Babysitting rates: How much do you charge as a babysitter?

If it's one kid, $5 an hour. If it's two kids or I have to buy food for them or something, I charge $10 an hour. You can't charge too low, or people will take advantage or you'll get some really bad customers.

Both of my daughters have had summer jobs where they babysat one child daily while the parents worked. They earned a flat rate of $20 per day, not by the hour. They would typically babysit between 2 and 4 days per week. When they babysit just for an evening, they don't quote a specific rate but are generally paid between $3 and $5 per hour, depending on the family, the number of kids, etc. As I understand it, adult babysitters earn more, as do those who babysit overnight for night shift working parents.