How Much Should You pay Your Babysitter?

According to the NACCRRA (National Association of Child Care Resource and Referral Agencies), parents recruiting nannies and helpers must ensure that their children are in safe hands, and they also have to make sure that they pay the nannies and babysitters right. In the USA, ten dollars per hour is the average babysitter rate. This is also the rate charged by nanny services.

But this rate can increase or decrease depending on your location, the babysitter’s tasks, her experience in child care and the number of kids to take care of.

Location is a huge factor when it comes to calculating how much you will be paying your nanny or sitter. Parents living in metropolitan areas pay higher for nanny services than those in sparsely populated towns. This is because nannies are more in demand in metropolitan areas, and the nannies there have more experience taking care of children while the parents are working. If you have never hired a nanny or a sitter before, talk to your neighbors and relatives about nanny rates.

You will have to pay higher if the tasks involve bathing the kids, cooking lunch and doing housework. The nanny will also expect to get paid higher if you keep piling on the tasks. If you expect your babysitter or nanny to fetch your kids from school, you should give her a fair reimbursement for mileage. However, if the sitter’s job is to stay with the kids while they sleep, her hourly rate should decrease.

If you have one or two kids, babysitter rates shouldn’t change much. However, if you have three or more kids, you should increase her pay. Also, if your child has special needs, you should provide proper compensation for the extra work your nanny has to do.

Experience

Some babysitters get training in CPR, the Heimlich maneuver or even basic first aid before deployment. However, a nanny with this kind of training is more expensive to hire than a nanny with no training at all. You should also consider offering higher pay if your nanny has a degree in child psychology or special education.

Other factors, such as previous experience with kids, cooking ability and availability may play a part in the overall equation. For instance, you want a nanny who can provide babysitter services at any time, such as when you need to go to work (if you’re frequently on-call at work), you will have to pay extra for the inconvenience of dropping everything and going to your place to look after your kids.

Dependable live-in nannies are hard to find. Parents who rely on sitters to look after their kids while they’re at work should scout for the most trustworthy individuals and give them fair pay.