Looking For A Babysitter This New Year’s Eve? Get Ready To Dish Out $100 Or More — Plus Perks
If you’re looking to spend a night out this New Year’s Eve and leave the kids behind, get ready to pay a big price for it.
Reports indicate that rates for the holiday are soaring, with some services growing so competitive that in some cities, parents are forced to offer a number of perks to any potential babysitters. This is in addition to the roughly $100 they’ll be paying for someone to watch their kids while they spend a few hours out on the town.
The national average for babysitting rates for one child has reached $16.43 per hour, according to the babysitting website UrbanSitter. That jumps quickly when more kids are added, with an average of $18.86 for two kids and $20.56 for three kids. With the average job lasting four hours, it could cost anywhere between $65 and $80 in babysitting fees for a night out — and that’s just on an average night. As Marketwatch noted, rates for New Year’s Eve outings are at least $1 more per hour, though in larger cities it can get even higher.
The report published a list of the most expensive cities for babysitters on New Year’s Eve (care of the babysitting website Care.com):
San Francisco, CA: $19.70
Salinas, CA: $18.90
Boston, MA: $18.85
New York City, NY: $18.44
Kansas City, MO: $17.73
Those rates may vary, as the New York Post noted. A report found that some of the top babysitters in New York City will be charging up to $35 per hour for New Year’s Eve services. And because babysitters are at a premium in the Big Apple, parents are offering a number of perks to compete.
“Since it’s NYE we would also offer dinner and a car home or the equivalent money if you want to take the subway,” one would-be New Year’s Eve reveler wrote in a post on UrbanSitter.
Need a babysitter on New Year's Eve? Prepare to pay up https://t.co/Rrt6e0WRn1
— MarketWatch (@MarketWatch) December 23, 2018
The high demand has many parents shifting around their plans, said Anna Fader, CEO of the blog Mommy Poppins. Many of the younger babysitters want to be able to ring in the New Year with friends, so parents are planning to go out for drinks earlier and return by 10 or 10:30 p.m., spending midnight at home with their families and allowing the babysitter to go out with friends — and a wad of cash in their pocket.
“That’s kind of a hack they do,” Fader said. “It’s really more about the fact young babysitters don’t want to babysit, so they will agree as long as they can get out and go out.”
And those rates are all before tips, which are considered customary with babysitting. So when all is told, a babysitter for a New Year’s Eve outing will likely top $100 this year for most couples. Of course, staying in with the kids is always free.
