Paying babysitters...

Our now defunct baby sitting coop was FANTASTIC. If you can get one of these going, do it. They can be hard to come by, however.

We had a babysitting swap worked out with our neighbors that was *great*. It came to an untimely end because their daughter got all Hannibal Lector (biting ) and I didn't feel like it was safe to leave our kids there. If you can find something like this, go for it!

In Ohio, my$6.50/hr is for both my kids, but the babysitter here isn't as interactive with the kids.

I wish I'd found your Ohio babysitter - mine are always $8 to $10 (for college age - I don't live in a neighborhood w/many high school candidates). I found a babysitter who was getting a nursing doctorate at Case and she said in Seattle she got $12/hr. I paid her $10 ... come to find out she was actually Dave Matthews nanny while in Seattle! I eventually ditched her for a friend's sitter who did a lot more tidying up, etc. after the kids were in bed. Apparently Dave had other people who took care of that kind of stuff, but for $10/hr I want more!