How much an hour for a Babysitter?

DubDani

Hi,

I would like to figure out what you are (roughly) paying your babysitter an hour? We are just trying to find one, but are not sure how much we are expected to pay.

Cheers,
Daniel

filo87

I babysit regularly and get €5-€6 per hour.I also often babysit from about 9pm to 3am and would get €50 for this.
If you mean how much for a regular childminder (eg 9-5),it seems €5 per hour is also the norm.
Hope this helps!

ArthurDent

We have had a daughter of a friend babysit for us and we give her 20 from 8 to midnight and 30 after midnight (only did this once - till about 1am) and we also drop her home

dublad23

Is there not a minimum wage!!!

I know you aren't declaring it but the parents must be pretty tight if they paying you €5 per hour

I'd put it at at least €8.

I know they might be only 16 or so but still there is taking advantage of and also taking the piss!

Childminders get a lot more than €5 an hour!

filo87

Well as a babysitter,as opposed to childminder, you're not expected to be qualified to mind children so minimum wage doesn't really apply.Usually you don't have to do that much,apart from being there, so I think around €5 is fair enough.Any time after about 2am I would expect €50 though regardless of how many hours work.
Here in Cork childminders charge €5-€6 per child per hour!

smcelhinney

I think 5 or 6 is fine, as filo said, they're unqualified.

dublad, you saying you've never got paid under the table? or, you dont have kids?

very easy to pass judgement in this respect.

5 or 6, I believe is the norm, but then again, if you get someone you know you can really trust, then from a piece of mind perspective, its probably better to give them a little extra.

Also bear in mind, for festivals/holidays, a little extra is better too.

jayok

We're paying our babysitter €5 an hour (normally gets €25 per night 5 hours - 7pm -12am). She's 14 and it would be obscene to pay here minimum wage €50 for 5 hours work. Although some people I believe are paying that.

cmurph

i pay €6 an hour....:)

dublad23

Why would it be obscene? Is your Child's life not worth another €10?

It is taking advantage of a young girl - she is giving up her night to mind your child while you go out socialising usually.

I remember back in the day - prob 10years ago - when my mate used to babysit - she was being paid £20 (€28??) for about 4/5 hours which would have been right back then I guess!

run_Forrest_run

we pay between €8 and €10 per hour. Our babysitter works for the local creche and she is very good and our little one likes her so that is worth the little extra in my opinion. Those charging €5 stop ripping these young people off! What on earth can u get for a fiver these days?? Would U let ur child work late for only five euro an hour??

Davidth88

We usually pay betwen 25 and 30 Euro depending on when we get in , it's never that late ie its usually around 1am at the latest.

We did once offer her 40 when we were back very late but she refused the money

dublad23

run_Forrest_run wrote:

we pay between €8 and €10 per hour. Our babysitter works for the local creche and she is very good and our little one likes her so that is worth the little extra in my opinion. Those charging €5 stop ripping these young people off! What on earth can u get for a fiver these days?? Would U let ur child work late for only five euro an hour??

I'm glad someone here sees how wrong €5 an hour is - I guess it comes down again to showing how tight the Irish are!

Fair play to you for paying a decent wage

loyatemu

for a start - minimum wage doesn't apply if you are under 17
secondly - in 99% of babysitting jobs, its a nixer, completely unregulated, black economy etc.

Saying "Isn't your childs life worth €8 an hour" is a bogus argument. Parents will pick someone they know and trust - that trust isn't going to vary based on how much money is being paid, and most non-professional babysitters will do it for far less than minimum wage. It may be a responsible job, but most of the time it is not hard work.

jayok

Why would it be obscene? Is your Child's life not worth another €10?

My child and everybody child's life is priceless. It's not about an extra €10.

Firstly at 14 years old the minimum wage doesn't apply. So there's nothing illegal here. Secondly I am not employing the girl par se, she is contracting. if I was employing here then there's a whole raft of law that would apply include tax, PRSI, etc. As loyatemu says this is a nixer for the girl, it's safe, the child is in bed all she has to do is supervise. I don't see this being worth €10 an hour.

We are not a tight ar5ed nation as such. We are simply overpaid and greedy. By paying this girl €50 for a night, what sort of expectations am I setting. I've spoken to her Mum about this and her Mum (who has the final say) believe that it is a fair price without spoiling the girl.

Davidth88

We don't pay by the hour , but considering we normally go out about 8:30 and we are home by 1am , that works out about 6.6 euro per hour or thereabouts ( we normally pay 30 euro ) , if we are home early we sometimes drop this to 25 we always agree the price beforehand after the slightly embarressing situation where we gave her 40 euro and she gave us some back the next day.

Believe me you can't afford to rip baby-sitters off they are difficult enough to get. It's a suppliers market out there.

OP , when / if you find a baby sitter ask her how much she ( or he I suppose ? ) is being paid , if you don't know the person ( or their parents ) on a personal level you should be trying to talk to someone else who she/he baby sits for , to make sure they are ok , you can then ask them how much they pay her/him.

Also people , don't assume the baby-sitter is a young person ....... sometimes older people are more than happy to do this .

On a slightly different thing , I would always insist they meet the child/children a few times if possible so if they wake up while you are out they are not confronted with a stranger.... can you imagine how scary that would be ?

Good luck finding a b/sitter OP !

littlebitdull

I havent had to pay a babysitter for a few years, as two of mine are old enough to be our babysitters now. I clicked in to see what the going rate was in case they decided to start working this way.

As a parent of teenagers i would say that between 25-30 euro is plenty to be paying them for one evening where they get to sit in your house watching your tv and more than likely eating the nice snack you provide them.

I honestly would not feel they were being exploited for this amount of money.

run_Forrest_run

loyatemu wrote:

for a start - minimum wage doesn't apply if you are under 17
secondly - in 99% of babysitting jobs, its a nixer, completely unregulated, black economy etc.

The human & sex trade is a black economy, drugs is a black economy..babysitting is a way for young responsible people to make a few quid..what's wrong with that?

loyatemu

run_Forrest_run wrote:

The human & sex trade is a black economy, drugs is a black economy..babysitting is a way for young responsible people to make a few quid..what's wrong with that?

you're defining "black economy" as illegal activity. Its generally used to mean "undeclared (untaxed) economic activity". There's nothing wrong with babysitting, and i'm certainly not arguing that it should be taxed or regulated.

luckat

Wow, prices have dropped! I used to pay £5 an hour in the 1980s!

dublad23

luckat wrote:

Wow, prices have dropped! I used to pay £5 an hour in the 1980s!

Well people have got tighter in my opinion! I used to mow lawns in the 90's as a summer job and got paid £10 for a standard garden.

Now people only pay €10.

The euro has a lot to answer for when people think it's justifiable to be ridiculous.

taby_dub

I get paid E12 per hour... While i would of been happy with E10 the family insisted i take the E12

dame

Our babysitter is one of the girls who works in the creche. She's in her 20's, has qualifications and experience and our daughter knows her well and loves it when we go out! I think she's delighted not to have to share her with the other kids for a few hours!

We pay her E10 per hour and she was happy with that when we agreed the rate together. We sometimes collect her and always leave her home afterwards.

8-12 years ago I was making £5 an hour for babysitting. That was the going rate back then.

SexyD4Lady

I don't babysit as regularly as I used to, but I do however state my rate when I meet a new family that request my services. I charge minimum wage, and then time and a half after 2am. I'm 18.

However, if you find a young babysitter, they're usually more willing to accept lower rates of pay, but I would think that anything below €6 is insulting, especially if you have very young children.

nesf

dublad23 wrote:

Well people have got tighter in my opinion! I used to mow lawns in the 90's as a summer job and got paid £10 for a standard garden.

Now people only pay €10.

The euro has a lot to answer for when people think it's justifiable to be ridiculous.

I used to strip down and overhaul industrial electrical motors for £1.20 an hour back in the nineties (which is a fair bit more difficult and skilled than mowing lawns). It wasn't a utopia of high pay for young people back then. I think €5 an hour is fine, assuming the person doing it is happy. It's not like you wouldn't provide food for them etc.

CrazyRabbit

I'll babysit for €4 per hour.

I don't lose the kids very often, and the bruises heal up quite well (sometimes they just need a good beating). I prefer babysitting older kids so that they are able to make me some dinner and coffee when needed. Younger kids keep burning themselves and so I try to avoid them as the crying gets annoying after the first 3-4 hours.

I expect to be collected from my house and brought back at the end of the night. I would also expect a good collection of porn movies to be made available for my entertainment. At least a 6 pack of beer is also a requirement, though I'd settle for a good bottle of whiskey.

I have references from my parole officer, most of the local Gardai, and from Jimmy 'The Hammer' Malone when he gets out of prison for that armed robbery.

Ya won't get a better rate than €4 per hour, so send me a PM if interested.

EDIT: Sorry for trolling. No harm intended. Was going to add a serious comment at the end of my post, but ran out of time and had to run to a meeting. (that's what I get for dossing in work)

I'd personally pay about 10-11 euro per hour. And would only allow someone with first-aid training to babysit. I also would provide some rented DVD's for the babysitter to watch with the kid(s) and after he/she/they are in bed. I don't mind paying a high hourly rate, so long as I know I'm getting top-notch service.

Nevyn

If you troll this forum again CrazyRabbit you will be banned.

jayok

From what I'm reading from this thread, there's actually two general payment rates going on here

€5-€6 per hour

or

€10-€12 per hour

Also from the level of responses it seems that the people getting the lower rate are generally younger, (i.e. 12-16) while people getting the higher rate are generally 17+.

I have to admit paying a 22 year old on €5 per hour would be a little insulting, but equally I feel that paying a 14 year old €12 is also insulting (to you). You need to consider the type of person doing the babysitting. Did we all start with pocket money of like 50p whereas older sibling were on £2 or whatever? Pay in this case is probably related to age. And equally the amount of time done by the baby sitter

Paying anyone €72 for a 6 hour night of sitting down and watching TV (e.g. 7pm-1am) is just too much. But paying them €30 is probably a bit too little. A happy mix. I'd probably offer €40-€50 depending.

No wonder inlfation is 5.1%

CrazyRabbit

Thaedydal wrote:

If you troll this forum again CrazyRabbit you will be banned.

Sorry.. I edited my post. I'm not used to posting in such highly strung forums. Bit more relaxed in my usual forums.

Oh, and PM would be a better way of providing a warning imho.

CrazyRabbit

jayok wrote:

From what I'm reading from this thread, there's actually two general payment rates going on here

€5-€6 per hour

or

€10-€12 per hour

Also from the level of responses it seems that the people getting the lower rate are generally younger, (i.e. 12-16) while people getting the higher rate are generally 17+.

I have to admit paying a 22 year old on €5 per hour would be a little insulting, but equally I feel that paying a 14 year old €12 is also insulting (to you). You need to consider the type of person doing the babysitting. Did we all start with pocket money of like 50p whereas older sibling were on £2 or whatever? Pay in this case is probably related to age. And equally the amount of time done by the baby sitter

Paying anyone €72 for a 6 hour night of sitting down and watching TV (e.g. 7pm-1am) is just too much. But paying them €30 is probably a bit too little. A happy mix. I'd probably offer €40-€50 depending.

No wonder inlfation is 5.1%

Would have to disagree. If it's the exact same job and hours, then they should be paid the same regardless of age. Paying different rates depending on age is unfair....it's, well...ageist!

nesf

CrazyRabbit wrote:

Would have to disagree. If it's the exact same job and hours, then they should be paid the same regardless of age. Paying different rates depending on age is unfair....it's, well...ageist!

Not really. It's more the opportunity cost factor. An 18-19 year old is an adult and could easily get a job at a shop or something that would earn them minimum wage plus so it's fair to give them more. A 14 year old is unlikely to be in such a position plus at that age you'd probably be running the amount past their parents first since you don't want to spoil the child.

jayok

CrazyRabbit wrote:

Would have to disagree. If it's the exact same job and hours, then they should be paid the same regardless of age. Paying different rates depending on age is unfair....it's, well...ageist!

Ageist, sexist, racist, price extortion, greed, laziness all exist. however, there's an upper limit I'm will to pay a 14 year old. Perhaps that's why minimum wage doesn't apply to minors?

nesf

jayok wrote:

Ageist, sexist, racist, price extortion, greed, laziness all exist. however, there's an upper limit I'm will to pay a 14 year old. Perhaps that's why minimum wage doesn't apply to minors?

Well, I think the idea is that minors shouldn't (ideally) be in the workplace to begin with. There are tight regulations on the hours that can be worked by young people etc.

dublad23

nesf wrote:

I used to strip down and overhaul industrial electrical motors for £1.20 an hour back in the nineties (which is a fair bit more difficult and skilled than mowing lawns). It wasn't a utopia of high pay for young people back then. I think €5 an hour is fine, assuming the person doing it is happy. It's not like you wouldn't provide food for them etc.

Jesus aren't you brilliant - Working for £1.20 shows stupidity and you were ripped off!

But in fairness I worked for myself so no need to boast about how skilled you think you were!

Sully

Two friends of mine will work from 8/9 - 12 and get 20 euro for it. Also get dropped home.

Personally, I think you should give them a decent wage. They are spending their time when they could be with friends stuck inside in some strangers house babysitting their kids -- and are probably only doing it to earn some money.

nesf

dublad23 wrote:

Jesus aren't you brilliant - Working for £1.20 shows stupidity and you were ripped off!

But in fairness I worked for myself so no need to boast about how skilled you think you were!

Nah, my point was that it was the only work I could find that gave me 40+ hours a week. Some people like to make out how well paid teenagers were back before the euro but the reality was that for the most part we weren't but since most of us needed an income in order to have a social life we got over it and just worked and were happy enough.

deisemum

littlebitdull wrote:

As a parent of teenagers i would say that between 25-30 euro is plenty to be paying them for one evening where they get to sit in your house watching your tv and more than likely eating the nice snack you provide them.

I honestly would not feel they were being exploited for this amount of money.

The boy next door (16) normally comes in to watch a film or play a playstation game with my two who are 11 and 9 (I'm not allowed say babysit as they say they're not babies). His mum will sometimes pop in to check things. We're only ever out for 2 or 3 hours 4 at the most and are normally home between 11 and 12pm.

We give him between €20 and €30 and his mother will not let us give him any more. She feels if he gets what she considers too much money from other sources it will make it harder on her to get him to do anything at home.

the_syco

You could get cheaper, with a younger babysitter, but it depends on the age of your kids. Example: I don't think you'd feel comfortable with a 16yo minding a 1yo or 2yo kid.

Finally, it depends who they're babysitting. Are your kids little angels, or little f*ckers when you're not around? Will they do as they're told, or will they ignore the babysitter if the babysitter is only a few years older than them? Example: a 16yo male may not accept the rules of a 18yo female, and go out with his mates.

Izzyone

We have two children, daughter is seven and son is 16 months, baby is always in bed and asleep when we go out, our babysitter is 17 and we give her €7 an hour but if we are out very late we always give her extra.

I dont think it is a very good idea to leave your precious children with fourteen year olds, our babysitter lives three doors up the road so if anything ever happens her mother can be with her within seconds.

dublad23

the_syco wrote:

You could get cheaper, with a younger babysitter, but it depends on the age of your kids. Example: I don't think you'd feel comfortable with a 16yo minding a 1yo or 2yo kid.

Finally, it depends who they're babysitting. Are your kids little angels, or little f*ckers when you're not around? Will they do as they're told, or will they ignore the babysitter if the babysitter is only a few years older than them? Example: a 16yo male may not accept the rules of a 18yo female, and go out with his mates.

I would hope a parent wouldn't get a babysitter for anyone who is 16!!!!!

kenzie

the_syco wrote:

it depends who they're babysitting. Are your kids little angels, or little f*ckers when you're not around? Will they do as they're told, or will they ignore the babysitter if the babysitter is only a few years older than them? Example: a 16yo male may not accept the rules of a 18yo female, and go out with his mates.

Exactly! There is some families who I would not babysit for regardless of the amount I was paid!

Of course a decent wage is important but it isn't everything. Been treated with a bit of respect from the kids and sometimes even more so the parents. I've seen some of my friends been treated like absolute s**t, like been left sitting in a cold house to like 4 or 5 in the morning with no food. The parents coming home totally out of it-hours after they were due back and then offering to drive them home

unkel

We're very lucky to have my MIL babysit on occasion. If we hadn't I reckon paying a 13-17 yo girl €5 per hour would be very decent. It's just for watching tv most of the time after all!

dame wrote:

8-12 years ago I was making £5 an hour for babysitting. That was the going rate back then.

That really sounds outrageous to me. My wife did a lot of babysitting 15-20 years ago and the going rate in Dublin then was £1 an hour. And the level of responsibility was way higher back then, with the absence of mobile phones and all

dame

unkel wrote:

We're very lucky to have my MIL babysit on occasion. If we hadn't I reckon paying a 13-17 yo girl €5 per hour would be very decent. It's just for watching tv most of the time after all!



That really sounds outrageous to me. My wife did a lot of babysitting 15-20 years ago and the going rate in Dublin then was £1 an hour. And the level of responsibility was way higher back then, with the absence of mobile phones and all

Sounds like the people your wife babysat for were cheapskates or maybe inflation rose by a lot in the few years...or maybe parents in Galway had more disposable income or were more willing to pay decently and keep someone they trusted happy and willing to babysit for their little darlings regularly....

It may just be sitting watching telly most of the time and MIL obviously doesn't mind, but asking a teenager to sit in your house for four hours and giving them 20 quid means you'll probably need to find a new babysitter for each time you go out! If the teenager was related to you or something then maybe €5 might be alright but for anyone else it is a part-time job. There is still a lot of responsibility and there's a lot of difference between sitting at home watching telly or doing what you please around the house, and sitting watching someone else's telly with an eye and ear out for their kids. I'm sure when your wife babysat she was provided with contact phone numbers too, such as the place they'd be, neighbours/trusted friends nearby etc. If she wasn't then the parents made a bit of an oversight.

I hope you show your appreciation for your mother-in-law!

cooperguy

dublad23 wrote:

I would hope a parent wouldn't get a babysitter for anyone who is 16!!!!!

I was thinking the same thing!

unkel

dame wrote:

I hope you show your appreciation for your mother-in-law!

Absolutely! She is brilliant. Not just that, we would not cope without her

abi2007

WOW, I used to get about seven to twelve pounds for a whole night and that was only about eight years ago. Thankgod for grandparents cause i just couldn't afford to pay a babysitter about 50euro, thats usually all i have for a night out.

deisemum

I paid babysitter €50 last Friday for sitting from 6pm to 12.30am. Her mother wouldn't let her accept anymore.

Our night out cost us €275 approx but we hadn't been out together in ages and it was an occasion. We certainly wouldn't spend that much on a normal night out, we wouldn't have been able to afford to anyway.

squire1

deisemum wrote:

Our night out cost us €275 approx but we hadn't been out together in ages and it was an occasion.

SSIA mature, did it?:D

We pay our babysitter €50 for 08:30 to 1am or so. She also gets dropped home. We only use her about twice a month so it is a bit like a retainer (to buy her loyalty :rolleyes: ). We live in a rural area with few willing and acceptable babysitters and as it is we share her with another family in the area. She is 16/17 (transition year) and has expensive shopping taste. €100/month off us and about the same from the other family is not very much for giving up every saturday night, is it?

Anyway, we think it's worth it as she is a star.

deisemum

squire1 wrote:

SSIA mature, did it?:D

1st May I get my SSIA

No, it was our 17th wedding anniversary so went for dinner in a very nice restaurant and then went to a race night fundraiser and didn't win a thing.

Rozabeez

I usually babysit for 6 or 7 euro an hour.

Edit: Someone said "It's just sitting watching tv for a few hours", I'd have to disagree. For me it'd be staying up later and staying alert in case anything happens. I don't think anyone just sits there for a few hours really.

Selphie

Rozabeez wrote:

I usually babysit for 6 or 7 euro an hour.

Edit: Someone said "It's just sitting watching tv for a few hours", I'd have to disagree. For me it'd be staying up later and staying alert in case anything happens. I don't think anyone just sits there for a few hours really.

I agree completely.

greine

My daughter is 15 and babysits once or twice a week for €10 per hour. People generally have no problems with this and always makes sure she gets a taxi home too. She makes a exception with my sister - gets €20 for the night (usually 9pm - 12.30) and stays overnight, but that's family for ya!;)