We're Going Out -- How Much Do I Pay My Sitter?

Rates for babysitters

While surfing through parenting forums online, you're bound to see this question posted: "So, what do I pay the babysitter?" It's a question that's very often on the minds of parents and, frustratingly, rates seem to vary according to neighborhood, city, the caregivers' experience and age. As well, the same babysitter may charge different rates to different families in response criteria such as: children's ages, family needs and locale.

Through informal queries with friends and colleagues across Canada and the U.S., I've received feedback indicating a large variance in what families pay for sitters. For instance, one writer colleague of mine who lives in the southern United States pays a neighborhood girl $5 per hour to watch the kids (while the mom is home), change the kitty litter, and help with dinner! Where do I find someone like that? Conversely, in the past, I paid one babysitter over $20 an hour to watch our infant son. Why? This woman was a registered nurse and, as a new mom, I felt more comfortable hiring someone who had lots of experience as well as a certificate in First-Aid. While, it's great to have the option of hiring someone with a vast amount of education or experience, you have to be prepared to raise the rate of pay.

So, how do you ultimately decide what to pay your babysitter? The most important thing is the trust factor. Use your heart and your head (and her references) when choosing a caregiver. Certainly, you can also ask the babysitter outright, "So, what do you charge?" However, this may not work as even seasoned sitters may be shy and give a vague answer like, "oh, whatever you want to pay me is fine." (This has happened to us a few times.) A better way to determine the right rate is to ask friends and neighbors in your community. If one friend pays $10 an hour and the other friend pays $6 an hour, then you can assess your own situation and go from there. Of course, if you're searching for a babysitter online many caregivers will post their rates in their profile and you can either negotiate or decide to go with their posted rate.

In any case, you can take the following into account:

• How many children will the sitter be attending to?
• Will they be awake or asleep for the sitter?
• Does the sitter have to feed them dinner?
• Are your kids easy to care for and/or are there any special needs?
• How many hours will you be gone?
• Is it a regular babysitter or someone new?

Rates for nannies

Paying a long-term nanny can be a little more complicated. In the U.S., a foreign nanny must have an I-9 tax form and be eligible to work in the country with a proper visa, green card, etc. In Canada, there is a special program in place for bringing foreign nannies into the country -- the Live-in Caregiver Program -- where immigration status, pay rates, benefits and conditions are all mandated by the federal government. For more information, you can visit https://www.care.com/child-care-a07181053-interviewing-nannies.html or http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/work/caregiver/associations.asp.

With "live-out" nannies, the pay ranges significantly. You can pay hourly or weekly. In the U.S., the current federal hourly minimum wage is $5.85. However, most live-out nannies make significantly more money; averaging $15 or more per hour. In Canada, the minimum wage varies according to province but is approximately $8 per hour and the Live-In Caregiver Program mandates the nanny's pay rate at about $300 per week (understanding that they also get room and board included). Generally, nannies should not work more than 40 hours per week without being paid overtime. For more information, you can visit: http://www.dol.gov/dol/topic/wages/overtimepay.htm.

Like babysitters, some nannies charge more money if you have more than one child; if you work a lot of overtime; if you expect them to work on the weekends or keep unusual hours. If you're concerned that you're not paying your nanny enough (or perhaps too much!), you can contact your local employment office to ask about fair wages and hours.

Rates for in-home care

There is licensed and unlicensed in-home care. Licensed care usually involves the caregiver working for an agency, having a First-Aid certificate, and agreeing to scheduled and unscheduled home checks when children are in their care. Licensed in-home caregivers are generally going to be more expensive due to these added benefits. Expect to pay about $40 per day for each child in a licensed care situation.

Unlicensed care can be considerably cheaper, possibly less than $25 per day per child but please be prudent: you may get what you pay for. Ask for and check references and do a thorough check of the caregiver's home and surroundings before agreeing to send your child to their home. Whether you hire a nanny, babysitter, in-home caregiver or otherwise, search online and ask friends, colleagues and neighbors about common pay-rates or contact your local employment office about fair wages and benefits. And again, above all, you and your kids should trust and respect the person that you hire.

Lisa Tabachnick Hotta is the mother of two young children and a freelance writer, editor and researcher.