How much for babysitting in this situation?

[ett]

A 17 year old experienced babysitter will be watching 6 kids for 3 hours. (parents will be in the house but in another room.) Ages of kids are 6, 4, and four 2.5 year olds. I have a 6 year old and a 2.5 year old. What do you think is a reasonable rate for my 2 kids?

I plan on asking her what she would charge but wanted to get a sense of what seems reasonable.

Thanks!

ETA: It will be a Sunday afternoon for 3 hours. We're in a suburb of Boston, so it'll be higher than other parts of the country.

[elephantmeg]

day or evening? weeknight or weekend? Rural or urban?

[ett]

day or evening? weeknight or weekend? Rural or urban?

Sunday afternoon for 3 hours. We're in a suburb of Boston, so it'll be higher than other parts of the country.

[nrp]

I don't envy that babysitter! Will all of the parents be contributing? I would think for six young kids, even with parents in the home, I would think at least $15-$20 for your two kids, and that's assuming she'll get ratably that amount from the other families (so a total of $50-$60). Six kids is a LOT of work for anyone.

[JMS]

This is just a gut response, but I think $15/hr (is it three sets of parents?) to be split among the parents is reasonable.

[vonfirmath]

I wouldn't do it for just $15/hr.

Honestly, as a parent of one of the 2.5 year olds, I'd want 2 babysitters there with that many kids.

With two baby sitters, I'd pay them $50 each for 3 hours work. (split up among the parents)

[nrp]

Honestly, as a parent of one of the 2.5 year olds, I'd want 2 babysitters there with that many kids.

:yeahthat: I'll reconsider my post above. I agree that you should look at two babysitters. With two babysitters, I think $10-$15 per hour per babysitter total (from the families combined) would be reasonable.

[ett]

I don't envy that babysitter! Will all of the parents be contributing? I would think for six young kids, even with parents in the home, I would think at least $15-$20 for your two kids, and that's assuming she'll get ratably that amount from the other families (so a total of $50-$60). Six kids is a LOT of work for anyone.

We're doing a trial run to see if she can handle them or if we need to hire another babysitter. We are just joining the group and she has already negotiated rates with the other 2 families.

Do you mean $15-$20/hour or for the whole 3 hours?

[ett]

Oh I forgot to mention that this is a long term situation (2x/month), so not a one time thing. We're meeting this Sunday, but 2 other possible sitters are not available, so she's sort of the only one free. Given that, we thought we'd just try the 1 sitter and see how it goes.

[nrp]

We're doing a trial run to see if she can handle them or if we need to hire another babysitter. We are just joining the group and she has already negotiated rates with the other 2 families.

Do you mean $15-$20/hour or for the whole 3 hours?

I meant $15-20/hour, but from the families combined. So the babysitter would be taking home a total of around $60.

[kijip]

4 two year olds plus two other kids? I would give her hazard pay.

Just kidding.

Sort of.

If it goes well and she can handle it alone, I think she is an exceptional sitter!

If it were just your 2 kids, I would say $8ish an hour. I think you should ask what the other parents are paying per kid.

I don't have a sense of just your portion without considering the other two. I think the sitter should walk away with at least $60 in that situation, so I guess you should pay about $20, since you have 1/3 of the kids?

[Melaine]

I wouldn't do it for just $15/hr.

Honestly, as a parent of one of the 2.5 year olds, I'd want 2 babysitters there with that many kids.

With two baby sitters, I'd pay them $50 each for 3 hours work. (split up among the parents)

:yeahthat::yeahthat:

I wouldn't have babysat in that situation for that price. I think $60 is the bare minimum (and I live in a VERY low COL area), but I think preferably have 2 there and give them each $40+. Although it seems like less responsibility to babysit when the adults are still at home, it is actually SO much more stressful. No matter what, the kids want to go see what the adults are doing.

[vonfirmath]

Okay I missed that the adults are in the house. I might let it go with one babysitter for that situation and let my kid go.

[ett]

Okay I missed that the adults are in the house. I might let it go with one babysitter for that situation and let my kid go.

Yes, we're only trying this because the adults will be in the house. I would never leave 1 sitter with 6 kids alone. (unless the sitter has been a mother of 6 herself. :) )

[Drag0nflygirl]

I'd go with $20 an hour.

[mariza]

I pay my sitter $10/hour for 2 kids and this is the low end of the going rate, most sitters I looked at wanted $12-$15 per hour. I am also in MA (about an hour south of Boston). I think if the parents are going to be in the house than $5 per child per hour is reasonable.
I worked out my rate with my sitter based on the fact that she does not need to feed or bathe my kids, she tells them to get int pj's and plays with and reads to them until I get home.
It seems like your sitter has similar expectations placed on her with the added benefit of parents being in the home. Definately $5/hour for the 2-3 year olds and maybe $3/hour for the 6 year old. I would say not less than $25 per hour total.

[misshollygolightly]

I think your best bet is to check with the other parents first and see what they are paying (and whether they plan to pay slightly less, given that you'll be contributing to her pay as well now). Particularly if this is going to be a long-term arrangement, it seems like something that everyone is comfortable with--sitter included.

FWIW, I also think that this sitter should be walking away with at least $60 total for the evening. That's a lot of kiddos to wrangle (especially considering the age ranges, and that some are siblings, and some may need assistance with the potty). Even if each set of parents ends up paying about $20 total, it'd still be a good deal for them, I think ($20 for 3 hours of babysitting for about 2 kids=not bad!).

[ett]

Thanks for everyone's insight into this. I do not know what the other parents are paying her, but I do know that her rate is high. I've already contacted her to find out how much she would charge for my 2 kids so I'm waiting to hear back from her. I'm comfortable with paying her around $30-$35 for my 2 kids for the 3 hours so I hope her numbers are similar. FWIW, if I was hiring her myself to babysit in my home, I would probably be paying her $15-$20/hour.