Money Tips: How Much to Charge for Babysitting

While parents hate to be far from their children, they cannot supervise them on a 24/7 basis. Having a good babysitter means that a parent can stay late at work or go out on a date night with their significant other. However, babysitters deserve to be paid for their services. What should you charge to be a reliable source of care for another person’s child?

How Old Are the Kids?

The first thing that you need to take into account is the age of the child or children that you will be babysitting. Babies who have not been toilet trained may need their diapers changed once or twice while you are there. Young children may also need help going to and staying asleep. Therefore, you may want to charge more to watch a younger child compared to an older child who may be content to just watch a movie or do homework while you are there.

How Many Children Are You Responsible For?

If you are responsible for more than one child, you may want to seriously consider charging more for your services. For instance, you may charge $10 an hour and an additional $5 for any other children also in your care. Watching one child can be challenging enough, which means that extra heads to keep track of can be a challenge that not just anybody is willing to take on. You also have to make sure that each child is fed and that their dietary restrictions are taken into account. If the children are in different age groups, it may be harder to keep them occupied with the same movie or same game, which may mean more effort on your part to keep them occupied.

Do You Have Any Certifications or Qualifications?

You will learn as you move through life that people will pay for any specialized skills that you bring to the table. For instance, if you have a CPR certification or have taken babysitting classes, you are in a position to keep the kids you are watching safe in an emergency situation. This will provide mom and dad with additional peace of mind whenever their kids are left in your care.

While you may still need to call 911 if an emergency occurs, you at least know how to keep them calm and safe until professionals arrive. In such a scenario, starting CPR or taking other steps to keep the child breathing could be the difference between life and death.

If you are 16 or older and have your drivers license, that may also enable you to charge a higher rate. This is because you may be able to drive the child or children you are watching to practice or perform other errands for the family. Doing these tasks for the parents provides them with an added convenience that you should charge for.

How Long is the Arrangement to Last?

If a parent needs you to help out for an hour or two on Saturday night, you should have no problem asking for your normal $10 or $15 an hour rate. However, if a parent wants to hire you for the next several Saturdays or needs you every day for the entire school year, you may want to negotiate a flat fee for your services. Generally, you will give a slight discount to those who buy your services in bulk or who are willing to pay you in full upfront. While you don’t have to give a bulk discount, it will help you build relationships with those who may refer you to other families in the future.

How much should you charge to babysit? Ultimately, that is up to you, but you should be reasonable and base your rates on your skills, experience and who you are tasked to watch. If you keep your rates in line with market prices, you should have no problem getting what you want.