need some opinions

[Ladybug122]

So DH's graduation is next week. I have decided not to take DS since it will be long and boring and it's at a fancy hotel. Basically, I would not be able to enjoy myself at all if I have to chase after DS. So, we have our usual babysitter (college kid) coming to watch him. Friends of ours also graduating have a 2 year old daughter that DS is great friends with and they have decided that they would rather leave her at home as well, but they don't have a regular babysitter. I thought maybe we could have my sitter watch both kids at my house for the evening, which our friends are interested in doing.
My question is this...we usually pay our sitter $10/hr to watch DS. Do you think it's ok to pay her $15 to watch both kids, or should we each pay her $10? I don't want to be cheap, but $20/hr to watch 2 kids seems like a lot. What do you think?

[MrsK]

I'd ask her if it affects her fees. You'll want to get that settled before your second baby comes anyway. Seems to me that babysitters have gotten very expensive. I used to charge the same regardless of whether there were 1 or 3 kids. If there were more than that, I'd bring a friend and she'd charge too. Also, will the other family split the cost with you? They should.

[poky]

$15/hr seems reasonable to me; is your babysitter the type to have set prices/policies? If so, ask what she charges. If not, offer the $15 (a discount for you if your friends chip in half) and see what she says.

I think $15/hr would be reasonable. I'd ask your sitter. You might luck out and find that she wants $13 for two. When I have paid more for more kids, it is usually a dollar or few more per hour. Granted, that is when it is all 3 of my kids or one of the older ones has a friend over which is easier than two 2yos.

[Deebs]

We do this really frequently with a few different families. We pay our sitter $10/hour or $7/hour per family (so $14 per hour) plus a tip (we generally round up and/or add an hour, depending on whether or not she had to feed the kids and how long they were sleeping while she was there). we have 3 or 4 sitters amongst the families and none of them has had any problem with it because it's more than they could otherwise make.

[moonlight]

So DH's graduation is next week. I have decided not to take DS since it will be long and boring and it's at a fancy hotel. Basically, I would not be able to enjoy myself at all if I have to chase after DS. So, we have our usual babysitter (college kid) coming to watch him. Friends of ours also graduating have a 2 year old daughter that DS is great friends with and they have decided that they would rather leave her at home as well, but they don't have a regular babysitter. I thought maybe we could have my sitter watch both kids at my house for the evening, which our friends are interested in doing.
My question is this...we usually pay our sitter $10/hr to watch DS. Do you think it's ok to pay her $15 to watch both kids, or should we each pay her $10? I don't want to be cheap, but $20/hr to watch 2 kids seems like a lot. What do you think?

How old is your friend's child? I also charge much more if the second child is really young (under 2.5 yrs). If the other kid is older (like 10) then $15 would be fine.

I've been a nanny before...I would say two children is manageable for the sitter and $15 is a good price. I would say only adding $1 per extra child is a little cheap. You have to take care of the babysitter, that way she will be more motivated to take care of your children! Asking her is always a good idea because you don't want to assume she is OK with anything without asking...

Oh now, I'm not cheap. That is what my sitter asks for (extra $/kid, for my kids). Now we just do an average rate so we don't have to remember who was here when. I do more than that for non-related kids, at least the ones younger than my 9yo.