Help re: childcare cost

[firefly]

I'm going to be babysitting a 7 mo old and a 4 y.o (I babysat the 4 y.o and her (now) 5 y.o sister last year) I asked for an undetermined raise this year as the 4 y.o is/was a terror and I'll be watching an infant this time not two preschoolers and we all know infants cost more. last year she paid me 10/ day / child it was for 4 hours 2x a week

this year it'll start out as 5 hours and increase as the year progreses. I feed the preschooler breakfast snack and lunch (and if she stays past 2 I'll be giving her another snack) I also have to drive them to my daughters preschool so my daughter can make it to school on time and I will sometimes be delivering the kids to their mom's workplace so dad can pick them up. (it's more on his way home than driving across town to my place and mom's work is 2 blocks from my daughters preschool)

I was thinking of asking 15 / child / day but I'm thinking that may be too low but I don't want to make a huge jump in price but ya know I could make more money working at mcdonalds :(

so my question is what do you pay/ what should I charge

[smiles33]

It would help if you stated what part of the country you live in. If you're in San Francisco area, it's closer to $5-10 PER HOUR, at least from the in-home caretakers for infants that I've researched. Certified daycare centers are on the higher end of that range.

Good luck getting the raise.

[firefly]

I'm in California, the Central Valley,

[LeighW]

In my area (Washington, DC suburbs), $25 per day per infant is at the low end of the range for home-based daycare. I do not think older children are much less expensive.

HTH.

[mamax2]

I agree that your rate seems low - esp. since you're providing food and shuttling kids around town. It would also help to know what other expenses you're covering, i.e., add'l liability insurance, certifications, licenses, taxes, etc. - make sure you factor all of those costs in.

BUT, just to give you an idea, when I lived in NJ, I made $10/hour babysitting a toddler in her home. And another job I was offered that was simply getting the kids off to school in the morning (5 y.o. twins and 3 y.o.) paid ~ $12.50/hour. Both of these jobs were cash. A third job I was offered but didn't accept paid $12/hour to care for a baby in her own home, but that was above-board, taxes withheld, etc.

IMO, $15/day is WAAAAAY too low - I'd expect $100/week minimum for the hours/services you described.

[Brady]

$15 a day is def. very low...

My son goes to an in-home daycare where she provides all food, formula, and wipes.. we just provide diapers, but it's $45 a day. (This is in MA).

Hope that helps...
Lisa

[Renrel]

I live in the Boston area. We use center daycare which is ridiculusly expensive but I have occassional hired babysitters. I look for very experienced sitters who are older. They tend to have had at least one long term nanny or steady sitting job before I hired them and to be over 30 years old. The two I used the most often both had other "real" jobs and did the babysitting for extra money and to fill their desire to be around children. They each were paid $12 an hour just to come to my home and care for my kids. They did not provide any food, shelter or transportation. I have seen as much a $15 requested for similiar experience in this area. I would guess that if I was providing a steady job I might have been able to negotiate a lower rate, maybe $10 an hour, particular since this was night sitting when my son was asleep and he is a very easy child. He eats, he sleeps, he can communicate his needs very well. Not much in the way have tantrums and such, yet anyway. I would jump at the chance to have a trustworthy sitter at $15 a day. Right now I am paying about $10 an hour for group care in a daycare setting, ratio of about 4 to 1 for toddlers. But they are providing food and a wonderful playspace with tons of toys and activies and such.

[jengen]

I live in the Northeast and around here, based on my research of late, I'm finding most in-home daycare providers charge around $60-$80/day for one child. I was also told nannies that come into your home would expect to be paid a minimum of $10-$15 per hour. Good luck!

[jh124]

The Central Valley of CA isn't cheap, by any means. I'm from Turlock, but live in the DC area now (our DS will cost us $278/wk at daycare). While prices are less expensive in the valley than they are in the Bay Area, they aren't much less expensive. Have you called around to daycare centers in your area to ask how much they charge for infants and 4 year olds? Pose as a mom pricing out daycare. Call 3-4 centers. See what your competition is.

You can't charge the parents for the efforts of driving your daughter to preschool (even though it does mean juggling two extra kids in safety seats, etc), but you can charge for taking them to the mom's workplace. How far is it from your home? The IRS has released that mileage costs for 2005 are .40 cents/mile. When I drive somewhere in my car for work, my company reimburses me at that rate. Perhaps it would be fair if you agreed that you will charge (for example) $5 for each drop off at the mom's office?

[Kristeen]

I would say that's on the low side almost anywhere in the country. I suggest arming yourself with knowledge, maybe call a couple day care centers and get quotes from a couple of nannies or other providers. Then if the mom thinks your offer is too high, you have something to back up what you are asking for. I would consider doing by-the-hour as well instead of by the day to avoid confusion later, since you said the hours are going to increase.

[jh124]

Also, without knowing where in the valley you are, check Craigslist in your area and see what nannies/daycare providers are asking.

[firefly]

we decided on 20/day for the little one and 15/day for the big one.