<p>My son charges $12 an hour to tutor. I suppose he could have charged more, but it seemed fair. Most jobs for high school students around here only pay $6-$7.50 an hour.</p>
<p>Around here the unspoken expectation generally seems to be that you accept whatever they pay you and if they ask, you say “anything is fine” lol. $5-10 per hour is probably average, generally staying more towards the $5 range. This is a very affluent area, but because of that the truth is kids don’t babysit to make money they NEED, they have it, it’s just spending money. I don’t babysit much anymore because of time but when I did/occasionally do, it’s people I know and I basically consider it a favor. I would feel $10 per hour is too much unless it was a lot of kids or there was some other consideration. It generally seems to be $15 for a few hours here which seems about right. $5 an hour.</p>
<p>Like others on here, back in the days I sat for 75 cents/hour and 1 dollar/hr after midnight. When my kids were small the rate was about $3/hr. I had no idea it had gone up that much. But I have friends that are paying house cleaning people $15-$20/hr. so guess it sounds in line.</p>
<p>I charged $10 for babysitting and $15 for tutoring (in pre-IB chemistry), but I live in an affluent area and attend private school. I’ve made $60 in an evening before, but around $40 is more common. </p>
<p>On the other hand, I worked full-time as a riding instructor at my stables’ summer camp last year and earned $6.15 per hour (minimum wage in MD) managing groups of 6- to 14-year-old kids on horses in 90-degree heat and 90+% humidity. :eek: For this summer, I’ve applied at Whole Foods: $10-15 per hour, air-conditioned, and no kids. I’m keeping my fingers crossed.</p>
<p>Cameliasinensis, my d. who will receive her BS in equine studies in May (so she really loves horses), worked as you did in a riding camp. When she finished up the camp, I asked what she learned from the experience. Her reply was that she found out that she liked animals much, much more than people and really didn’t like kids at all!</p>
<p>I remember asking for $2 an hour for watching 3 kids (1 of whom was a complete monster and not part of the normal deal). The parents were shocked. I told them I would be unable to sit for them anymore. No real problems (this was back in the late 80’s.) )</p>
<p>I think it’s funny now about babysitting, though. The parents don’t just want someone who keeps the kid from killing themselves or burning the house down, but to be a built in full-time entertainer for their toddler. How times have changed. Last I checked, entertainmer’s make more than $20 an hour–and they should get a bonus for first-aid and CPR training.</p>