Who sets babysitting rates? You or the sitter?

[ett]

I haven't really hired babysitters for my kids before (spoiled by my parents being close by), so this is all new to me. Do you usually tell the sitter what you're paying her or do you ask her what she charges? And does it make a difference whether it's a teenager(16-17 years old) or an older person? I'll have more questions later but just wanted to find out first if I should ask her for her rate or approach her with what I want to pay her. Thanks!

[AnnieW625]

I pay the highschool girl (DCP's 15 yr. old daughter) $8 an hour. I asked her mom what she charged and that's what she told me. I think she would've taken a little less, but I think i$8 is fair since CA minimum wage is also $8 an hour. Older more experienced sitters in my area can request up to $15 an hour and get it. Nannies in my area I believe start at a minimum of $15 an hour, but most are paid somewhere between $15 and $20 an hour.

When I was a sitter/nanny in the mid/late 90s I always asked for minimum wage and then $1.50 per hour more for each additional child. The most I ever got paid was $10 an hour to watch two or three kids, but that involved driving them around.

[hillview]

I have a general sense of what market rate is here and I ask what they charge. If is a buck or so more and a one time gig I wouldn't worry about it. But if it was very different ($5 an hr more etc) I'd say that wasn't what I pay or that I pay x-5.
/hillary

[jellibeans]

In 2 different places that we have lived, the girls have told me what they charge per child per hour. In our last city, it was around $2-3 an hour, per child for a 15 year old. Where we live now, we pay about $4 an hour , per child. But ask the girl. She will tell you if she has a rate. My thing is that I want to know because if she doesn't tell me, I don't want to not pay her enough and then she doesn' want to come back. Also, I usually round up. For example, if I am gone for 2 hours, instead of giving her $8, I would give $10.

[ett]

Thanks! I just asked in a separate post what rate seems reasonable in my situation so I can compare it to the rate she gives me.