Moms Talk: The Scoop on Babysitters

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We put this week's question to our North Potomac-Darnestown Patch for their ideas and advice. The suggestions don’t end here. Add your own tips and advice in the comments section below.

This week's question comes from , a contributor and North Potomac-Darnestown Moms Council member.

What is the youngest age of a babysitter that you would consider for an evening of babysitting? And what is the going rate? Should the rates be less, the same or more for teen and adult sitters? For the teen sitter, this is just a way to make pocket money vs. the full-time nanny who is making her living this way.

I would use and have used several 13-year-old babysitters, especially when we are in the neighborhood or close by. Most of our sitters are family friends, and I’ll admit I’ve even used one when she was 12. She happened to be a very mature 12-year-old who is the middle child of five siblings—very used to helping with her younger brothers. For my two kids (6 and 8), I pay $8 per hour, slightly more for older high school sitters and maybe $7 for the 13-year-olds. Of course, we generally round up or give a tip, especially if they needed to feed dinner and they’ve taken the initiative to clean up nicely.

As a follow-up conversation, I’d be interested to know how moms feel about the ages it’s OK to leave your kids home alone. Per Maryland State law, I understand you can leave a child home alone at age 8, but that seems to be quite young in comparison to other state guidelines.

We almost always have older babysitters. They are in their mid- to late-20s and babysit as a side job. Recently, we started using our 13-year-old swim coach. She has been great. The expectations are a little different but in terms of responsibility, we have been very pleased. We pay the older babysitters a little more because we feel comfortable to stay out longer in the evening, and they tend to clean up very well.

Well, I will start by saying I think I am a bit crazy when it comes to teenage babysitters. Many of my mommy friends use them all the time with no issues...But, I remember what some of my friends in high school used to do when they were "babysitting." Because of this, I have chosen to only use adult babysitters, except on two occasions when I was going to be less than 10 minutes away for less than an hour. 

We recently had a new family move in next store with some older kids that I do think I would be willing to hire, since I feel like their mom is literally right next door if anything were to happen. I have also started taking advantage of the Parents Night Out programs offered at some of the local kids' gyms and bounce places. On Saturday, my son attended Parents Night Out at BounceU and it was a much better deal than a babysitter would have been—$20 covered four hours of watching him, PLUS dinner! 

As for what the going rate is, I really have no clue. I have been shocked to hear some of my friends say they pay up to $15 per hour, considering this is pocket money and is not taxed. I would think the going rate would be about $9 per hour if I average out what all my friends pay.

We are so very fortunate to have many family members close by. So we really have not had to use a “real” babysitter. Thus I can’t comment on the going rate, but I’m sure it’s MUCH MORE than I made as a babysitter back in the day! I am very interested to hear everyone’s input on this topic.

I have judged our babysitters more on maturity and ability to connect with our kids than age. We have had two amazingly responsible, enthusiastic 14-year old babysitters, and we've also had someone in their mid-20s who was pretty indifferent and that the kids didn't love (we've also had a pre-med college graduate, our kids' swim team coach, who was one of the best babysitters they've had!) So it's hard to judge just by age. It also depends on how long we'll be gone and how far from home we will be.

We tend to pay in the same range for our babysitters regardless of age and try to pay on the more generous end of the reasonable spectrum (always rounding up!), since our babysitters are taking care of our most precious "possessions." The few extra dollars is probably much appreciated no matter what their age.

I am very conservative on this issue. When my children were younger I wouldn't have anyone but our full-time nanny look after them in the evening, if she couldn't make it, then we would rearrange our plans or not go. My son was in third grade, my daughter in fifth grade when she moved onto another family (it was time). Looking back, since then—we have never had a babysitter sit with the kids so we could go out. We usually go out as a family to eat, to the movies, to friends homes for various event such as Halloween, Fourth of July, New Years Eve etc. We are fortunate that our friends all have children and are happy to include our children in their plans / parties. 

My daughter is now in 10th grade and is babysitting for a lot of our neighbors. She took the "Babysitting" course offered at Shady Grove Adventist Hospital and is a lifeguard (therefore she is certified in CPR and First Aid). She also worked as a counselor in training over the summer—she had the early grades to work with: K-2. I maybe somewhat biased, but I would have no problem with her babysitting for me and at soon-to-be 16 she is mature and enjoys doing things with the children she babysits for. Was she ready / mature enough to babysit before now—probably not. She charges $10 per hour which seems pretty typical for the area. Last summer she worked with a neighbor as a 'mothers helper' who had three children under age 4. I believe she was paid $6 per hour.

My son seeing how much money Haley makes has asked if he can babysit. At 13 I wouldn't hire him—he's just too young and goofy. I can see him letting his young charges eat and drink anything they want, stay up late and watch PG-13 movies. He's better suited to mowing lawns, shoveling snow and walking dogs at this point in his life—and that's enough responsibility. 

I think a full-time nanny who makes a living out of looking after your children should be paid well. There is much greater responsibility involved especially with multiple children to look after. Working with children all day, keeping them occupied, driving them to the play ground / local parks, pre-school—fixing meals and helping them learn through play, reading great stories and being a good role model.

Our nanny was amazing; she cooked for the whole family, went grocery shopping, drove the kids everywhere. She started with us when my son was 6 months old; he was potty trained by age two (as was his sister), leaned his letters and how to count and so much more. She is still well loved by the whole family, a great friend to me and is very much missed. With a teen babysitter, who looks after the children for just a few hours, every so often the pay scale is very different and should be less.