In sum: there ARE no standards of pay for a sitter overnight, unfortunately. It can depend on the age of the kids, number of kids, and start/end times. It can also depend on the pay rate of the nanny—if you are paying a part-time sitter $20/hour you may feel the need to pay them a higher set amount than a full time nanny that you pay $15/hour.
From a member in 2023:
- "The going rate seems to be $100-150 per night on top of regular pay."
NOTE from PSP: This amount has stayed consistent over the years and throughout our different surveys. What really matters is that the nanny and employer decide what is fair for them. Know, though, that minimum wage is required by law for every hour worked.
From 2018 discussions:
• "The going rate sems to be $100 to $150 a night."
• "We paid $250 for each 24 hour period."
• "We worked it out a few different ways, depending on the family, but the most popular option was a regular rate for awake hours + a flat overnight rate for sleeping hours. It's been several years but I think $150 + regular houlry rate for awake hours is probably about right."
• "When I've done this, I've paid regular rate for awake hours, then an agreed upon amount for the overnight (between $100-150). I also left my credit card for incidentals, or if she wanted to order dinner for herself."
• "We've done this a couple of times and counted the waking hours + $100 flat for each overnight (for 2 kids).""
• "The general consensus I got was to pay the standard hourly rate for awake hours and anywhere from $50-150 for the overnight. Another common approach I heard was to pay 1/2 standard rate for sleeping hours."
• We also pay $100 for an overnight stay, 8pm-8am, and regular per hour salary for the hours before and after.
• We pay 50$/night from 8pm-8am. Outside those hours we pay hourly. I think this is pretty fair since Charlotte is usually asleep for 90-95% of that time.
I’d love to get away for a night – how much should I pay the nanny to spend the night?
20% of respondents have had a nanny stay for an overnight. There are no standards of pay for overnight childcare; families each negotiate these differently. Here is what families shared with
PSP about how they handle overnight pay:
• Set Amount ranged from $50-$300 after the nanny's typical working hours passed. The most frequently mentioned set rate is $100.
• Hourly Plus: About a quarter paid for awake hours in addition to a set amount for the sleeping time (ranging from $50-100).
• Hourly rates were given, with some saying they pay a different amount depending on sleep and wake times.
• Switcheroo*: Some do a switch or “bank” other hours so that an overnight counts as a work that they get off at a later date.
*Advice included discussing pay beforehand and being careful about switching days as these can lead to nanny frustration
In April, 2014 a member asked PSP what to pay her nanny overnight for when she went into labor with her second baby. Here are the responses she received.
From the original poster who summarized her findings: "most people have paid a flat rate of around $100-150 for the night and do the normal hourly rate for the day. Only one person said that she thought paying extra at night was the right thing to do."
Members thoughts:
• "I would think she'd charge less because, let's face it, she'll be sleeping for many of those hours, but then again, does she have a family she needs to make arrangements for? Is there some kind of incentive you could give her (maybe an extra day or two off) in the future?"
• "We didn't have family here either, and when I had my 2nd and 3rd children I went to the hospital myself and my husband came once our nanny got to the house in the morning. We have had her stay weekends a couple times since, and generally did something like usual rate plus hourly rate for waking hours and then a flat $100 or whatever for the sleeping hours. It worked out to $300 or so a day I think."
• "I think we pay our nanny $125-$150 for the overnight (effectively 14 hrs), and her usual hourly rate for her normal hours."
• "We paid our nanny $150 for the overnight (we just needed one) and she thought this was very generous. We asked her to be on call at night, every night, by keeping her phone on. The night I went into labor, she came over at 1am and stayed until 7am, when my husband came home."
• "Our new sitter asked for usual rate while kids were awake and $50 flat fee for overnight when we took a quick babymoon before our 3rd."
See also:
(last updated 2018)
Image via here.
Disclaimer: This post has been written for educational purposes only by Park Slope Parents and is not meant to be legal advice and should not be construed as legal advice or be relied upon. The post may contain errors, inaccuracies and/or omissions. We recommend checking with a professional for specific advice.
