If you’re looking to boost your income by offering your services for babysitting, it can be difficult to work out what to charge. Here’s a quick guide to how much you can earn and what factors to consider when setting your charges.
How much should you charge for babysitting?
A fair amount to charge is between £9 and £10 per hour. However, there are a few factors that you need to consider, which might mean you can charge a little more.
The world of babysitting
Most of the money-making things I have written about on this site I have tried myself. But babysitting isn’t one of them. In all honesty, I have enough time running around after my own kids, let alone somebody else’s. My wife, on the other hand, is a seasoned pro. She’s a full-time childminder and with over 30 years of experience in the babysitting game, she has quite the knowledge.
So here are a few tips of what to think about when you babysit.
What factors should you consider when setting your prices?
It’s best to establish how much you would be happy to work for before you start advertising your services. But in some cases, you might not want to set a flat rate. There could be times when you should charge a bit more.
Your qualifications
Ok, so there isn’t a degree available in babysitting… at least, I don’t think there is. But don’t undersell yourself if you have some qualifications or work experience relating to children. Many parents are more interested in having somebody suitable to look after their children rather than finding the cheapest price.
If you have a paediatric first aid qualification, this can be a real draw. Courses start from around £90 and could be something to look into if you want more work.
Your age
With age comes experience. And a loss of hair in my case. But don’t forget the National Minimum Wage (NMW) in the UK. This is £10.42 if you’re aged 23 or over and a potential employer might be happy to give you this when you babysit. The younger you are, the lower the rate is – a 16-year-old only qualifies for £5.28.
If you’re a teenager looking into babysitting, it might be a little ambitious to ask for £10. But that’s not to say you can’t try.
The number of children and their age
Looking after a 1-year-old that sleeps through the evening will probably be the easiest money you ever make. But if you’re expected to look after five children, all under the age of 10, it could be a completely different story altogether. If there’s a lot more work involved, consider increasing your fee.
What’s involved
My wife will only agree to jobs where she needs to put the children to bed and check on them. But some parents may expect a bit more, from cooking dinner to chores to helping with homework. If this is something you’re happy to help with, then fine. But this is bordering on being a nanny and you’re within your rights to expect higher pay.
The time
If you’re going to be working late, then think about charging more – maybe two or three pounds extra per hour. Working unsociable hours isn’t pleasant, so why shouldn’t you expect a bit more? Of course, it’s down to you to decide what is classed as unsociable, but I would say it’s anything past 11 in the evening.
And I would establish this with the parents first. Some of them seem to get a little carried away when they’re finally free from the kids for the night. It can be a little frustrating sitting there for far longer than expected. But it feels a lot better if you know that they will pay you extra.
And, of course, don’t forget to charge extra for special holidays like New Year’s Eve.
Flexibility
If you’re able to babysit at short notice, it gives you more opportunity to charge more. If somebody has been let down by another babysitter, they will usually be willing to pay more, rather than cancel their plans.
Location
If somebody is keen to have you babysit for them but they live quite a distance away, then charge more. If it’s going to take you an extra hour in travel time and fuel costs, you’re entitled to a bit extra.
Local competition
Check what other babysitters charge in your local area. If everybody else is charging £10 per hour, there’s probably little point with you charging £15… unless you’re amazing.
What other babysitters charge
I visited the childcare.co.uk website, which lists UK babysitting jobs created by parents. The pay on offer varied between £9 and £15 per hour, with some jobs even including meals.
If you’re a babysitter, you can also advertise your services on there. The cheapest rate was £8 per hour and I found somebody asking for as much as £25… although it’s not clear if he actually got any work. I looked at areas all over the country and surprisingly, babysitters in London charged similar rates to those in the rest of the country.
According to sites such as Bubble and Babysits, the average pay for a babysitter is between £9 and £10 per hour.
Also worth reading
How much does my wife charge?
Well, my wife charges exactly £10 per hour for babysitting, with a minimum of three hours of work. And one New Year’s Eve, she earned £150, although that was for seven hours of work. And the family were quite drunk when they returned home…
Final thoughts
As you can see, there’s no hard and fast rule for setting your babysitting rates. If you’re new to babysitting or new to the area, charge a little less than the competition. You’ll soon build up a good reputation and you’ll get work through word of mouth. You can then start to increase your prices.