Hey ladies -

I want to hire the 14yo girl next door to come over a couple times a week to entertain my 2.5yo ds for an hour or so. I will be here at the house the whole time. What should I pay her? I'm afraid if I ask her how much she would charge, her mom will make her do it for free or very, very cheap. I want to offer something that is fair...

Thanks.
amy

By Andi on Wednesday, May 31, 2006 - 06:12 pm:

I would offer her $5-$7 an hour depending on her maturity level.

By Kate on Wednesday, May 31, 2006 - 06:27 pm:

Um, I'd give her between $3 and $4 at the very most.

By Tink on Wednesday, May 31, 2006 - 06:36 pm:

Babysitting is expensive around here but I'd pay her in the $5/hour range. Enjoy having the extra pair of hands!

By Hlgmom on Wednesday, May 31, 2006 - 07:22 pm:

$5.00 is what I pay for the same service! It is great!!!!!

By Cocoabutter on Thursday, June 1, 2006 - 12:10 am:

Well when you consider that you are there while she watches your ds, she doesn't have the same level of responsibility that she would if you were not at home, so I wouldn't give her the going rate for babysitting.

Oh, heck, just give her whatever you feel comfortable with. Decide what it's worth to you to have a bit of free time.

By Tarable on Thursday, June 1, 2006 - 10:02 am:

My oldest did this for my sister last year 3 times a week and I believe my sister paid her like $10 a week. My daughet is a lot younger, just ten at the time but she is rather mature and all she really did was keep my nephew's attention away from mommy for an hour or so. I believe that for a 14 year old $5 an hour would be a great rate...

By Tonya on Thursday, June 1, 2006 - 01:54 pm:

I would say at 14 yrs old $3 per hour is right. Even if you are at home.

By Kaye on Tuesday, June 6, 2006 - 07:40 pm:

My dd is 12, when she babysits she gets paid about 5-7 an hour. When she sits for me I pay her 3 an hour. For a mothers helper I would think 3 an hour would be great.

By Mrsheidi on Tuesday, June 6, 2006 - 10:56 pm:

I would ask her...sometimes it's lower than what you'd think she'd expect.

By Mrsheidi on Tuesday, June 6, 2006 - 10:57 pm:

oops...it's apparent I'm very tired and neglected to read all your post. If you ask her, then offer her more, she will feel better about the job and everything. $4 is enough, I think. I pay $6 for a babysitter.

By Kym on Sunday, June 11, 2006 - 03:51 pm:

Ditto exactly Kay, my dd is even 12! Sometimes I shocked at how much others pay her But she's very good and the kids love her. Luckily her younger 3 brothers love her too so they don't mind her sitting for us too
For Mommy's helper, I'd do a minimum of $10.00 so it's worth her time coming over, not per hour but if you only use her for 1 to 2 hours I'd pay a flat $10, if it's more like 3 hours maybe 12-15! And have her clean up the mess the kids make while there, do it early in the AM before naps, maybe like 9-11:30, she can just prepare a snack and clean up toys and snack, you can do a lunch and nap and have almost the whole morning off