How much to charge to babysit

Hi, my wife is having a dilema on how much she should charge to babysit.
Please give us some advise........ We are in Northeast, Pa

depends on how many kids...when i lived in chicago i was paid $10 an hour for one 8 year old...

[DCJenn]

My friend charges 80-100 week depending on the age of the child. She lives in Central Massachusetts.

Jenn

Several factors to consider. How many kids (as mentioned by jillflower) you have and their ages. The younger (say 2 and under) the more maintenance they are.

And the babysitter carries some weight also. How old is he/she? The older they are the more they charge. Younger sitters are more available and more enthusiastic about sitting. Do you care if the sitter is CPR trained or taken some kind of babysitting class? Some charge more if they are have.

And where you live is also a factor. I never thought cost of living would affect a babysitter's fee but it does. In Oklahoma, you can get a sitter for $2/hour. I don't think that would fly in many places.

If I'm really torn as to what to pay, I ask the sitter up front when I ask them if they're available. That way no one is surprised. You don't feel like you over/underpaid and the sitter has some say in it.

But I know how hard it is to find a good sitter so sometimes I am more generous to the sitters that are really attentive and do more than just sit in front of the TV.

[Meenah]

We live in the same area. My daughter goes to college in Abington, and she babysits for one couple with three children in Princeton , and they pay her $8 and hour. She is CPR trained, works in the hospital as a nursing assistant, and is a Pre-med student. They recently went away for a weekend and she made $250 for the weekend She never told them what she charges, this is just what they pay her. They also know that I am close by (an ER nurse) and my husband is a Pulmonologist. I suppose it just depends on the area and the circumstances.
Luanne