How Much to Pay a Nanny for Overnight Care

Parent Q&A

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  • Overnight Nanny Cost

    May 17, 2023

    What do you typically pay a nanny if you need them to stay overnight? If you have multiple children does the overnight fee change? My husband and I will be going out of town for a wedding and need a few nights of overnight care for our 3 year old and 1 year old and looking for advice on what we can expect cost wise.

    We have done this a few times, and we have paid:

    1) the hourly fee for how long the kids are awake for (e.g. if they sleep 7pm-7am then we pay for 12 hours of care from 7am to 7pm)

    2) an additional overnight fee of $200/night. 

    We pay ours $150 flat for sleeping hours and her hourly rate ($30/hr) for awake hours. 

    Loving these replies! If anyone is willing to share their overnight nanny info, please get in touch via my username below :)  Neither parents have family nearby and haven’t had a night away/alone in 2 years :/ 

  • Greetings BPN families:

    I’m wanting to get a sense of the going rate for a weekend of care including 2-3 over-nights…and welcome any shares in how to calculate this and/or creatively exchange for care-giving support.
    I am committed to drumming at a mindful & indigenous healing focused women’s camping retreat in a few weeks (and just learned that I can’t bring my sun, who’s just under 2). I am frustrated by that and also don’t want to let down my fellow drum mates. I have a nanny who’s willing and available for overnights, but/and the hourly rate, times 72+ hours adds up quite quickly…and will easily stretch my budget and be a barrier to attend.
    The nanny and I are both new to calculating or figuring out a fair amount — so figured I’d ask this group. Thanks for any suggestions.
    I also have a couple more multi-day trainings or commitments this summer so any insight would be helpful.

    I am solo-parenting a very friendly and independent nearly 2 year old cis-boy…intending to grow our community of parents and families, and genuinely practice a supportive co-existence. We currently live on Shoreline Drive in Alameda and are also seeking in-house/live-in support through the summer and a after that, a more community oriented or (co-) housing situation that is more sustainable for a healthy way of living in the Bay Area. 

    Thanks for reading.

    Our nanny charges her regular rate for when they are awake and then $150 for overnight. 

    I pay $175 flat fee from 5pm-10am. Awake hours are then the usual rate.

  • My babysitter has agreed to babysit my kids overnight, on a weekend where both my husband and I will be out of town.  We have two kids, ages 12 and 7.  We will need her to stay with them from 8 PM -  11 AM the following morning.  Do I pay her hourly, or can I pay her a flat fee for the entire time period?  If I pay her a flat fee, what is a reasonable rate?  Thank you for all your advice!

    [Moderator] here is past advice including a discussion from a few months ago: https://www.berkeleyparentsnetwork.org/advice/childcare/nanny/overnight

    We pay $50 lump sum for time when children asleep; hourly when awake.

    I'd pay a flat fee, and as for the amount, I would ask her what she thinks is fair. I did this with a sitter a few times and I was really surprised by how little she expected. I ended up paying her more than she asked.  I ended up paying her normal hourly rate for the hours I thought my child would be awake, plus an $50 for the overnight.  You might want to give her money to take them out for bagels or something, too. 

  • Hello BPN folks. This question has been asked and answered before, but the responses I can find are from a few years ago and I'm curious what updated answers would yield.

    How much would you all pay a sitter to spend a straight 48 hours (for example, Saturday morning 9 am until Monday morning 9 am) with two kids, ages 4 and 6? Do you pay a flat rate per day? Or one rate for awake hours, and one rate for asleep hours? (Both kids sleep through the night for at least nine hours.)

    I do generally pay sitters $25 to $30 an hour for daytime care of both kids. I don't expect sitters to do anything extra--basically just keep the kids not dead, and put their dirty dishes in the dishwasher.

    Thank you for your responses!

    I’m not sure of the answer to your question, but based on your hourly rate, my college-aged daughter (UCB student) would love your contact information! 

    I pay a flat rate of $100/day for one toddler.

    Yep, you are way overpaying for a daily rate for two kids. $15-18 for an adult sitter is the range for 2 kids, less for a teen sitter. For the weekend period you suggest, I'd say $250-300. It asks a lot of the sitter, sacrificing all their personal time for an entire weekend. Obviously you'd want an adult for that period of time.

Archived Q&A and Reviews


May 2008

The following are the responses received on the 2008 BPN Nanny Survey in answer to the question If you have paid your nanny to stay over a weekend, what were the details of your arrangement (e.g., $x/day, or lump sum for the weekend, ages of your kids, etc).

$100 for each night, plus her hourly rate during the day.

$17 per hour during day, $10 per hour overnight

$50 per night, plus hourly rate for every hour the child is awake. My daughter is almost 5.

75 DAY KIDS ARE 1, 6 & 9

80 fro 9-6am, and then hourly rate for all others

Friday 6pm- Sunday noon, $350, kids ages: 12,8

full days hours (until about 9pm), $120 extra per overnite and reimbursement for any expenses. she stayed with 2 of our boys ages 3 yrs and 2 yrs and we took the baby with us.

Gift from nanny, birth of second child. And our first child was already sleeping.

I would pay approx what she earns in a day, which is approx $100/day.

Lump sum $150 day; I was working out of town and she came to stay at the hotel with me and the kid. That lump sum covered about 10 hours of caring for the kid while I worked, and I came in and out and slept with the kid; she got to go out and explore a

lump sum for 24 hour period, kids stay at her house

lump sum for the weekend, I think $250 or $300

lump sum, no pay for when kids sleep

nanny only housesitted and watched our dogs... paid her a flat fee for the week while we were on vacation as she didn't work 24 hours a day... we paid her 375.00 to watch our dogs, get our mail

No, but my son has stayed at her house.

No, but she has kept the child overnight once. We paid her 1/2 time for the time she (the nanny) would have been sleeping.

Normal hourly rate during the hours the child is normally awake (i.e., 7am-8pm) then fixed rate (I think it was ~$60) for the night. Our child was 2 at the time.

our 3.5 year old was the only child. we paid $75 per night and then a reduced hourly rate for the days. another time, we did a lump sum of $250 for 1 night and 2 days

We know she charges half-rate for any hours the children sleep at night, and full-rate for all times they are awake (even if they wake in the middle of the night).

We've paid full rate for the child's waking hours and 1/2 rate for the time the child is sleeping. (Consequently, we don't do this too often, but we've no family close by.) The nannies we've had have been worth it (we've had sick dogs to take care of and

YES, SAME HOURLY RATE

$10 per hour

$100 a day

$12/ hour during waking hours and $45 for the overnight example: We leave at 11am on Sat and r/t 3pm on Sun. 11am-9pm: $12x 10 hours - $120 PLUS 9pm-7am (baby sleep) = $45 PLUS 7am- 3pm = $12x 5hr= $60 Total for overnight = $225

$125 - $150/day for 2 boys age 5 & 3. Plus LOTS of cash to spend doing fun things and eating out while we're gone.

$150 per 24 hours

$150 per night on the weekend

$50 flat for the night hours when baby is asleep; regular hourly day rate

$50 for night time when our daughter was sleeping. Regular pay ($15.50/hour) during all daytime hours.

$50. from the hours of 9pm - 7 am than the hourly rate.

12 hr days + $50 for overnight on a weekend. 14 hr days + $50 for overnight if it is during the week

300 for 24 hours plus money for takeout food

450 for the whole weekend

50/day

daily sum: 200

day hours + 50 for night (8pm-7am)

Haven't ever done that.

hourly

Hourly for children's waking hours and $75 over night.

Hourly plus $50 from 9-7pm when my daughter is asleep.

Hourly rate for daytime; $150 for nighttime (when they were asleep)

hourly rate plus $100 total for hours which the child is asleep at night.

Hourly rate while kids are awake plus flat $50 overnight fee

It's part of her job. She can work weekends for us -- her schedule is at our disposal.

lump sum4 lump sum ($500 per two night weekend)

Lump sum for overnight.

Lump sum for the weekend and we let her girlfriend come stay with her. She is very nice. We paid $800 total for the weekend

lump sum for the weekend. One child 1 1/2 years old.

lump sum weekend

Lump sum. 2.5 year old twins

normal rate

overtime rate plus $150 for night time

Pay dropped to $8 an hour from 8pm to 8 am

Previous nannies have been paid at half-the-hourly rate at night (when children are supposedly 'asleep').

regular hourly rate

regular hourly rate when kids were awake plus $100-150 per night

Same as # 13.

SHe does house sit/dog sit for us $75/weekend (2.5 days)

she had our kids for a day and night at her house and we paid her 200.

She has house/petsit over the weekend. We paid her a lump sum of $250 for 4 nights over and above her weekly pay. This was difficult to negotiate since we didn't know what was fair and she didn't state her expectations clearly.

She minded my daughter over a weekend once. We paid her $500

she was very giving and would offer to work extra when she saw a need. i was also very kind to her and her family. it wasn't just about money.

the same rate

Usually I'll pay her a little more then her hourly salary for every waking hour of my child and then $50 for the night time portion.

varies

We have dropped two kids off at her house for one night only.

We paid her for all of the hours that she worked and also added about $25 per night as an extra for having to sleep over.

We pay $15 per hour for the whole weekend minus 8 hours for each night while kids are sleeping.\t

Weekly rate was paid for a 3 day period on the weekend without nights

X per day

 



Dec. 2006

I would like to know what is a reasonable price to pay someone who will sleep at my house while my kids are asleep. My kids are 5 and will be asleep when the childcare person arrives & will not wake up until about 7 a.m. The childcare person will then take care of them for 2 - 3 hours. I am not sure if there is a flat rate for staying overnight ( and what is that) & then I pay by the hour or if I should offer a flat rate for the whole thing & if so what is a fair amount. Thanks ginny



We pay our sitter a flat fee of $50 for the ''core sleeping time'' of 9 pm to 7 am. For any time she is there before or after that, we pay her usual hourly rate (happens to be $15). I am curious to know how others reply since I have no idea what ''market rates'' are.
Linda



Jan 2006

I'm looking for advice on what to pay for overnight childcare. We have a 2-year old, whom we're considering leaving at home with her nanny for a few days (24 hrs x 3-4 days) while we travel. I've checked the archives and haven't seen any recent postings (and the rates suggested seemed incredibly low). I'd like to make a fair offer. Any guidance will be appreciated. -- Ann



I pay her regular rate for all awake hours (between 6 am and 8 pm, in our house), plus $50 a night, plus extra so that she can buy food (or I buy food for her to eat, like frozen pizzas, etc.). It's a hard job to stay for the weekend, especially if they worked for you all week, and I think they should be well compensated. anon



Jan 2005

I am wondering how much people are now (2004/2005) paying for both overnight and/or weekend childcare. I pay my occasional babysitter $15 per hour which I think is on the high end but she is reliable. However, I can't afford to pay that much for a weekend and an overnight especially when a lot of that time she doesn't really need to do much. The youngest child is 91/2. Has anyone had recent experience with this - the listings are from 2003 and I know the going rate now must be higher. Anon



Our babysitter charges $100 a day for weekend/overnight care, i.e. leaving Saturday and coming home Sunday is $200 regardless of how late we leave or arrive.



I am a local nanny and I used to do overnights a lot with my last family. They paid me my full hourly wage until 8pm (or whatever time the kids went down) and half my hourly wage through the night until whatever time the kids woke. That worked for me and they seemed happy with the arrangement too. I think if you ask her to do other household stuff like putting laundry through, tidying the kitchen, cleaning up the nursery, etc. after the kids go to sleep you should pay her her full wage until shes all through with those tasks. berkeley governess



Babysitting fees varies on how experienced a babysitter is,referral etc. I AGREE with you that $15.00 is on the high end. I have a reliable sitter who charges me a rate of $9.00 per hour, for 2 kids. She is a newcomer and speaks little english but is very sweet with my kids and takes good care of them. (She will even feed them dinner for us!). She lives in Albany, Ca. if you care for her number just write me an email.



Jan 2003

My husband and I are taking a four day trip and leaving our 2 yr. old at home with her part-time nanny while we're gone. I'd like to get some input on what people are paying child care providers for overnight/24 hr. care. What's the going rate? (The 4 days we'll be gone are not days our nanny would normally watch our daughter, if that makes a difference.) Thanks.



For overnights, I pay the regular hourly rate for the hours that the nanny is awake, and half the hourly rate for hours she's asleep. You could also ask the nanny what she thinks is fair (which may be less than this). Fran



May 2002

I was wondering if anyone has suggestions of what to pay an overnight babysitter. We usually pay her $12 an hour. What would be a fair rate to pay her for a 24 hour shift? Thank you very much for your feedback! Madeleine



We only did it once (when our second child was being born) and we paid $75 for the time from 8 pm to 6am (when our daughter sleeps) and the babysitter's usual rate of $12 an hour for the awake hours. Recently our son's former nanny offered to take both of our children to her house overnight for free as a mother's day gift to me. I was delighted and relieved since the per/hour cost seems to me prohibitive. I got the sense that she was happy to give away the service as a favor if it could be at her house. C.G.



Feb 2001

We are considering asking our current sitter to stay overnight with our then almost 3 year old son when our baby is born in late October. It would most likely entail a couple hours each in the evening and the morning with our son awake, but the rest of the time he would be sleeping. I am wondering if there are going rates for this kind of sitting. Lucy



I currently pay my babysitter $50 for a 24-hour period. I leave my daughter with her. I pay her this amount because my daughter is 4 and can take care of herself in most situations. The babysitter is licensed for daycare in her home and has two children of her own (one is 6, the other 8 months) so I feel comfortable leaving her there. Also, she is more like a companion for the older child. I think this is fair.



The woman I use for occasional child care (formerly known as baby sitting) has loads of experience and I pay her $100/night. this includes picking up my son from day care by 5:30, doing all of the nightly chores (dinner, bed time, etc.), doing the morning chores (breakfast, dressing, etc.) and taking him to day care at about 9 a.m. I suggest setting the hours for the over night slot, and anything outside of that will be paid at the hourly rate. My person came up with the $100 after talking with other folks. I didn't think it was too expensive because I completely trust this person and that is worth a lot to me. Good luck. Mona



When I was working as a nanny and was asked to stay overnight, I charged my regular hourly rate for anytime the children were awake, plus a set fee for the overnight. It was awhile ago and the hourly was $5/hr and the overnight fee was $10/night. But, it was a number of nights not just one, so it added up and seemed fair to me as the worker. Lynn



Oct 2000

As a nanny who has done overnights on several occasions here is how I charged the families I stayed with. My normal rate is $10.00 per hour. I charge that from the time the kids woke up (7:00am) -their bed time (9:00pm)...then the over night was a flat fee of $50.00. I hope that is helpful to any and everyone. Melissa