TuscMoms.com

I thought posting here would be the best way to get a lot of input on this, since I don't have a lot of friends in the area (with kids) that I can ask:

I'm going to have someone watch Will 2 days, while I do a temporary job. It is a Wed and a Thurs (in the same week). It will be 8 hours one day and 10 hours the next day. I asked this person what they would like me to pay them and they said I could decide what is fair. Honestly, I have no idea what is fair, because no one other than my in-laws has ever kept Will and I've never really looked into this till now! How much would you guys pay total for the 2 days?

Here is how I would look at it:

If you paid the person $5 an hour, that would be $40 the first day and $50 the next. I wouldn't, then, pay them less than $100 total for the two days, which gives them a $10 tip.

If you factor in the fact that they are doing a lot more work than a teenager would do in the few hours it takes you to go to the movies, you might even end up going higher than $5 an hour. But then we're into the super-expensive, and depending on the job you're taking on, it may not make sense.

(Especially if you consider that daycares charge close to that for a week!) But daycares also watch more than one child at a time. If you really do break it down by the hour, I'd say nothing less than $100 for the two days, especially if it is any kind of a favor for the person to watch your little one.

I don't know, though -- it just seems so expensive! Am I off my rocker?!

Boston Girl, it does seem expensive when you add up the two days, but $5 an hour is super cheap for babysitting in this market. I generally pay $8 or $9 per hour (depending on the sitter and what she typically charges) for weekday sitting and $10 per hour on the weekend or at night. But then again, I don't use sitters all day usually, but only for half days. So, if I were paying my sitter for 18 hours, I would be paying $144 at $8/hour. That's a lot, but it's the going rate.
That said, I know people who use full-time sitters during the week and they negotiate a weekly rate. So, I agree with Boston Girl that you could just agree on a flat rate ($100 or maybe even less, like $75) for the two days combined. It's a lower hourly rate but guaranteed money, so the person might be willing to do it that way, if you say, ok I'll pay you $X for the two days and don't frame it as an hourly pay.

Oh my God! That's so little - yet way out of my family's reach.
I don't know how regular folks afford sitters, or even daycare for that matter.
If I still worked, I think childcare alone would take up more than half my paycheck (and I have a college degree). Yikes!

We pay $10/hr on a weekend night. Not sure how I'd handle this one. I'd probably negotiate a flat rate for the two days like LM said. And it would work out to lower than that. It's just so expensive!

And of course I have no idea what the situation of the sitter is, but if it is someone with a child or children, you might be able to negotiate a trade - she keeps yours and then you keep hers in exchange some other time.

We pay $10 an hour, regardless of the day or night. But we haven't ever used one for an entire day. I use to be nanny all through college and I was paid $10 and hour for an all day gig and then a flat rate, I think around $100 for an overnight stay. Because I was sleeping for a lot of the time. I think you should do a lump amount for the full day so you aren't paying too much. And if this becomes more than just temporary, then maybe switch to the pay per hour. If you want the person to be able to commit to a regular schedule, you should prob. pay a little more. At least that's what I think from having been on the other side of the wallet!

I pay my sitters $10 per hour, but that is for weekends while the hubby and I have a date or something for only a couple of hours. It would get pretty steep to pay a sitter $10 and hour for 2 days. Day care for a week is only $100.00 and that is full time for 5 days, which is $20 a day. I know that you would have a hard time getting your sitter to accept $20 per day so if it was my choice I would OFFER her $35 - $40 per day and see how she takes that, if she doesnt like it them I am sure she will let you know and then yall can discuss it more. I think that is reasonable for only 2 days per week for one child. Would she be watching him at your house or hers? I ask bcs of gas...it is pretty high right now and you have to factor that in with the rate so you could maybe add a mileage rate to the daily rate you would pay her. I dunno $75 for 2 days sounds good...I would prob go with that if it were my situation.

Here is a poll on Babycenter about paying babysitters...

Link