Cost of babysitters

eviltimeban

What would be the average cost for a babysitter, per hour? Never got one before, always relied on grandparents!

Moonbeam

from what I hear for night time 7-10 euro an hour.

OkayWhatever

My friend babysits and she'd charge about €10 an hour.. The people she normally babysits for leave at about 8pm and return about 1pm, so she gets about €50 and they pay for her taxi home! I babysit too and think that that money is insane!

I babysit twins, and the parents would leave about 8 too and arrive home about 1am/2am.. I feel bad even taking €30, I always insist that €20 is fine, but they always make me take the €30!

I think it really depends on the person you get to babysit, the rates some people charge are crazy!

Penny Dreadful

Moonbeam wrote: »

from what I hear for night time 7-10 euro an hour.

Now I feel old:eek: I used to baby sit when I was a teenager and was happy to get £10 for a night of minding 3 kids and a dog.
I'm 35 now so that is .........bloody hell longer ago than I was prepared for.
Anyway, I think that €50 and a taxi home is crazy money.

Most people charge what they're used to.

I babysat for a long time for a baby/toddler but it was childminding really - daytime hours at the weekend, feeding, changing nappies, cleaning the house, doing washing, giving baths, all while trying to keep him entertained for €5 an hour which always overran the promised time (and I wasn't paid for the extra time I stayed). I never complained because it was my first babysitting job.

When I got another gig, two kids and two dogs, both kids over 2 years old, night-time, left with me already fed and bathed, all I had to do was play with them, stick a DVD on once they started getting tired, get teeth brushed, faces washed and put to bed. For €10 an hour and they were always back on time. I quit the first job after that because I realised how much I was being taken advantage of.

I'd say €5 would be suitable if it's literally just staying in the house while the kids sleep, and then the more involved, like nappies, feeds, housework, should be closer to €10.

miss no stars

Agree a price but don't be mean about it. If you're paying €8 an hour and are gone for 3 hours, round up to €25..

shawnaxo

it varies on the babysitter for instince i mind a girl from 9 to 3 and i get about 60 but it could be cheaper it just something to discuss with the sitter

mumsy79

When I was a babysitter, I found that I was lucky enough to be very well looked after. I often got 20 pounds for a 3 hour night which back then was a ridiculous amount of money!! I think its fair to be honest that a three hour night requires a payment of 20Euro and I really feel that for a teenager this is adequate pocket money. Anything else is just absolutely ridiculous!!

miss no stars

mumsy79 wrote: »

When I was a babysitter, I found that I was lucky enough to be very well looked after. I often got 20 pounds for a 3 hour night which back then was a ridiculous amount of money!! I think its fair to be honest that a three hour night requires a payment of 20Euro and I really feel that for a teenager this is adequate pocket money. Anything else is just absolutely ridiculous!!

So what was worth £20 in the I'm guessing early 90s should be worth €20 now? Come on.

That teenager you're paying is looking after your children for the night. If there's only one kid who's about 4+ then maybe, yeah. But more than 1 kid, especially if they're under 4 (regardless of whether they're asleep when the babysitter gets there or not), requires more.

Look after your babysitter, show them where the stuff is for making toast and tea or a snack for themself, pay them fairly (if you're 15 minutes over the hour and paying them €8 an hour then that extra 15 minutes should be an extra €2), round up to the nearest €5 (giving coin is seriously stingy).

I mean really, you surely want the best care for your kid if they wake up upset right? So why would you expect to get it with a stingy attitude and paying less than minimum wage?

Oh and the rate should go up after midnight. Babysitters are humans too. "Pocket money". They're minding your kids! As in, you're paying them for services rendered, not giving them a bit of pocket money!

mumsy79

miss no stars wrote: »

So what was worth £20 in the I'm guessing early 90s should be worth €20 now? Come on.

That teenager you're paying is looking after your children for the night. If there's only one kid who's about 4+ then maybe, yeah. But more than 1 kid, especially if they're under 4 (regardless of whether they're asleep when the babysitter gets there or not), requires more.

Look after your babysitter, show them where the stuff is for making toast and tea or a snack for themself, pay them fairly (if you're 15 minutes over the hour and paying them €8 an hour then that extra 15 minutes should be an extra €2), round up to the nearest €5 (giving coin is seriously stingy).

I mean really, you surely want the best care for your kid if they wake up upset right? So why would you expect to get it with a stingy attitude and paying less than minimum wage?

Oh and the rate should go up after midnight. Babysitters are humans too. "Pocket money". They're minding your kids! As in, you're paying them for services rendered, not giving them a bit of pocket money!

The minimum wage is subject to their age. I don't think its stingy to pay a 14 year old 7 Euro an hour. I think it's quite good. I completely agree with you that you should look after your babysitter, don't get me wrong. I don't keep sweets in my house on a normal day to day basis so I ALWAYS incur extra costs such as a dvd rental, snacks and what not, that I will leave there for her on the night she is minding my child. And being honest, I think for three hours of babysitting with all the extras included that 20euro is quite alright given the fact that my child is often already asleep in bed by the time my husband and I are ready to go out. I often take my babysitter with us on outings like the cinema as a treat so please don't make the assumption that I don't 'look after my babysitter'. It's obnoxious and honestly a little rude, you don't know me.

bisset

14 seems a bit young to be babysitting but it depends on the circumstances. Is the babysitter a relative or family friend?

mumsy79

bisset wrote: »

14 seems a bit young to be babysitting but it depends on the circumstances. Is the babysitter a relative or family friend?

Yes it's my neighbours daughter, she's fifteen next month, very quiet girl, mature. I was 12 when I started babysitting myself but the 90's were different times I suppose!!

JustAThought

E10 an hour - cash in hand - kids in bed -watching TV all night!!? Mad money! Negotiate a set price for a night & go with that. Twenty five for a night is fair /good ; parents can go out more regularly; babysitter gets more income : win:win.

I pay e12 a DAY for my dog to be walked and minded in someone's house.

Is your babysitter declaring that income to the taxman & paying tax... Thought not!!!!

miss no stars

bisset wrote: »

14 seems a bit young to be babysitting but it depends on the circumstances. Is the babysitter a relative or family friend?

See this is perhaps where the misunderstanding started. I wouldn't consider 14 to be old enough by far to be responsible for a small child if anything were to go wrong (like the child starts choking or the like). They're fine in situation normal, but when things start to go wrong a 14 year old is very much a child. So I suppose I was basing the rate of pay on a 16 year old. 15 is juuuuuuuust about old enough.

mumsy79 wrote: »

The minimum wage is subject to their age. I don't think its stingy to pay a 14 year old 7 Euro an hour. I think it's quite good. I completely agree with you that you should look after your babysitter, don't get me wrong. I don't keep sweets in my house on a normal day to day basis so I ALWAYS incur extra costs such as a dvd rental, snacks and what not, that I will leave there for her on the night she is minding my child. And being honest, I think for three hours of babysitting with all the extras included that 20euro is quite alright given the fact that my child is often already asleep in bed by the time my husband and I are ready to go out. I often take my babysitter with us on outings like the cinema as a treat so please don't make the assumption that I don't 'look after my babysitter'. It's obnoxious and honestly a little rude, you don't know me.

Ok, so you treat her well, fair enough. But a lot of people go and say "ah 20 euro is grand for the night" and leave it at that. Had it happen to me, 3 kids (1 about 7, 1 3 and the other a baby), no food in the house, RTE1 and 2 only on the TV and then handed 18 euro for the 4 hours work (1 of which was after midnight). But it's still not pocket money, it's payment for services rendered. I wasn't trying to get at you tbh, it's just there seems to be an attitude of "sure what are they doing anyway? Just watching tv! 20 euro's grand!" while the babysitter might be trying to soothe a 9 month old baby and be hungry and have no idea where the food is (because tomorrow's shop day and there's none left).

JustAThought wrote: »

E10 an hour - cash in hand - kids in bed -watching TV all night!!? Mad money! Negotiate a set price for a night & go with that. Twenty five for a night is fair /good ; parents can go out more regularly; babysitter gets more income : win:win.

I pay e12 a DAY for my dog to be walked and minded in someone's house.

Is your babysitter declaring that income to the taxman & paying tax... Thought not!!!!

25 for the night? How long is the night? 7pm-1am? or is it 7pm - 9pm? Set amounts are well and good til you fall in the door 7 hours later, hand over the same amount as you'd pay for 3 hours pre-midnight and then wonder why the babysitter isn't available as much as usual afterwards. See, it's about being reasonable. That babysitter might have study to do for school/college, or could have turned down babysitting from someone else, or could have spent the evening relaxing. You're paying them a reasonable amount, based on the amount of time they're there (and WHEN, ie how late you get back). It shouldn't be set in stone, the circumstances should determine it.

I was never mad into rates myself, most families I babysat for would pay what they thought was appropriate and usually it was. If I was there from 7-10 €20-25 was normal, if I was there from 8-1am it'd usually be €30-35. Few hours on a Saturday afternoon if they wanted to go to the shops or run errands or whatever sans-kids, €10 fine. There was only 1 family who weren't reasonable about the duration and time of work and they've never managed to keep babysitters for more than a few times.

ETA: Your child isn't a dog and minding children requires more effort and responsibility than minding a child!

ChloeElla

I've been babysitting for about 6/7 years, started for family. My cousin has a 6 month old & 4 year old, I was paid €20 for minding the older child alone, and I'm still paid €20 for soothing a teething baby. I might be babysitting 9PM-2AM. Most other people would pay €30, whether it's from 7-11, or 8-2 particularly as if it's for family, I stay the night.
There was one family that I babysat for with a 5 year old, 7 year old & 13 year old, and would be paid €70 a night, and €150 if I stayed over-night & the next day. THAT is crazy money.

Paddy Cow

Penny Dreadful wrote: »

Now I feel old:eek: I used to baby sit when I was a teenager and was happy to get £10 for a night of minding 3 kids and a dog.
I'm 35 now so that is .........bloody hell longer ago than I was prepared for.
Anyway, I think that €50 and a taxi home is crazy money.

I feel old too (I'm 32). I used to get paid between 5 and 10 pounds per night. LOL. One night I was minding my Aunts's kids, her sister's kids and a neighbours kid. That was 6 kids in total. The next day I got paid £5! When my Mum was paying for a baby sitter for my youngest sister (12 year age gap) she was paying €10 per hour. How times have changed!

wolfpawnat

Dear God, I am a fully grown woman and I would babysit for most of you for what you're offering!!!! 20e for three hours! I'd be there like a shot!

I used get about 10-15 pounds when I was a teen (15) for minding my neighbours kid from 8pm-2/3am. Food galore, they had a huge TV package and if there was any problems, my mother was 10 doors away. But money meant more back then. I was charged €100 for an overnight when my son was 2 when I went to a wedding. She wanted only 50 since there was everything she needed in the house and a good TV package and she was allowed have a friend for company (she was 25 btw and the friend was another woman, not her bf) but I refused to give her under 100 since it had been for almost 24 hours.

Gee_G

wolfpawnat wrote: »

Dear God, I am a fully grown woman and I would babysit for most of you for what you're offering!!!! 20e for three hours! I'd be there like a shot!

I used get about 10-15 pounds when I was a teen (15) for minding my neighbours kid from 8pm-2/3am. Food galore, they had a huge TV package and if there was any problems, my mother was 10 doors away. But money meant more back then. I was charged €100 for an overnight when my son was 2 when I went to a wedding. She wanted only 50 since there was everything she needed in the house and a good TV package and she was allowed have a friend for company (she was 25 btw and the friend was another woman, not her bf) but I refused to give her under 100 since it had been for almost 24 hours.

just when I read that you allowed the babysitter to bring a friend, not boyfriend. Would you allow a younger girl to bring a friend with her on a normal night when you would be coming home? Thankfully I haven't had to look for a babysitter yet as family are more than willing to help out(plus he's only 6months old ) but I don't know how I'd feel about a paid babysitter(lets say 16/17year old ) bringing a friend. I know most people would be responsible and would give my child the best of care regardless, but I have it in my head that they might just be distracted from their duties if they had company.
Is that a daft way of thinking?

hoodwinked

we had my husbands cousin baby sitting, she was 15 (a month off 16) and we paid her €30 for a 8pm - 1am, we drove her home (15 minutes by car) and made sure to ask her pre-babysitting what foods and drinks she liked and stocked up.


she had sky (all the channels), and the laptop and a ds...etc


i think that was fair enough to be honest.

My sister (also 16) sometimes babysits as does my cousin, both for free, thats how its always been in my family, but we'll get each other back in other ways at other times (aka i could be called to collect my cousin from work, or drop my sister to her friends...etc)

wolfpawnat

Gee_G wrote: »

just when I read that you allowed the babysitter to bring a friend, not boyfriend. Would you allow a younger girl to bring a friend with her on a normal night when you would be coming home? Thankfully I haven't had to look for a babysitter yet as family are more than willing to help out(plus he's only 6months old ) but I don't know how I'd feel about a paid babysitter(lets say 16/17year old ) bringing a friend. I know most people would be responsible and would give my child the best of care regardless, but I have it in my head that they might just be distracted from their duties if they had company.
Is that a daft way of thinking?

Well this was a twenty eight year old woman who was opening her own creche in less than a month so the friend was actually her business partner and they spent the evening working on paperwork and borrowed my printer to print and photocopy stuff for the new business so I know it wasn't two teens with alcopops, but two women working. It was the only time it was not nana watching him, to be honest, even though I myself was a teen babysitter, I am not sure how I would feel about one minding him. I have never had to worry about it yet, but may have to in the near future.

The Big Red Button

Gee_G wrote: »

just when I read that you allowed the babysitter to bring a friend, not boyfriend. Would you allow a younger girl to bring a friend with her on a normal night when you would be coming home? Thankfully I haven't had to look for a babysitter yet as family are more than willing to help out(plus he's only 6months old ) but I don't know how I'd feel about a paid babysitter(lets say 16/17year old ) bringing a friend. I know most people would be responsible and would give my child the best of care regardless, but I have it in my head that they might just be distracted from their duties if they had company.
Is that a daft way of thinking?

I used to babysit loads as a teenager, from the age of thirteen onwards, and the families would often suggest bringing a friend. The way they saw it was that it was two babysitters for the price of one! :pac:

I guess it really comes down to how much you trust the person minding your child. In my experience, if I did bring a friend, it would've often been someone the parents knew. Or, even if it wasn't, (from the parents point of view!) it was a good way of letting the kids get to know that friend, and chances are they might have ended up being asked to babysit another time, when I wasn't available.

Some of the parents, after several years of me babysitting for them, even suggested that I have my boyfriend over, so long as I waited til the kids were in bed. I never did that, though - it would've just seemed inappropriate.

prutyok

Babysitting is a hard job, needs concentration and u need to be very responsible. 9-10 euro/houris not a lot for minding your kids and keep them safe!!!

( When i was working in an Ice cream shop i get 9 euro ph, and i didn't have be worried that something bad will happen)

buttercups88

I'm a fully qualified childcare worker, with first aid, garda vetting and several years experience, I babysit for families who ask me through the preschool I work for. I charge €20 for first 2 hours and €5 per hour after that.

DublinArnie

Looks like i'll have to start babysitting!

ash23

A friends son babysits for me. He gets €20 regardless of how long it's for. Usually it's from 10pm to 1 or 2am. Sometimes it's just for an hour or two. Free reign on the fridge and tv and only one (older) child who doesn't actually need "minding".

If I had more kids or younger kids where more work was involved I'd pay more.

But he's happy with his pocket money and I'm happy with the cost.