Does anyone here have a baby sitter if you work night shift?

Nurses General Nursing

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I was wondering if anyone had a sitter that came over to spend the night with your child(ren).

If so...what is the going rate these days?

I placed an ad and had some girl that wanted $10 per hour...I told her some college graduates don't make that right out of school.

My theory is this: How many jobs allow you to sleep?

If you don't have a sitter...then what do you think would be fair to pay one?

Wow. Reading the above post... I could be a nanny! LOL!

I don't have to have a sitter, cause I am lucky to have a 16 y/o on the rare occasion that dh and I are both gone at night. Don't know how I would make it if I did have to pay someone.

We've always switched our hours around to fit to our current schedules.

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Child care isn't cheap these days. No relative available?

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I'm not in the babysitting biz nor do I have children of my own just yet, but as a 22 year old who has had a very successful pet and housesitting business for the past 11 years, I would ask you this: how much are your children worth?? I know it would be wanton hubris to say that money is no object, but for a heavy-duty overnight job with multiple critters (many times including horses and other livestock) I typically charge--at minimum--$35-40 a night. This happens to be a heck of a lot cheaper than boarding anywhere (I know b/c I worked at a facility for a while). While $10/hr for overnight may run a bit high, paying $50-$70 a night for your children (again depending on age and how many you have) really isn't asking a lot. Perhaps if your sitter was gauranteed a certain amount per week or so, she would be willing to work for a slightly lower hourly rate? I tend to charge my long-term clients less, because I know they will always come back to me when needed. It's a win-win. Just my :twocents:. Good luck.

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Specializes in LTC, hospitals and correctional settings.

Have you thought about "sharing" with someone that works your opposite nights? I don't have kids, but reliable child care is important to EVERYONE that works nights. Can't tell you how many times we ran short (and we were bare bones staffing anyway:dzed:) because someone's sitter "call off". I'm all about the barter system.

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Child care is not cheap. Don't forget they are caring for your most precious things in life--your children. I am a nanny, also an RN, for 14 week old twins, and am at their house from 7:00am, to 10:00 pm on Sat and again on Sunday. I do this one weekend a month while their mother is on call (she is at home part of that time too) I make $250 a day, $500 for the weekend. In return, she gets someone who is trustworthy, competent, and doesn't have to worry at all about the babies when I'm there.

When my kids were younger, I paid $3.00 an hour per child to drop them off at a day care center. When I worked full time my childcare would run upwards $1000 a month!!!!

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Specializes in CMSRN.

Alot of what needs to be considered is: what would the sitter be responsible for while you are gone? What is the cost of living in your area? Some places are obviously higher than others. And how much of the cost of babysitting would impact your paycheck? For some people $10 hr would be half the paycheck or more. Is the job you are in that requires overnight sitter longterm or is it short term to get to the next level of your career? Does your paycheck allow enough room to set a good price in order to secure the best available sitter?

Some areas have great options at great prices where others places the opposite is true. High prices with hard to find trustworthy sitters.

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I babysit for several families, and my rate goes from $10-13 an hour. I charge more for one family with an extremely fussy 8 month old, and a 4 year old. The other families have slightly older kids, the youngest being about 16 months. However I feel justified charging what I do because I have my standard first aid, CPR, child care first aid, daycare level 1, and 8 years experience, 3 in daycares. So it all depends on what you're getting in a babysitter I think. If it's some 14 year old with very little experience then I think minimum wage is appropriate, but if not then you are paying for what you get, and you'll be getting a good sitter.

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i was wondering if anyone had a sitter that came over to spend the night with your child(ren).

if so...what is the going rate these days?

i placed an ad and had some girl that wanted $10 per hour...i told her some college graduates don't make that right out of school.

my theory is this: how many jobs allow you to sleep?

if you don't have a sitter...then what do you think would be fair to pay one?

i didn't make that much right out of undergrad ... but then again i graduated long time ago!

ten/hour isn't a lot for my area and i don't live in metropolis or california or anyplace particularly high cost. if you could do like the poster above who negotiated a flat rate that's a good option. this isn't something i would try to cut corners on though. if you don't have a trustworthy family member to do the job then you have to be prepared to pay a fair rate for quality service. also be sure to get references if you can and do a background check.

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Specializes in Elder Care.
I was wondering if anyone had a sitter that came over to spend the night with your child(ren).

If so...what is the going rate these days?

I placed an ad and had some girl that wanted $10 per hour...I told her some college graduates don't make that right out of school.

My theory is this: How many jobs allow you to sleep?

If you don't have a sitter...then what do you think would be fair to pay one?

I dont know where you are but in California most charge minimum of 30 dollars a night

to 50 a night these would be licensed providers

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Specializes in NICU, Post-partum.

I'm in the mid-Atlantic region and as an RN, and a new grad, with the low salary on top of it, $10 an hour for a sitter would literally be half of my paycheck per month.

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I'm in the mid-Atlantic region and as an RN, and a new grad, with the low salary on top of it, $10 an hour for a sitter would literally be half of my paycheck per month.

When my sitter starting making more than I did (after taxes) I went part time and worked weekends or evenings so my husband could watch the kids.

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Specializes in ICU/CCU, Home Health/Hospice, Cath Lab,.
Did I read that right? $350 a week?

Technically it works out to $350 for 2 weeks since my wife and I work one week on and one week off. It is a bit high for the typical school year since mostly she watches them at night. But during the summer, spring break, and all those half days that the school loves to have she has to watch them while we sleep, so those times it is a bit low. We figure it evens out over the long run.

Pat

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