following and would it be by the hour or a set amount?

Babysitter is there 6:30. Puts kid #1 to bed at 8. Kid #2 to bed at 9. Kids sleeping by 9ish so shes basically done. We get home at 12:45am.

Do you pay by the hour (her rate is $10) so about $65 or would you have negotiated a lower set rate since kids would be sleeping? Kids were fed before she came.

New to this so just wondering. Kids are not babies.

Babysitting rate ?

I pay their hourly rate regardless if the kids are up or not.

Babysitting rate ?

I pay by the hour regardless of if the kids are awake or not and I always round up to the hour.

There have been many, many times we would put the kids to bed, sitter would come over and we would go out for the night. The sitter watches the monitors and was there if anything happened.

Re: Babysitting rate ?

We pay per hour whether regardless of whether they are fed or in bed by the time the sitter gets there.

And in my experience $10 per hour is cheap for two kids. We pay a minimum of $12. So I wouldn't try to renegotiate down any further.

Re: Babysitting rate ?

I've never used a babysitter, but if I had one, I would absolutely pay by the hour regardless of the circumstances and who was asleep/who wasn't.
You are paying them for their time.

Re: Babysitting rate ?

$10 sounds low for two kids so I would just leave it as hourly even if they are sleeping.

Re: Babysitting rate ?

Pay the hourly rate regardless of who's awake. Negotiating because the kids are sleeping would be like them saying they're going to charge you more if the kids act like beasts the entire time lol. $10 an hour is pretty cheap for 2 kids. The teenagers around here charge $15 for 2 kids.

Message edited 12/11/2018 11:19:48 AM.

Babysitting rate ?

I always pay the same whether they are sleeping or awake. $16.00 for 1 kid, $18.00 for 2 kids and I usually round up and pay $20 an hour bc my babysitter is awesome lol

Re: Babysitting rate ?

Amazed that you found a sitter for $10 an hour!
I pay by the hour regardless of what the kids are doing.

Re: Babysitting rate ?

$10 an hour for 2 kids is SO cheap. I would probably give $70 as an extra little bonus tbh

Babysitting rate ?

I also thought $10 was really cheap. We pay between $15-$20 for two kids.

Babysitting rate ?

You are paying for their time - so absolutely pay them for the full time that they are there.

Re: Babysitting rate ?

If you found someone reliable and trustworthy to watch your children for $10 an hour, the last thing I would think of doing is trying to negotiate a lower fee. Think about what $20 means to you vs what it means to a teen. I’d keep that babysitter as happy as possible!

Re: Babysitting rate ?

I pay whether or not the kids are awake. I pay $15/hr and always round up.

Re: Babysitting rate ?

Re: Babysitting rate ?

Thanks everyone! I paid her $70 that night. We were gone 6 hours and 15 minutes so I rounded to next hour bc I felt bad that we got home so late. $10 is going rate around here and she's my 14 year old neighbor.
My husband was shocked so I wasn't sure if I did the "right" thing. First time we've had a babysitter at night.