How much to charge for babysitting?

mikeassured

Hi

My 15 year old dd has been asked to do some babysitting.

I have no idea what the going rate is, can anyone tell me what is reasonable for her to charge?

Thanks


Sue

apples1

Babysitters here charge £5 per hour. They are people we know and trust - our neighbours grown up children (18 & 21) and pre-school nursery staff.

I have to say that personally I would not leave a 15 year old in sole care of my child so don't know what a typical rate would be at that age.

Broken_hearted

I would pay £5 for the night although I have never used a babysitter for my boys. I always leave them with family.

Jet

I've used teenagers to babysit before and I pay them £3 per hour.

Liz19

I too would not have left a 15 year old in charge of my children when they were little as I think it is too great a responsibility. As far as payment is concerned, I would have thought £10 for a night.

mikeassured

Thanks for all your replies. This is a neighbour who has asked us, as she knows I have four children ranging from 3 upwards. My eldest DD is very mature for her age and I have relied on her to help me with my youngest since he was born, also I will be on hand should anything arise, so maybe that gives her some reassurance as well.

Thanks

Sue

Jet

The teenager that I last used to babysit is the daughter of a friend who lives a few doors along, so I felt reassured that should there be a crisis, her Mum would be at hand.

Also my son is 8 years old and is always in bed asleep before the babysitter gets here.

I wouldn't feel comfortable leaving a very young child with a teenager, especially if there were nappies and bottles involved.

Legally speaking, a young person under 18 (I think) cannot be held responsible. If anything bad were to happen, you, the parent would be responsible.

funky-footprints

we pay our 15 year old neighbour £3.50 an hour before midnight, her mum always stays in, (5 doors up) on nights we babysit, and so i know if anything goes wrong then she rings her mum as back up !! I totally trust her & her mum !!! lol !!

Lyndsay_21

i used to babysit for a lady who lived opposite us from aged 15 i was mature for my age and would never have risked doing anything silly for the childrens sake and for the fact that it ended up being quite a good earner for me as i carried on babysitting untll after i had my daughter aged 20+
I used to get £20 a night for babysitting which i still get now on the odd occasion i babysit which i think is reasonable

Rachie_B

i too babysat (for 3 girls ranging from age 9 down to 6 months ) from the age of 15 (im now 27 :P)

i was paid £20 and a taxi home from around 7pm - midnight

TBH now ive got my own children i dont think i would leave a teenager in charge (unless we knew her extemely well ,friends daughter etc),we use a babysitting agency and pay £5.35 an hour

Claudie

We often use the 15 year old next door....her parents are always home and we trust her as she is far more mature than my 18 year old niece! We usually pay her £10 an evening, sometimes it's 2 hours and sometimes 3; we have never been later than half ten anyway. She has babysat after school for a few hours and I have given her £5 for that. But she isn't taken advantage of and it works very well.

We have also used a Nursery Nurse from a local nursery chain - that was £5 an hour before midnight plus taxis - double after midnight.