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I guess it depends on how much is minimuim wage and how long the evening is going to be? I have no experience with this but I'm interested in the feedback as eventually I would like to get to this point with both my kids.

No experience with this, but maybe just a flat rate would work, like $20 for the trouble of coming over for a few hours? I wouldn't really expect to pay less than that, except maybe to a high school student.

I think that is reasonable and I would pay it. We pay our sitter $20/hour for 2 kids just to sit there after they have gone to bed. I figure that she is still responsible for my house and kids, especially if there was an emergency.

ETA - however, we rarely go out so I would not want to pay that weekly! I would negotiate something less if we went out a lot.

We pay anywhere from $10-$15 an hour, even when she's sleeping, so I'd be all for minimum wage! It is expensive and adds up, which is probably why we've been on such few dates.

What about coming up with an amount you're comfortable with paying and offering that to prospective sitters? You figure if you're going to be out for 3 hours max, you could offer a flat amount and see if someone would nibble on it. Unless you're getting a younger teenager, you're probably going to have to pay fairly close to minimum wage or more to get someone to commit to the time. That's my guess anyway.

I feel that you are paying for their time rather than work. I know a few people who would be fine with being paid a small amount to basically watch tv, but it would only be a close friend. We pay a normal rate of $12-15/hr.

I feel like you're paying for their time, too. So I'd be ok with paying the minimum wage.

LO isn't here yet, but I guess I'd expect to pay someone at LEAST minimum wage if I'm entrusting them with my kid...

I agree with @Mrs Green Grass: in that you're paying the person for their time (and also being the person in charge of your LO!)--whether that be sitting on the couch while your LO sleeps peacefully, or, who knows, trying to clean up projectile poop/vomit while your LO screams! I feel like if you want to charge based on the "interaction," it'd be a little tricky!

I think minimum wage is fair. perhaps since you're weekly -ambitious!- you can negotiate a flat monthly rate??

I am in the camp that if they don't have to do anything with the kid, you can pay less per hour.

MW is like $8/hour here. I agree you're paying for their time, not their effort necessarily.

You know, unless you hire a 12 year old down the street.

This is why we don't and haven't gone out... $10/hr to watch TV.

I know I'm in the minority but I have a huge issue when people say they want to pay a sitter less just because its the evening. I was a nanny for several years (up until a year ago) and this would have been very offensive to me
You have no idea what could happen. Babies wake up for whatever reason, emergencies happen, if something DID happen- it is invaluable that they're there.

Whether evening or day though, I think minimum wage is fine for a babysitter.

@banana: it was definitely tough! We had to come up with a bunch of tricks, but they ended up working out over time:

http://www.hellobee.com/2012/09/18/10-ways-for-introverts-to-meet-other-parents/

@Mrs. Polish: our sitter charges $10 no matter what. Um, that way above MI's minimum wage. But a girls gotta do what a girls gotta do to get some alone time with her man
We go out rarely; but when we do, our first option is trying family.

I suggest finding another mommy friend and switching off.
My friend and I do this for school.
On Friday mornings, I watch her LOs for 2 hours while she does homework. On Tuesdays, she does the same for me. We are in the same class. She has 2 children, but hey, they are 8 & 10 so arguably, they are easier than my 1 child (11m old).

I nannied and babysat in college and afterwards while working full-time - I've never had anyone pay me less for working when kids were asleep. If anything they paid more or gave a bonus/extra if it went past midnight. I agree with PP - you're paying for their time that they could spend doing something else.

Our local mom's club just started a babysitting co-op to trade 'tokens' of babysitting hours. I'm not participating because I haven't met many of the moms yet, but something to consider!

I think the minimum wage is a very reasonable expectation. Everywhere I have ever lived (both some very high and some very low cost of living places) there is a big lack of good sitters willing to do weekend nights. If someone tried to offer lower than the going rate I might sit for them once but it was never hard to find someone else who was willing to pay more for weekends in the future. Basically, my point is, if she is good and you want her to keep coming back I would go ahead and pay her what she asks.

If it really isn't in the budget I would try and get a high school student from your neighborhood to do it, usually you get someone who is totally capable of calling 911 and their parents are typically right around the corner so you get extra back up.

@mrbee: I don't remember reading this one! How did I miss this post? Thanks for sharing! It's funny because I'm pretty extroverted but I'm shy when it comes to meeting people. I think it's because I don't want to feel rejection. What if I ask one of them out for a playdate and they come up with an excuse? Feels like I'm asking them out on a real date or something! UGH..I should just get over myself and try to set something up.