How much should I charge to watch a child for an hour?

How much should I charge to babysit a school-age kid for one hour in the morning and to get them on the bus? Last year during the pandemic, I lost my job, so I started babysitting. I didn’t have any school-age children at the time, but now 3 of the kids I watch will be going to school; I’ll have them for one hour each morning, and then I will be taking them to the bus stop and getting them on the bus, I will not have them after school is over for a day and I’m at a loss of what to charge for that time per kid. To give an idea of the general cost in my area, got home-based child care the going rate is $125-$150 a week, but seeing how it’s only going to be about 5 hours, I’m struggling to come up with a fair price. Any ideas would be appropriate.

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Help a mama out and respond anonymously on our forum. How much should I charge to watch a child for an hour?

I paid my sitter $15 to watch my son for about 1.5 hours and have him ready for pick up by a family friend.
That included getting dressed and feeding him breakfast. (Which I provided)

I pay $10 an hour / per Child

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that sounds reasonable if it is only going to be an hour or hour and half, especially if you will be offering the child breakfast or snack.

The before and after school YMCA programs charge a flat rate per session. Find out what they charge in your area :slight_smile:

I would charge $5 per kid. It’s only an hour.

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They would be paying between 50-100 for before school care at a program.

10 pound an hour per child

My grandson paid 150 per week. So 5 sounds right per child

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$10. Only an hour isnt much.

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Mannn … I watch a young child from 7:30a-3:30p for $20 a day.

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I had a similar job 8 years ago and was paid 75 a week for 2-4 days a week of getting the kids off to school. Prices have gone up so id say 100 for the week

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My old daycare charged 5 an hour per kid if it was just to put them on the bus

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I am paying a sitter $40 a day to come from 5am to 6am 3 times a week

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I paid $20 a day for before school last year

Morning care at the elementary schools here charge $10 a wk to watch them for an hour before classes start. (7am-8am)

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I do $10 for an am and 15 am/pm to $20 depending on time… or do i have siblings all day i do a 1 day rate per family

25 per week per child.

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$5 a day or $25 a week sounds fair.

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5-7$ a day is reasonable. That’s under minimum wage and you are still taking an hour of your time watching that child. 25-30 a week sounds reasonable

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$75 a week. That’s $15 an hour. $5 a child.

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I pay 100$ a day for my 4 kids.

I think $10 a day. I remember a friend paying that for exactly what you’re describing

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I think 25 to 30 a week unless you have to feed them

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Not much, 10 bucks maybe

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I say $20… that is taking up a potential spot for another full time kiddo.

Whats minimum wage where you live? I wouldnt sell myself short. :woman_shrugging:t3:

I charge $10 a day per kid

$50 to $75 a week seems fair to me.

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I would personally do it for $30 since it’s only for one hour a day and you are just putting them on the school bus. You could charge $30-$50 though.

My child gets off the bus at someone’s house. And is there about 1 hour before I pick him up. I pay her $10 a week. He is old enough she doesn’t technically “take care” of him. He just plays or does homework until I get there. (Mine is 10)

25 a week per child. 5.00 per day isn’t much considering you are enabling a parent to go to work & earn.

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Only for an hour tho like I’d only charge 15-20$ a day maybe. There’s really no work involved in that

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Whatever your minimum wage is in your area.

Depends if your feeding them also

Help a mama out and respond anonymously on our forum. How much should I charge to watch a child for an hour?

A mani pedi twice a month should be enuf

Help a mama out and respond anonymously on our forum. How much should I charge to watch a child for an hour?

I pay $9 something a day for the morning program at the daycare my daughter is at. She gets there at 7am they walk to the school for 745am.

I watch a one year old full time for 20$ a day. So he’s with me 8 hours usually & 5 days a week. I wanted mama to pay less than day care

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I say 25 away how about days the school are late or closed winter ur there when they need u .

$5 a day per child. If you will be feeding them breakfast, than I would do $7 a day per child.

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Maybe $5 a day ( five them a break if they have more than one cbild) and the parents could supply some breakfast items.

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$20 per hour. It may only be for a short time but you are travelling to and from the place.

At least that is a base rate that you can discuss with the parents.
I remember getting paid $5 per hour yrs ago but it cost more in fuel getting there and back than I actually made.

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Look it up and charge the going rate depending how hard it is

Personally I think $10.00 is not out of line

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I wouldn’t charge more than $50 a week, unless they can claim they payed you on their taxes then you’d have to pay taxes on what they paid you.

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My babysitter charged 15 per day.

For 3 kids, $5 each a day, so 15x5, 75 a week

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50 bucks a week basically 10 bucks a day…if they want hourly I’d do 12.50 personally

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Help a mama out and respond anonymously on our forum. How much should I charge to watch a child for an hour?

I pay $3 for one and 4$ for 2

$20 per child , per week $5 a day

I always charge $10/hr

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Does the us have minimum wage? If so match that or fo a bit above the odds. Where are u watching them? Your house or theirs?

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85$ weekly is a fair price I think

Consider their ages.

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$60 to $75 a week per each child.

125 a week for all 3 sounds reasonable

I paid $15 a day this last year for less than an hour but she fed both of my kids a very nice breakfast.

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50 for the week per kid, 10 dollars a day, seems reasonable since it’s only an hour, but that’s $150 a week for you

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I was paying someone 37.50 a day to watch my kid :roll_eyes:

Take your typical rate, divide by how many hours you would be watching the kids for that rate, and use whatever you get as an hourly rate

$10 per hour per kid

Move to NJ/NY. Typically we get paid about $25 an hour around Hoboken. In NYC an aunt of mine got $200 a day plus a debit card for food.

Care.com has a calculator for zip codes

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My childminder is £4 an hour

My daughter pays 60 a week for 1 hour before school and 1 hour after school for 2 kids , you have to take into count of your time getting up early they might have been running late that morning so kids want something to eat before bus gets there plus there may be days the bus is running late or school gets cancelled for some reason , so the minimum I would charge would be 30.00-35.00 per child and 50.00 if I needed to watch them for a complete day during that week .

I charge $20/hour for one kiddo, and then add $2/hour for any additional kiddos. If this is a weekly thing and the parents are concerned about price you might be able to negotiate a slightly lower flat rate, but I wouldn’t ask for any less than $15/hour for one child. You’re traveling to and from their place, likely helping with breakfast/cleanup, gathering school items, making sure the child is dressed properly and ready to go, etc.

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I mean how old are the kids ? I think it depends on their age and how big of a pain in the ass they are🤣

Call other centers ask their rates for just Am care. It will give you a good idea. Then charge 3/4’s of that. You don’t have other costs the daycare center has, pass those savings onto the parents.

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When I babysat in high school 15 years ago I made $20/hour.

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You could phone other babysitters and ask how much they charge pretend you have a child.

25 per hour if un qualified

I charge $25 per hour