Hellobee Boards Topic: How often would you pay for a babysitter?

Hellobee Boards Topic: How often would you pay for a babysitter? https://boards.hellobee.com/ Pregnancy, Baby and Parenting blog, by Hellobee en Mon, 06 Apr 2026 08:40:15 +0000 sorrycharlie on "How often would you pay for a babysitter?" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/how-often-would-you-pay-for-a-babysitter#post-561430 Tue, 12 Feb 2013 08:16:16 +0000 sorrycharlie 561430@https://boards.hellobee.com/ We are lucky and have free family nearby in spades, but just wanted to add that you can totally get away with paying her less. That is a really high rate for a 12 y/o! loveisstrange on "How often would you pay for a babysitter?" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/how-often-would-you-pay-for-a-babysitter#post-561422 Tue, 12 Feb 2013 08:11:23 +0000 loveisstrange 561422@https://boards.hellobee.com/ Once a month, but more like once every few months. I pay our babysitter way too much, I think. lol. I used to make $10/hr, so thats what I give her. JoJoGirl on "How often would you pay for a babysitter?" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/how-often-would-you-pay-for-a-babysitter#post-561414 Tue, 12 Feb 2013 08:03:42 +0000 JoJoGirl 561414@https://boards.hellobee.com/ We have no friends and family nearby that could watch LO so we'll probably do this as often as humanly possible. 78h2o on "How often would you pay for a babysitter?" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/how-often-would-you-pay-for-a-babysitter#post-561360 Tue, 12 Feb 2013 03:51:45 +0000 78h2o 561360@https://boards.hellobee.com/ I think $10 is way too much for a 12 year old. When I was in my late 20s w/ a graduate level education, and 15+ years of experience I charged $10-12 for 1-2 kids. (As a side note - darn inflation! at age 12 I used to get paid $2-3.50/hr. I remember thinking that the the $3.50 parents were big spenders, lol). pinkcupcake on "How often would you pay for a babysitter?" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/how-often-would-you-pay-for-a-babysitter#post-541268 Thu, 31 Jan 2013 19:27:25 +0000 pinkcupcake 541268@https://boards.hellobee.com/ Haven't left her with anyone other than my mom yet. I doubt we'll be getting a babysitter anytime in the near future. I have separation anxiety if I'm away from her :P Lozza on "How often would you pay for a babysitter?" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/how-often-would-you-pay-for-a-babysitter#post-540542 Thu, 31 Jan 2013 16:34:50 +0000 Lozza 540542@https://boards.hellobee.com/ @littlek: I wouldn't have a 12 year old watch my AWAKE child, but if LO is asleep and I was down the street at the gym (like OP), I think it's a great solution- LO almost never wakes up in the middle of the night anymore, and if he did, I'd probably just tell them to call me and I'd come home, and just ask them to pick him up and hold him for a few minutes till I got there. Lozza on "How often would you pay for a babysitter?" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/how-often-would-you-pay-for-a-babysitter#post-540527 Thu, 31 Jan 2013 16:32:44 +0000 Lozza 540527@https://boards.hellobee.com/ We are apparently luckier than I'd realized :) My parents just moved to our state, and they live about 40 minutes away, but are willing to drive to see LO almost any time. They've proposed taking LO overnight once a week on Friday or Saturday, but I don't know that I want to give him up THAT often, but even having the offer is nice. So basically if we wanted a date night every week we could. My mom is also pretty much always willing to drive down and watch LO if he's sick or something like that. My sister lives about 35-45 minutes away as well, and before my parents moved here she'd babysit about twice a month, usually once at our place (so we can go out, usually at night), and once at her place (I'd drop off LO and go run errands or something, usually in the morning or afternoon). We also have friends that we occasionally swap with, and another set of good friends with no kids yet who do a lot of babysitting for the little kids in our group- we don't often ask them to watch LO for us, but they've said they'd be happy to do it more often. There's never been a question of payment with any of our family or close friends, but everyone is pretty financially secure and we all try to do other types of favors for each other anyhow. WE also live in a big city where a 45 minute drive is nothing so out of the ordinary- it's my average commute to work. littlek on "How often would you pay for a babysitter?" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/how-often-would-you-pay-for-a-babysitter#post-540499 Thu, 31 Jan 2013 16:28:48 +0000 littlek 540499@https://boards.hellobee.com/ I wouldn't have a 12 year old watch our son, he's only 8 months old. Our babysitter is actually a nanny that takes babysitting jobs. BoogieBea on "How often would you pay for a babysitter?" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/how-often-would-you-pay-for-a-babysitter#post-540402 Thu, 31 Jan 2013 16:14:52 +0000 BoogieBea 540402@https://boards.hellobee.com/ We do it every 2 weeks on saturday evenings. Mrs. Pen on "How often would you pay for a babysitter?" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/how-often-would-you-pay-for-a-babysitter#post-540375 Thu, 31 Jan 2013 16:10:35 +0000 Mrs. Pen 540375@https://boards.hellobee.com/ We've had my brother babysit but we pay him!! He gives us a discount though so we only paid like $6-$8/hour. the family that does it for free is my mom (she said she owes me for all the times I watched my sibs ;)) and my sister (we kind of trade off babysitting each others kids). @TurtleDoves: haha same here... when I was 12 I started babysitting and getting $3/hour was a lot to me hahaha. But that was a long time ago. I would say $7-$8 for someone that young - day OR night. We only go out every couple months for this very reason. It's expensive!! Babysitting money plus the cost of the date! anonysquire on "How often would you pay for a babysitter?" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/how-often-would-you-pay-for-a-babysitter#post-540111 Thu, 31 Jan 2013 15:33:37 +0000 anonysquire 540111@https://boards.hellobee.com/ @Thehistoryofus: Oh ok, I see! T.H.O.U. on "How often would you pay for a babysitter?" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/how-often-would-you-pay-for-a-babysitter#post-540096 Thu, 31 Jan 2013 15:32:10 +0000 T.H.O.U. 540096@https://boards.hellobee.com/ @anonysquire: Well, my IL's live about 45 minutes away and they don't have a lot of extra cash (two kids at home still). So first of all it would have to be a time they are free and then I would feel bad asking them to drive over 60 miles without at least offering them $20 for gas or paying for them to have some food at the house. Its not like they would charge us money but it would still cost us. anonysquire on "How often would you pay for a babysitter?" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/how-often-would-you-pay-for-a-babysitter#post-540078 Thu, 31 Jan 2013 15:29:22 +0000 anonysquire 540078@https://boards.hellobee.com/ @Thehistoryofus: @Mrs. Lemon-Lime: Your relatives would charge you gas money? They should pay you to get to hang with your kids. How sad! CupQuakeWalk on "How often would you pay for a babysitter?" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/how-often-would-you-pay-for-a-babysitter#post-540074 Thu, 31 Jan 2013 15:28:37 +0000 CupQuakeWalk 540074@https://boards.hellobee.com/ @Thehistoryofus: I didn't answer because I would not pay a 12yr old $10 to sit on my couch while my kid slept :/ I'd pay 6-8/h That being said I'd pay about $20 a week for 2 gym days. So, like $10 a night. When DH & I have date nights, LO stays with one of our many family members for free. But, if we're just going out to eat, we take him with us. Is it possible that you go to the gym and have DH watch the baby? And alternate days? That way you'll both get to work out but no one has to pay! Then, maybe once a month, you guys can go together as a "couple" thing. That would save lots of money. pui on "How often would you pay for a babysitter?" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/how-often-would-you-pay-for-a-babysitter#post-540057 Thu, 31 Jan 2013 15:25:45 +0000 pui 540057@https://boards.hellobee.com/ I'd be lucky that we have a lot of family near by who would be happy to take care of our LO relatively often, so we probably won't get up paying for a babysitter very often. T.H.O.U. on "How often would you pay for a babysitter?" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/how-often-would-you-pay-for-a-babysitter#post-540039 Thu, 31 Jan 2013 15:22:21 +0000 T.H.O.U. 540039@https://boards.hellobee.com/ @MamaBehr: @blackbird: That is great feedback! I don't really mind the $10/week but it would be nice if we didn't have to literally rush to the gym and then back. If we could do $10 for like an hour and a half that would be great! We also agree that like a gym membership, a babysitter is great for our marriage!! littlek on "How often would you pay for a babysitter?" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/how-often-would-you-pay-for-a-babysitter#post-539613 Thu, 31 Jan 2013 13:53:06 +0000 littlek 539613@https://boards.hellobee.com/ We paid $15 an hour. littlek on "How often would you pay for a babysitter?" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/how-often-would-you-pay-for-a-babysitter#post-539610 Thu, 31 Jan 2013 13:52:41 +0000 littlek 539610@https://boards.hellobee.com/ We are new to this, but we try and do date night once a month. We found a great sitter on sittercity.com and LO LOVES her! :) autumnlove on "How often would you pay for a babysitter?" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/how-often-would-you-pay-for-a-babysitter#post-539605 Thu, 31 Jan 2013 13:51:41 +0000 autumnlove 539605@https://boards.hellobee.com/ Maybe once a month for a date night? I haven't found any non family sitters yet. :-( MamaMoose on "How often would you pay for a babysitter?" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/how-often-would-you-pay-for-a-babysitter#post-538256 Thu, 31 Jan 2013 08:57:16 +0000 MamaMoose 538256@https://boards.hellobee.com/ We don't have any family near by so we'll need to use sitters. The first time we leave her will be around Valentine's day when she is about two and a half months old. My good friend and her 13 year old daughter are going to come babysit. I'll probably give my friend a bottle of wine and pay the daughter about $7 per hour. They are going to watch her again in March for our anniversary. After that we'll probably start using our neighbor's neice who is in her earl twenties with lots of nanny experience and we'll pay her $10 per hour. We'll use her once a month for a date night. My gym has a great day care so that's not an issue for me. Bao on "How often would you pay for a babysitter?" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/how-often-would-you-pay-for-a-babysitter#post-538251 Thu, 31 Jan 2013 08:56:15 +0000 Bao 538251@https://boards.hellobee.com/ LO is only 5 months old so we have just had family do it for free since I am too nervous to leave her with someone other than that yet. However, tomorrow she will be watched by my cousin who is 18 and I am paying her $20 for about 3 hours. My cousin will be watching other kids at the time too, so will be making a good chunk of money from them too. My LO will be sleeping the entire time. It gets expensive and since she is family I feel ok paying her just $20. If it were someone not in my family I would pay a lot more, but we wouldn't even be able to afford to go out then lol! MamaBehr on "How often would you pay for a babysitter?" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/how-often-would-you-pay-for-a-babysitter#post-538247 Thu, 31 Jan 2013 08:53:33 +0000 MamaBehr 538247@https://boards.hellobee.com/ I pay our babysitter $10 an hour for two kids and she is a senior (granted we go out while one is sleeping and the other is about to go to bed)! I agree with @blackbird you can totally go down to $6 an hour. I also think that it is important for your marriage to just be a couple and do something fun sans the baby. DH and I just started doing it and it is awesome. We are attempting to go out to eat together about once every three to four weeks. Mrsbells on "How often would you pay for a babysitter?" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/how-often-would-you-pay-for-a-babysitter#post-538246 Thu, 31 Jan 2013 08:52:44 +0000 Mrsbells 538246@https://boards.hellobee.com/ so far we rely on family or take LO everywhere with us. she is only 9 months and at this age I dont feel comfortable leaving her with a teenager Honeybee on "How often would you pay for a babysitter?" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/how-often-would-you-pay-for-a-babysitter#post-538240 Thu, 31 Jan 2013 08:51:02 +0000 Honeybee 538240@https://boards.hellobee.com/ We don't have family nearby, so we just don't go out without the kids. We do take advantage of free babysitting when our parents are here to visit, though! blackbird on "How often would you pay for a babysitter?" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/how-often-would-you-pay-for-a-babysitter#post-538232 Thu, 31 Jan 2013 08:49:09 +0000 blackbird 538232@https://boards.hellobee.com/ We talked about getting a sitter once a week on Tuesday nights once our work softball league starts up. We'll see, but we like the idea of having our softball game and then picking up dinner. Yeah it'll be expensive, but so is our sanity :) and it's too hot in the summer to bring the baby and trade off, so she'll have to stay home. Otherwise we'll have MIL watch her and go out to dinner, but that's unreasonable during the week b/c she doesn't live that close. I'd probably only want to pay a 12 year old like $6/hour, though. $10/hour is what some adults make :P T.H.O.U. on "How often would you pay for a babysitter?" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/how-often-would-you-pay-for-a-babysitter#post-538205 Thu, 31 Jan 2013 08:35:59 +0000 T.H.O.U. 538205@https://boards.hellobee.com/ I think that is my other hard part about this. His parents live about 45 minutes away and we would have to pay for their gas. As much as I would love for her to get extra time with her grandparents its not really possible. I also have my brother and sister close by and we can talk to them. I don't know that they would do it for free either. We also have my SIL around that we try to do a swap with but they are busy and its really tough. Plus we both like our kids to sleep in their own house! Weagle on "How often would you pay for a babysitter?" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/how-often-would-you-pay-for-a-babysitter#post-538157 Thu, 31 Jan 2013 08:05:16 +0000 Weagle 538157@https://boards.hellobee.com/ So far we've used a sitter only a few times, but we're both beyond ready to get out more. We're looking into starting a swap with some friends of ours that would guarantee at least one date night a month. Mrs. Lemon-Lime on "How often would you pay for a babysitter?" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/how-often-would-you-pay-for-a-babysitter#post-538154 Thu, 31 Jan 2013 08:03:42 +0000 Mrs. Lemon-Lime 538154@https://boards.hellobee.com/ No LO, but I'll answer anyway. DH and I are homebodies and we do not work out at the same place or the same time. We will likely need a babysitter once every month or two. Our closest relative, my mom, is a smoker, so we will pay someone else to watch our kids, plus knowing my mom she would charge us for her gas. Her commute would be 1.5 hours round trip. heffalump on "How often would you pay for a babysitter?" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/how-often-would-you-pay-for-a-babysitter#post-538139 Thu, 31 Jan 2013 07:56:35 +0000 heffalump 538139@https://boards.hellobee.com/ We're very lucky that we don't need to..... we have my parents and in laws here to babysit when needed. But if we didn't I'd probably get a sitter at least once a month. T.H.O.U. on "How often would you pay for a babysitter?" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/how-often-would-you-pay-for-a-babysitter#post-538130 Thu, 31 Jan 2013 07:54:06 +0000 T.H.O.U. 538130@https://boards.hellobee.com/ Last night, we had the 12 year old neighbor girl come watch our LO while she was sleeping so DH and I could go to the gym. We were less than 5 minute away and her parents were home next door. We are hoping to get out together more often but worried about the cost. Right now we were thinking of paying her $8-10/hr for weeknights especially when LO is sleeping. We would pay a bit more plus tips if/when she starts actually babysitting LO when she is awake. So, even to run to the gym once a week, we are looking at about $15 per time. Plus if we actually wanted a date night (got out for 3 hours on a Friday night) that would cost us over $30. How often do you pay for a sitter like this? Obviously it depends on your budget, but just curious.