My rule of thumb is not to pay less than I would take myself to baby sit someone else’s kids. I pay equal or slightly higher than most in my area for 2 kids.

When I hired a 21 year old college student to look after my 2 year old twins I asked her what she charged, offered her $1 more per hour to start and told her I’d give her a small raise every 3 months for a year. I also handed her a 2 page list of rules and regulations and told her that her raises were contingent on her following them. I decided to pay a premium so I could get exactly what I wanted ( no TV, engaged play, no texting with lame excuses why she was going to be late, no chatting on the phone while baby sitting, etc.). Despite how demanding this sounds, in my experience it’s not that I expect more than other mothers who hire sitters. it’s that I actually wrote it all down and explicitly asked our sitter to do these things. I also explained that I was willing to pay a little more to be sure she’d stick around. I watched the same little girl every friday for 4 years. We had a great relationship and I wanted my kids to have that too. I now pay about $2 more than most people in my area and am very happy with my sitter. And she’s also very happy with me. We both get exactly what we want :)

I do realize I can do this because I only have her about 5 hours per week. If I needed her much more, it would be difficult to pay the premium. But given our situation, she’s absolutely worth the extra $40 per month.

I pay the middle schoolers who watch my well behaved daughter when we go to the theater $5 an hour. No way would I spend $40 or $50 so I could go out to dinner or to the theater.

I’m a college student and sitter in the Boston area. My standard is $12/hour, I’ll take $10 if I’m free / the kids are easy / my transportation time is minimal. I’ve worked for a family for several years who pays me $14, and that makes up for the fact that it involves a lot of traveling on public transportation to get back and forth. It also means that (in addition to the fact that I have a great relationship with them) I’m even more likely to drop whatever I’m doing to be there for them when they need me. It’s not necessarily about the extra few dollars, but it communicates a level of respect for my time, and I try extra hard in return to be available for them.

That said, for families I know and love, I would take half of what I’m paid if the family were in financial straits. That’s a crucial factor – I KNOW I’m good, and responsible, and loving, and I would rather be underpaid than lose the opportunity to be part of these kids’ lives. So if you have a long term relationship with a sitter and your financial situation changes, TALK to them before assuming you can no longer afford their help.

When I first started out babysitting at 12 I made $5 an hour. That was with 3-4 kids. Now that I’m in college I get around $10-$15 However, there is a family that I typically watch their 6 kids for less than that because I adore them. I agree, I love being a part of the children lives and the family enjoys having me in theirs.

Also, don’t expect that college students are feeling the economic crunch as much as you are. There is ALWAYS work for a good nanny, and since they’re not saddled with a job that could lay them off and an upside down mortgage, they’re not necessarily needing to cut their rates.

We are in Seattle and pay our nanny $16 an hour to watch our three kids-2 year old twins and an 11 month old about 20 hours a week. She brings her 3 year old daughter with her. Sometimes she only watches the baby when I bring the boys to school and then it is $13 an hour. For date night sitters we swap with a neighbor or pay $12-$14 an hour. We haven’t had a teenager babysit yet, but I would probably pay $8-10 an hour.