Laura_Evans's Blog

Man, I don't know how any of you afford to have kids at all now! In the 60's I thought I was a rich kid getting 50 cents an hour. At one family, I always hoped that Dad would get tipsy before they got home, because his wife pinched pennies, and then he'd giggle and give me a $5 tip.

When mine were little, I used to swap babysitting with my friends who had kids. It worked because we really knew each other well, and our kids thought it was fun to have friends over.

I almost had a stroke when I saw how much my daughter-in-law paid for a can of formula powder two summers ago. Goodness knows what it costs now!

In the late 80's- 90's I got $5/ hour per kid...

yeah my oldest daughter is about the same, depending on who it is and really depending on how bad the kids are

It depends on what time I'm gone. If it's late enough that the kids are already in bed, it's usually just $20-25 for the night. If it's earlier, it's $6-7 per child per hour.

Typically, grandma or grandpa watch mine daughter, but if necessary I get one of the girls from church. Most high schools now require volunteer hours for graduation and many of the girls at our church babysit for free as a part of volunteer hours!
If I do have to pay though, I don't pay by the hour(usually), I just give the girl a flat fee depending on how long we will be gone.