in Chicago and had no problems.  That was with one kid who wasn't a problem...and,a s mentioend would often be asleep for much of it.

For two + I figure we'd do $12-15.

You'd be surprised we had college grads and grad students at the $10 rate.

Josh SAHD Since August 2005

I'd say it depends where you are... when I lived in NY it was $10-15, but here in Tulsa I pay $8-10 depending on who the babysitter is, and how old they are.  Teenyboppers tend to get $8ish around here.  A more seasoned babysitter is $10, and I've heard from friends that some are $12-14.

Joe

We pay $5.00 and hour which covers 2 kids, ages 6 and 3....we have 3 baby sitters we use and they know that other than 30 minutes before bed, they are expected to play with, draw, read to etc the kids....they seem to love it and our kids sure do...I do give the sitters bonuses at christmas, and their b-days and 2 of them graduated from high school this year so they received a nice cash gift to help them with college...

Our nanny just informed us that the going rate for babysitting is $12/hr + $2/hr for each additional kid.  Apparently that's her research.  We're in a major metro area so i'm guessing that's toward the higher end of the scale.

Here in Indiana, I expect to pay between $10-$15/hour depending on several factors.  I have had very good experience with high school girls that are waiting to head to college in a year or so.  I imagine the same experience would apply to freshmen in college.  The rates can go lower in this demographic, say $8/hour and it is not hard to find a reliable girl who is willing to get to know the kids (meaning, she enjoys spending time with them instead of calling her [boy]friend over).  I have never used anyone in college, but that is probably the route we would use if we needed a babysitter in the future because there a large college near us.  As such, I expect they would want a minimum of $10, probably closer to $12-$15.  I would not pay more than $15, which many older women are looking for who work as nannies or former nurses.  I don't see why these older women would be any more reliable or dependable; sure, they *might* know techniques like CPR, etc, but so might girls from high school who just generally like children.

I think the core issue often overlooked is to conduct interviews.  Babysitters should be readily available from a variety of sources, so several interviews could be setup and after 5-10 of these, it will become clear the type of person you are looking for.  Money can then come from that line of thought, you will find someone in your acceptable price range.

I also agree with some of the other posts, you need to consider the tasks the babysitter will perform in determining an acceptable rate.  Yes, you are leaving them in charge of your most prized possession,  but on any given, average day, it is generally uneventful and the sitter just maintains a basic schedule (eat, work, play, sleep, etc).  This does not require signficant financial investment on your part, and if a sitter walks away with $50 for several hours, that is good business for her since she may be able to get her own school work finished, essentially getting paid to do stuff she would normally do for free.  If your children are high maintenance, you want to consider that, but well-laid ground rules and schedule will go a long way for an effecient integration of a well-interviewed babysitter.  Good luck!

--
Ryan

Daughter = Flower of the Earth
Son = Diety of the Sky
Mother = Light of our Life
Father = Me

We have to be so careful when we choose baby-sitters and once we find a good one I think a lot depends on the area where we live!!But the going rate for baby sitters is anywhere between $12 – 15/hr!! We rarely have them and drop our son with my-in-laws who live mot too far from us – so we can be at peace that they are in good hands – not that there aren’t good baby-sitters, mind you!! Has anyone tried angies list ?