What's the right baby-sitter pay?

This post comes from Len Penzo at partner blog Len Penzo dot Com.

With our kids now 12 and 14, we no longer have to worry about baby sitters.

To be honest, the Honeybee and I rarely used baby sitters at all, even when the kids were younger, because we were fortunate enough to have two sets of grandparents living relatively nearby who would usually fill in for us.

The few times we didhire a baby sitter -- a very nice teenage girl who lived up the street —-- I was always a bit befuddled regarding the appropriate rate of pay.

The last thing I wanted to do was underpay her. After all, everyone hates underpaid jobs. Then again, after spending a hundred bucks or more after a night on the town, I really didn't want to overpay her either.

I usually ended up paying our baby sitter $10 an hour plus all the food and beverages she could consume from our pantry and refrigerator while we were gone.

The reason I bring this up is because my highly entrepreneurial daughter, Nina, has recently expressed an interest in baby-sitting some of the younger kids in our neighborhood as a way to supplement the income generated by her car wash, wallet and miniature clay charm businesses.

So how much do baby sitters get paid nowadays? (Post continues below.)

I did a bit of research, and it turns out the answer is: It depends.

According to baby-sitting website SanDiegoBabysitters.​org, baby sitters typically earn somewhere between $5 and $20 per hour. However, there are multiple factors to consider when it comes to determining how much to pay them.

• The age and experience of the baby sitter. Sitters between 13 and 15 should get as low as half the pay of an older or more experienced baby sitter.
• The age of the kids. Add $2 an hour to their base pay for newborns and $1 an hour for toddlers.
• The number of kids. Add $1 to $2 an hour for each additional child.
• The cost of living. Big-city baby sitters should expect to earn more than their country cousins.
• If additional duties are required. Add $1 to $2 an hour if the sitter is required to drive the kids someplace, cook meals or perform other tasks.
• Time of day. Because there is less effort involved, evening rates can be a bit lower if the kids will be sleeping while the baby sitter is on duty.

As a quick example, let's say you hired a 15-year-old baby sitter to watch your two toddlers so you and your honey can enjoy a quiet dinner and a movie. Let's also assume a base rate of $20 an hour for an older, experienced baby sitter.

$20-per-hour base rate + $1-per-hour premium for the first toddler + $1-per-hour premium for the second toddler + $2 per hour for one extra child = $24 an hour

But since our sitter is younger, we can cut that rate in half (to $12 per hour). Who knows? Assuming your kids would be sleeping most of the time, you might even be able to shave off a bit more of the rate. Or not.

Anyway, I think you get the idea. I know I do now. I just wish I had these guidelines when my kids were younger.

At least I can now rest a little bit easier knowing that I wasn't underpaying our neighborhood baby sitter.

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