How Much Do Encino Parents Pay Babysitters?

This week we wanted to know what the going rate for a babysitter in Encino is. Now more than ever both parents are working and it can be a struggle to find the right babysitter.

According to babysitting-rates.com, the average babysitting rate is typically between $8 to $12 per hour. However, they say that the price depends greatly on where you live, the experience of the caregiver and how many children need to be watched at one time.

We wanted to find out how much local residents are paying for a caregiver and where they’re finding qualified candidates.

How much do you pay your babysitter?

Kari Feder, a mother of a 9-year-old daughter explained, "Usually the minimum is like $16 an hour depending on the qualifications of the person. If you get an English speaker who is very fluent in English that’s usually more, if they don’t they’ll normally charge less.”

Donna Kapner, who has two daughters ages six and seven, says, "If it’s a really young girl, like in high school or a little bit older, that’s about $10 an hour. If it’s an experienced babysitter, it’s like $15 an hour and sometimes with multiple kids, they’ll add a couple of dollars.”

Anne Whalen, said from her experience, “It’s usually about $10 an hour for kids who are 13- to 15 years-old and have gone though a training class.”

Where did you find your babysitter?

Kari Feder explained, “I went through placement agencies to find a babysitter. I had a full time person that would pick [my daughter] up from school, but now I work more out of my home, so I can do it and work as I can. So then I’ll keep their name and draw them back as I need them.”

“Nanny Connections and Buckingham Agency have a good reputation,” said Feder.

Anne Whalen, however, prefers her babysitter to be someone with whom she’s already familiar. "I think it’s best to get somebody you know. We had a neighbor whose son who went through a training course at Chaminade (College Preparatory) and they teach them everything from CPR to what to do in case of an emergency.”

Other moms, like Donna Kapner, rely on the advice of close friends for babysitter referrals. Leila Fathi, however, opts out of babysitters all together and instead uses a daycare system twice a week.

Bottom Line:

The general consensus among mothers was $10 to $16 per hour for a babysitter. The means to attaining a sitter was through agencies, recommendations or neighbors.