Babysitter pay?

Yes, I am finding the exact thing as well. It can be more if you want someone older of course! I used to clean up and try to be helpful in that way too. Well, there was that one time I burnt the mother's pan and then hid it and then she called me on the carpet, but I digress! Yes, I am finding that babysitters want a pretty penny these days. Maybe if we cut the cable they'll get bored and clean the dishes or fold some laundry. Let me know if you try that! ;)

lol.. we could hide the remotes!

Yes, It's crazy.. I pay one girl 10.00 an hour and the kids are alseep most of the time so all she does is text.. Don't get me wrong she is a nice girl but she texts most of the time.. I have one older lady but I pay her 15 an hr...It's crazy.. We have to plan on spending like 200 for a date night. In today's market that is hard to come by. Let's just say that we need a date! lol...

The day I went into labor my mother had to drive from NM and it took her 9 hours. My babysitter came over to wait until my mother got to the house.. It was 100 dollars... That's crazy...She was there from 6am until maybe 6pm watching my 1 yr old... My husband didn't know better so he just gave it to her..

I wish we could all ban together and go on strike.. It should go back to the 2 dollar range..

Elizabeth is a discussion leader for arizonamoms she writes about everything from her needing mommy advice to crazy and silly stuff that happens. She lives in the West Valley with her husband and 3 children, Joshua 12, Brooke 2 and Mason 10 months

I have been paying $5.00 an hour, but always add more if the hour has started, regardless of how much time has gone by. The other night I paid $10.00 an hour because there was 2 of them (college students).

My niece watched them a few weeks ago and when I came home, she was on my computer. I told her that was not a good choice and I had turned it off before we left, on purpose. If she had asked I still would have told her no. My husband said I was a little rough, but I think it is rude to just get on someone else's computer, especially when you didn't ask. She is 18 and had my 6 year old paint her own nails! My 9 year old decided to cut some of her hair - without the knowledge of her cousin (what? where was she?) Needless to say, she won't be watching our children again. My oldest got a real haircut the next day and it is very cute.

Ah the horrors of babysitters. If you find a good one, pay to keep them!

KarilouMomof2 is a discussion leader for arizonamoms.com living in Tempe. Her daughters are 9 and 6.

I'm more around the last post-I pay my gal $6.00/hr, and usually round up to the nearest 10 increment. She is older, but still lives at home, doesn't have a job, and I always have to beg her to take a check. She just enjoys being around kids.
My son is almost 1, so half the time he is napping. So, I figure once he becomes more work, or not napping as much I'll increase the amount. And once we add a second, I'll add more, too.
My husband and I are playing volleyball, so we are having her come over every week for 7 wks for 1.5hrs, so what I did was get her a $100 gas card. She was so happy!
I have asked her plenty of times what she wants to charge-and maybe I'm being a bit cheap...but she hasn't said otherwise, and I've checked with her mom, and nothing has been said to her. So I'll just continue on the path we're on until change comes.

I have an infant, and have not come to the point of having to hire a babysitter yet. I am disgusted with the fact that these kids think it's okay to leave the house a mess, while they sit there and watch tv and text. I'm thinking that if maybe some ground rules are set; a base pay with the opportunity for "bonuses" these kids might have a little more initiative. For example, I'm going out for 3-4 hours and the kids are going to be sleeping for most of the time. Therefore, the base pay will be $5/hr...this is what you'll get paid if you sit there, text your little fingers off, and make sure my kids are safe. HOWEVER, if you decide to be considerate and want to make a few extra bucks, pick up a little, wash a few dishes, and at least leave the house in the same condition it was when you got here THEN I'll throw in an extra $5-10. The sitter can think of it like a food server getting tipped....the more fabulous a job you do, the more money you can potentially make. Hopefully, these teens will learn a little something about work ethic instead of that god forsaken attitude of entitlement!

I am a bit picky with my sitters. I like to have at least someone who is 18 years or older for my toddler. However, now that I have a baby (5 months old) my requirement is that the person watching the baby have baby experience - a child of their own they raised. So, that is typically a much older/mature sitter. As a result I pay $10 for 1 child and $12 for 2 children. I think its very reasonable. I don't expect them to clean my house or wash my dishes - I'd hire a cleaning person if I wanted that. I'd rather the sitter focus on the kids than my dishes. I make sure the kids have eaten and are showered and in bed attire when the sitter arrives if we are going out for the evening. That way it's book reading time with sitter before going to sleep. Because my sitters are mature they typically don't know how to text - so that isn't a problem.

LisaMommy is a discussion leader in Paradise Valley/Scottsdale area for arizonamoms.com. Her two boys are ages 5 months and 3 years old.

I used to babysit, and my mom told me the proper way of doing it was to only ask for what they were willing to give, and not give a set amount. I used to babysit from after school until 11:30 on a Friday night. They would give a fat $20 dollar bill, and I was estatic!! Ohh the days. I babysat two boys that took total advantage of me and drove me up the wall, but after I managed to force them to sleep without getting up I would clean the house, and I tried not to watch television so that the parents didn't think I was taking advantage either so I would bring a book after I felt I had finished my job. There was a babysitter girl up the street who came advertising and I was glad to hear that she would accept what we were willing to give. That in my opinion is the correct answer.

Lisa - Mom to her spunky little Scarlette

I am very very picky with the person that I choose to watch my child. Very seldom do we ever leave him, and it only has been with my sister-in-law or grandma, but I would never take a chance of leaving my child with a 14 year old. I rather a person be in their forties and mature with lots of experience with small children before I would hire a teenager. What experience does a teenager have when it comes to the most valuable human being in the house?
I would pay 8-10 hr to an older person if I had to leave my child. If I heard great things about a sitter and I knew my son was well taken care of, I wouldn't mind paying more. My son is worth every dollar.

One Happy Mom in Arizona.

I'm incredibly picky about sitters and ended up using college students/20-somethings from the daycare centers the kids went to. They loved these gals - especially one. But they have since moved on.

I've had a few friends recommend teens, but honestly, I just can't trust a high school student who is more interested in texting than anything. That say, I did trust my kids with two teens one night. But they were at the house next door and I could check on them. (One neighbor hosted the adult party and the other had two sitters watch 8 kids.)

So my husband and I don't go on many dates. Or we host game nights at home to have adult company.

We have at times exchanged sitting services with another couple. Our kids get along well enough that we can go on a date and they can. We probably don't do this enough. In the end, sitting is free and they are with friends you trust and kids they enjoy playing with.

Side note: I'd rather take my kids to an expensive restaurant - knowing that they typically behave very well - than find just anyone to sit them. I don't go to many expensive restaurants, though. My splurge place of the moment is Roy's and they have a great kids menu...a bit pricey compared with fast-casual places, but the kids love getting their appetizer, entree and dessert.

Arizona Moms Editor Yvette Armendariz shares stories about raising her kids and tips for busy parents in her Time-starved (goddess) Mom blog. She and her husband are raising two children, ages 8 and 11.

I pay out $7.00/hr.

We pay $10 an hour for two kids, or $7 for one kid. These are all teachers/aides at our youngest son's preschool so they've got some experience and I think they're worth it. But I wouldn't pay that for teenagers.
I agree about how things have changed - I babysat a lot and always made sure the house looked nice before the parents came home.
Our babysitters aren't as diligent but I've decided not to worry about it and just be glad they're available for a night out!!

Susie is a discussion leader in the east valley for arizonamoms.com. She has two sons, ages 6 and 2.

I don't really have any experience with hiring a babysitter for an evening out; my husband absolutely refuses to let "some kid" watch our son, and honestly, we can't afford both a night out and what it could cost to have someone older watch our son.

I DO know that I babysat a lot when I was a teenager. I can't remember how much I made, though know I didn't have a "set rate"--I pretty much took whatever was offered. I'm 36, and back then, a home computer was rare and there were no cell phones. Once I got the kids in bed, I'd clean up any dishes we'd used and pick up toys. After that, I'd either watch TV, read a book, or do homework. All of my friends who babysat were the same; play with the kids until bed time, then clean up. I can't believe kids have gotten so lazy!

We pay $10 per hour for 2 children. Our sitters are Junior/Senior in high school and we have had great luck with them.

oh no! My 17 year old is moving out the end of summer, I guess I will never go out again with two little ones at home yet with those rates, I hadn't started checking around yet.

I did pay a 7th grader $6 an hour to watch my 8 & 10 year old (actually a former friend of my 10 year old when they were younger and her dad lived a half block away, so I felt at least semi safe for just 3 hours). I came home to have my 8 year old tell me the girls were in my closet, tried on my clothes, drank pop, and ate chips and watched movies for 3 hours!

I would have done better to pay the 8 year old to watch his 10 year old sister!

I just think that is kind of crazy to pay that much when all the sitter does is watch tv or play video games with the kids especially if the kids are in bed when they come over, they are basically just there to make sure 911 gets called if there is a break in! Teens today are spoiled in my opinion!

I remember in 1980 getting paid $2 an hour to watch FOUR kids and boy, did those kids make me work for that money every Friday night!