babysitting rates

i was just wondering what the general "going rate" was for babysitting for infant twins (currently almost 7 mo. old).
we are in the cleveland area, so i'm sure it's not quite what a larger city area would be, but just trying to get a general idea of what people pay. i'm talking about sitters at night, not daycare type. like a teenager/college student. Also, do you change the rate based on if they are already in bed? daytime vs. nighttime? i think we're ready to start trying to get out a couple times a month and don't want to always depend on teh inlaws. thanks in advance for your input!

 

For one kid (my son) i used to pay the sitter $10 an hour. Now (for three) I pay $12 an hour if it's evening and the twins will be going to sleep shortly thereafter the sitter arrives - if it's daytime and she's watching all three it's $15 an hour.

 

I pay $13 an hour.

 

holy cow! where are you guys from?! I couldn't make that kind of money in a full time job where training just to get the job is required, let alone an occasional babysitting gig! I should move to your area and be your babysitter!

but then I live in an area where in a daycare where an infant is fed, changed, and cared for by a trained professional is about $30/day. so these professionals only make about $3/hr per kid, and they do way more than a teenager in my home for an evening would do.

we pay teenagers with no real life experience, no real skills, who don't do anything but play for a couple hours more like $3-$5/hr depending on if the kids are up or sleeping. but we have yet to leave the twins w/ a sitter. so I'm not sure what we'd pay if we left the twins. we haven't really talked about it. I don't like leaving babies w/ a sitter no matter who it is, so I try to avoid leaving them until they're nearly a year old.

anyway that's just my $0.02

Michelle

 

oh michelle! i'm glad you said taht- i was reading the other 2 and thinking HOLY CRAP! we're never going out again! here i also pay $55/day for both kids combined to be watched by a lady at her house. i was thinking around $8/hr. for night and wondering if that is ok? utah and ohio must be similar (well, in that regard at any rate!)

 

WOW! I don't make much more an hour than what you guys pay! We pay our provider 50 a day for three, 65 a day when all four are there in the summer! Thus, 6.50 and hour for four kids.

 

The going rate here is $2 per hour, per kid. I generally pay $5 an hour plus a $5 bonus for just showing up. My older son really doesn't need a sitter, just someone to make sure he doesn't burn the house down!!

 

The daycare lady (home daycare) is $55.00 a day for both (should be $30 each but get $5 discount for twins) 9-5. Babysitter 18 year old girl is $5.00 per hour and I usually tag an extra $5 on so if she does 4 hours I pay $25


amanda

 

Geesh! I am moving where you guys live!! I am getting robbed here in Chicago! ha

 

The nanny gets paid $6.55/hour during the week, and I pay her $8/hour if I have her watch the girls on the weekend, no matter what time of day.

An occasional sitter I use once in a very great while, I pay $10/hour (on the weekend).

 

I pay $7/hr. for the greatest babysitters on the planet

 

We pay our sitter $10/hour when she comes for three hours on Fridays. She has twins who are in preschool and a 3 year old that she brings with her to our house. When I go back to teaching in the fall we will pay her $900/month . . . haven't calculated that out yet.