How old should your babysitter be? How much should you pay them? Does experience matter? All these questions have been going through my head recently and I figured I would write about my babysitting experience and how I feel about babysitters.
When I was little of course I had babysitters. There were some that were so fun: they’d pop popcorn and put candy in it, play fun games, watch movies, and just make it a fun enjoyable time. Then there were those sitters that I can’t remember to save my life or I totally remember how boring they were.
I never thought the day would come when I would actually be getting my son a sitter. As with everything else you do as a parent, you will get tons and tons of advice from other people.
Once I heard, “Pay your sitter what you feel your kids are worth.” Ummmm if that is the case, we would never go out, or else we would go broke because he is priceless. Then there is, “A dollar a kid per hour.” Okay…so if we go out for three hours, you’re going to get $3 for watching our pride and joy. There has to be a happy medium.
I remember growing up and watching kids- I know you’re thinking the man who hates kids was once a babysitter? One time I got paid in change. The family pulled out a huge jar of change and said, “Whatever you can pull out, you get.” I was no fool and would dig down to the bottom (where all the silver coins were) and grabbed as much as I could. I mean, I had just watched three wild kids and this is what I was getting paid? Awesome! I knew that after this experience, I was going to be a better than average parent that pays their sitter decently.
I decided to post this question to my Facebook page and the results were all over the place:
“$10/hr – that’s if the person cleans after themselves and then some.”
“ I babysit a friends child every day after school and she pays me $3.50 an hour.”
“ I was always paid 5-8 dollars. I liked the families who paid 8.”
“ For one kid I always pay $20 for the first hour and $5 an hour after that. $10 for all the kids. I think it’s good to pay well…. The girls tell me all about the families who are lame payers…and they won’t go back. Oh…and I always round up.”
Of course you can have family watch your kids for you too, but there are times when they need a break or have plans just like you. I feel like a sitter is a necessity and that you need to find a great one that your child likes and they like your child. As we all know, I get crazy and worry about everything, but I know my wife needs a break and we need to get out together sometimes too.
We started out observing our son with different girls. We sifted through them and watched who our son got along with the best. You know the kind that they would prefer over you and almost jump into their arms the second they see them. Once we found that fit we knew that both would have an enjoyable time together. We also did some transitioning babysitting. We had her come to the house while my wife was there just in case there was a problem and it got him used to someone other than family. Now we can leave them alone and both are fine.
In my opinion the payment that you give your sitter is very important. I care about my child more than anything, but I also feel that if I am over paying our sitter than when they enter the real world trying to get a job they aren’t going to appreciate the value of a dollar. I heard a great philosophy somewhere that said you should pay them equivalent to the price of a movie. So for 3 hours- it would roughly be $15. You need to make it worth their time but also remember that if you set the bar too high you will never be able to bring it down.
For the most part, we like to hire someone who fits well with our child, give them some responsibility and then pay them whatever we feel they are worth. Whether that’s $2.50 an hour, $5 an hour, $20 for the night, or $50 an hour it’s all up to you. Just make sure that you feel comfortable with what you pay them and more importantly that you feel comfortable leaving your child with them.
