How much should I expect to pay a babysitter? Post Reply

[CitySlicker]

Hi there
I have an almost one year old and we are thinking of taking the plunge and hiring a babysitter for an occasional evening out. How much should I reasonably expect to pay on a per hour basis? Sitters.co.uk says £7.10 per hour, is that right?
I see a lot of babysitters advertising on her for £10 per hour which seems slightly excessive to me. (Presumably a lot of them are nannies looking for extra babysitting, maybe that's why they charge so much?)
If any other parents could let me know what is normal, that would be great. I am new to all this so a bit clueless.
Many thanks

[Roo]

Hi, If we are out from around half 7 - 11pm we pay our babysitter £20. He is a 17 year old boy who lives opposite & our son never wakes up, so I think this is acceptable. But perhaps we're underpaying him! If you're paying someone older with childminding, CRB checked then you'd expect to pay more. I think £7 is fine though.

[Bee@lifeafterlondon]

I think (and I'm sure I'll be corrected if I'm wrong!) sitters charge an annual fee so although your rate is only £7 an hour there is a bit more to add. Also I think it's 4 hours minimum which works out expensively if you just want to go to the movies etc.

Around us the going rate, I think, is about £8 an hour for an au pair. I always suggest mine offer to do some ironing at the same time as I love it when people do that for me. I know plenty who charge £10 an hour but also some teenagers will charge £6 an hour up to a certain point assuming everyone asleep.

Hope that helps a bit!