What do you pay your babysitter?

Would you go with the cheapest Dr.? We didn't think so. Babysitting isn't much different. You are talking about the safety and well being of your kids. Many of you have probably noticed the increase in going rates for sitters. Portland-based Sue Shellenbarger even covered this trend in her Wall Street Journal column on Work & Family.

But he and other parents are increasingly willing to pay more for highly qualified sitters. Jessica Griffith, St. Paul, Minn., says that although she pays her sitter, a well-qualified woman in her twenties, more than six times what she once earned herself as a teenage sitter, "we'd rather go out less often and have the peace of mind."

Regional differences in pay further cloud the picture. A teenage sitter for one child can command an average of $14.84 in the New York City area, more than twice the $7.33 paid sitters in Dallas, Runzheimer says. Rates average $9 in Washington, D.C.; $8.67 in Chicago, and $8.64 in Los Angeles, based on data collected by researchers living in 350 locations.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB119326936956270593.html?mod=home_personal_journal_left

 

How do you handle the pay issue with your sitter?