jusstsmile613, I disagree, if you don’t want to pay the price, stay home. If that is the going rate, which it was many years ago when I stopped hiring, like I said my youngest is now 24, then that is the price.
As for just sitting on the couch for a couple of hours…..that is not what you are paying for. That is the happy result. YOU are paying for a responsible person to sit in a home void of any other responsible adult. A home they are not used to with all the creepy and creaky sounds it comes with. YOU are paying for that person to handle whatever emergency situation that arises, that means if a child falls off the bed, wakes up scared, wets the bed, throws up, etc. The babysitter usually calms the child and manages to get the child back to sleep. She might even change the linen in the crib or the bed, chase you down, or sit up with the child for the hour or two till you get home. AND in some cases that might mean holding a feverish and crying child for an hour or two.
So no you don’t pay them for SITTING ON THE COUCH. YOU are both lucky when most of the time that is the outcome. But you are really paying them for being the responsible adult in the home because you aren’t. And for $10 an hour you are getting away cheap.