You people are just weird. My girls have been babysitting consistently since they were 13 years old. As teens get older, they are harder to get because they start getting so busy with their social lives. Both of my girls babysat for families with 3 kids (or more) and often for very young children and babies. I guess it depends on the maturity of the kids. And a lot of it is regional. In D.C. I think it's less of a norm than it is elsewhere. 13-14 year old kids make excellent babysitters because they still enjoy playing with the kids. 17-18 year olds would rather be out with their friends and are likely babysitting just for the money.

Also, for perspective....We have five kids - 23, 19, 18, 16, and 10. I am perfectly fine leaving my ten year old home by himself while I run to the store. I usually call one of my neighbors to make sure someone is at home in case of an emergency. And he has a cell phone. But he is certainly capable of taking care of himself for a couple of hours.

At some point, you have to stop treating your kids like babies. Not too many years ago, 13 and 14 year olds worked on the farm, helped with household chores, and even held jobs. Some were married with children of their own. I'm not suggesting that we go back to that. However, it does seem that we have gone too far the other way.

I pay a 16 yr old high schooler $10/hr to watch my toddler. Her parents live across the street, which makes me more comfortable. She asked for $8. I wouldn't pay more than $12-15. If it's not worth the job, no one has to take it.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I charge $20 --- pretty standard for a 20/30-something, responsible adult to look after your child(ren).

we have several different 20/30-somethings on our list of babysitters that watch our child, and we don't pay any of them more than $15/hr. Of course, the smartest of them (28, lots of experience, professional day job) agreed to work for less, and realizes that she more than makes it up in the tip (which we inflate b/c of her low rate). She also make it up in the fact that we ask her to sit for us about 3x as often as we would if she charged us $20/hour!

You would really go out 2/3 less if you had to pay five bucks more an hour? That's totally weird to me.

Anonymous wrote:PP with the 13 yr old: I can't imagine that kids 8 and older (so almost the same age?) are all that likely to listen to a child who they are likely to be playing with on other days. Not really relevant for OP.

OP: you can definitely find someon for much less than $17/hr.

Why the hell are people so bent out of shape about paying $15 an hour for a sitter? If you can't afford that amount, you might as well stay home. Geez.

Anonymous wrote:PP with the 13yo - this is what drives me crazy about DCUM. Don't post on a question about a babysitting rate that your 13yo makes $15/hour as if that's totally normal. The details about only for close neighbors, short times, older kids, and parents close by are crucially important to the relevance of your comment.

I am the PP with the 13 year child who babysits. I never paid less than $15 an hour to HIS sitters, 10+ years ago. We're in McLean.

Anonymous wrote:I charge $20 --- pretty standard for a 20/30-something, responsible adult to look after your child(ren).

we have several different 20/30-somethings on our list of babysitters that watch our child, and we don't pay any of them more than $15/hr. Of course, the smartest of them (28, lots of experience, professional day job) agreed to work for less, and realizes that she more than makes it up in the tip (which we inflate b/c of her low rate). She also make it up in the fact that we ask her to sit for us about 3x as often as we would if she charged us $20/hour!

I charge $20 --- pretty standard for a 20/30-something, responsible adult to look after your child(ren).

PP with the 13 yr old: I can't imagine that kids 8 and older (so almost the same age?) are all that likely to listen to a child who they are likely to be playing with on other days. Not really relevant for OP.

OP: you can definitely find someon for much less than $17/hr.

PP with the 13yo - this is what drives me crazy about DCUM. Don't post on a question about a babysitting rate that your 13yo makes $15/hour as if that's totally normal. The details about only for close neighbors, short times, older kids, and parents close by are crucially important to the relevance of your comment.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My kid is 13, CPR trained, and makes $15 an hour.

Interesting. My kid is 12, CPR trained, and I hire a sitter for him. Can't imagine who in their right mind is hiring a 13 yr old to watch their kids.

CPR training means next to nothing--I've been CPR trained for 35 yrs, and done it exactly 0 times. Roughly average number of times people are called upon to actually perform if they're not medical professionals. Most young children aren't having heart attacks, which tends to be the leading cause of requiring CPR.

This. Let alone paying $15/hour. Does your kid only babysit for neighbors on the street? I could see maybe having my next-door-neighbor's 13yo come for two hours while I went half mile away to have dinner and probably would pay them higher than normal just to be nice to my neighbor. Not saying you're making it up, just saying I would think this is not the norm.

Yes, it's usually only for a couple of hours and the parents are local.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My kid is 13, CPR trained, and makes $15 an hour.

Interesting. My kid is 12, CPR trained, and I hire a sitter for him. Can't imagine who in their right mind is hiring a 13 yr old to watch their kids.

CPR training means next to nothing--I've been CPR trained for 35 yrs, and done it exactly 0 times. Roughly average number of times people are called upon to actually perform if they're not medical professionals. Most young children aren't having heart attacks, which tends to be the leading cause of requiring CPR.

The people hiring my 13 year old have children 8 and older and need someone to watch the kids for a couple of hours so they can go out to dinner.

Anonymous wrote:I pay Georgetown students $12/13 hour. I posted the job at that rate and had lots of responses...

OP, sounds like you could easily find someone for this price. Go for it!

FWIW, I pay $10/hr to a local 16 year old to watch my 4 and almost-2 year old. I would pay $12-13 if she told me that was what she charged, but she asked for $10 - as did all of the other H.S. babysitters I've used in recent years. I even had a JMU college student ask for $10.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My kid is 13, CPR trained, and makes $15 an hour.

Interesting. My kid is 12, CPR trained, and I hire a sitter for him. Can't imagine who in their right mind is hiring a 13 yr old to watch their kids.

CPR training means next to nothing--I've been CPR trained for 35 yrs, and done it exactly 0 times. Roughly average number of times people are called upon to actually perform if they're not medical professionals. Most young children aren't having heart attacks, which tends to be the leading cause of requiring CPR.

This. Let alone paying $15/hour. Does your kid only babysit for neighbors on the street? I could see maybe having my next-door-neighbor's 13yo come for two hours while I went half mile away to have dinner and probably would pay them higher than normal just to be nice to my neighbor. Not saying you're making it up, just saying I would think this is not the norm.