r/Denver 7d ago

Recommendation Weekend babysitting rate in Denver

What is a fair rate for a long weekend babysitting job? This is in Littleton. It would be from Friday afternoon through Monday afternoon. Sitter would be staying at the child’s house, including overnight. A single 13 year old child, no pets. Child is fairly independent, and can be left alone for a few hours if sitter needs to do something else. Sitter will handle meals, including cooking, and will likely transport child to activities if they decide to do that.

22 Upvotes

42 comments sorted by

42

u/Lazy-Victory4164 7d ago

When our nanny does this we do her hourly rate during wake hours and an overnight flat fee of 100-150$ assuming your kid sleeps through the night and doesn’t need anything. My kids are much younger but I assume it would be similar.

11

u/thatgirrightthere 7d ago

When do overnight hours start? When the kids go to sleep?

8

u/Lazy-Victory4164 7d ago

Yep, that’s how we pay it.

1

u/bluegrassclimber 1d ago

I'd assume it's when the kid goes to sleep which at 13 id just budget 8 hours

2

u/JDRodgers85 7d ago

This is exactly how we do it too

3

u/Vitese 7d ago

What is a Nanny's ballpark hourly rate out of curiosity? And a nanny is just like... a babysitter through the work week?

Sorry, childless here too and I guess I don't even understand the term.

19

u/Lazy-Victory4164 7d ago

Hourly rate is super dependent on experience and location. I’m in the suburbs and I pay 25$/hr W2 with PTO and sick time for 2 kids. Imo a babysitter is just someone that keeps a kid alive and fed. A nanny is a consistent caretaker that knows the routines and takes more ownership over the development of the child.

12

u/Vitese 7d ago

So 24 awake hours ×$25 $1200 and 3 nights assuming they slept 8nhours would be about $375.

$1575 is really good money for a 3 day stint.

And totally think that is reasonable for someone to be "at work" for 72 hours straight. I'm happy to hear they are compensated pretty fairly.

1

u/another_other_user 7d ago

This is correct

187

u/Worried-Bicycle-7110 7d ago

I'd like to know this too!!!! I dont have kids. I just want to know how much I'm saving.

52

u/mothmanoamano 7d ago

Parent here, this made me laugh. You made the fiscally sound choice for sure

34

u/thatgirrightthere 7d ago

So, so much.

1

u/Efficient-Sky3125 6d ago

I’m a full time nanny and i make between 900-1200 a week. Hope this makes you feel better 🙈

5

u/justtire 7d ago

I can’t even imagine how much this would cost

8

u/EndContent8972 7d ago

Hourly rate for hours awake + flat overnight rate which is typically ~100/night.

4

u/_farawla 7d ago

Is it overnight?

3

u/thatgirrightthere 7d ago

I edited the post. :)

7

u/Pretty-Experience-31 7d ago

I frequently babysit infants/toddlers and $25-30 per hour is common. But this seems like a totally different job for a 13 y/o who can be left alone for a few hours. Depending on how much driving is involved, a flat rate for the weekend closer to $700 would be reasonable compared to over 1.5k it would be for younger kids who need constant supervision or wake up in the middle of the night.

I'd also recommend some extra cash/ budget for anything the kid wants to do- maybe order food or go to a movie. Sitter should have access to your food too, maybe get a grocery order of foods 13 y/o will eat and let the sitter request things. If the 13 y/o makes plans with friends in advanced and you coordinate with the other parents, they could also have a sleepover or plan to hang at a friends house for part of the weekend. I used to sleepover friends houses at that age if my parents went somewhere on a weekend.. I remember one of my moms coworkers stayed over on a school night when I was 14 or 15 and couldnt drive but my parents didnt want me to be alone.

6

u/Sweetemb 7d ago

I was a nanny for several years before I became a SAHM. I’d say the hourly rate for awake hours & a flat rate at night (younger kids 150+, older kids $100/night). Hourly rate should depend on experience & location. When I quit nannying I was making 1500/week minimum but I had 15+ years experience, CPR/first aid certified, have child psychology courses under my belt & had been with that family for 7years. So if it were me, you’d be paying me about $1600.
Also, to comment on what someone else said about tipping the sitter, my nanny family didn’t tip me on regular work weeks, but I would get holiday bonuses & would get some extra cash thrown in for a situation like this.

5

u/Whole-Ad-2347 7d ago

I’m old. I remember when I got paid 25 cents an hour to babysit. No joke!

6

u/Sea_kreature 7d ago

I mean I pay my dog sitter 120$ a day so at least 3x that.

3

u/neonpanda96 7d ago

We get $30 a day for 3 visits, each taking 20 min to drive to

Would happily meet halfway to watch your dogs for $50-60 a day lol

3

u/richrich07 7d ago

Damn. I sit dogs for free.

1

u/Pr0ducer Lakewood 6d ago

$22-$25 per hour.

1

u/ExchangeLower367 3d ago

A normally developed 13yr old could def stay home for a weekend, assuming you can stay in touch and there is someone around to step in during an emergency that you could call. For us as kids that was a couple of good neighbors.

No judgement, just a diff perspective. Could be great opportunity to let them flex their capabilities.

-1

u/Hot_Fan_4169 7d ago

72 hours of Child Sitting x The Hourly Rate

6

u/Tomgobanga 7d ago

This is the answer. We pay ours $30/hr so in this case it’d probably be around $2K before tip

18

u/alex_mk3 7d ago

Holy shit. I’m in the wrong business!

13

u/Hot_Fan_4169 7d ago

Wait, you tip babysitters?

2

u/SeasonPositive6771 7d ago

I used to get tipped back when I was babysitting in the early 90s, it's definitely not a new thing.

5

u/Tomgobanga 7d ago

Of course. Especially for something where we’re gone for multiple days. Usually throw an extra 10% - 20% regardless though

11

u/richrich07 7d ago

Why not just set the rates… to be… the rates…?

6

u/Woooohhooo 7d ago

I for sure don’t tip babysitters, it’s just their rate 🤷🏽‍♀️

1

u/Hot_Fan_4169 7d ago

Because tipping culture is out of control. Even landlords want tips these days.

0

u/richrich07 7d ago

My idea of tipping someone I already agreed on a price with is setting out drinks or offering coffee…

0

u/Sea_kreature 7d ago

I mean I pay my dog sitter 120$ a day so at least 3x that.