help! - day care providers

boyohboyohboy wrote: ok, so i had a gentleman answer my add for babysitting, although i only wanted part time kids..this man needs some help, and with tara's post about paying it forward this is my first one!

ok so he has a 4yr old and a one yr old. girls..he works 830-530 so i assume i would have then 8a-6p 5 days a week for two weeks.
i assume also three meals and two snacks to be provided by me.
i assume she is on a bottle and diapers,
we are scheduled to meet and work out the details later this week,
but what do i charge?

i also said that i wanted paid in full at the beginning of each week. in cash, so that there are no misunderstandings and we get paid for it. no scams.

is there anything else i am missing, this is only short term.

mummy2girls replied: Even though its only 2 weeks and he is paying by cash I would still have him sign a 2 week contract about what his fees are, just to protect you if he should try to get out of it.

I would only serve breakfast, lunch and 2 snacks.. dinner the dad should have to do. Unless you dont mind feeding them dinner.

for 2 weeks fulltime i would charge half a months pay ... its 2 kids so you can charge per child or charge one price for 2 kids. With my dayhome if i have 2 kids( even siblings) i charge 2 spots. if yopu charge per child that woyuld come out to be lets say 500 for the 2 weeks. if you charge just one spiot for 2 kids then 250 for the 2 weeks...

see what he thinks as well and go from there:)

lovemy2 replied: I paid $120 a week for Olivia for 5 days a week - starting at age 14 weeks until she was 2 - brought formula and diapers and baby food but that was it - all other food she supplied....if that helps at all....

Boo&BugsMom replied: Since it's only for two week's, I'd ask for both weeks up front, in cash. No pay, no play!!! Make sure you have him sign an agreement form. Feel free to click on this site.

http://dhfs.wisconsin.gov/rl_dcfs/FORMS.htm

It is our state licensing site that lets you download forms you can use. Make sure he gives you ALL emergency numbers and state that someone has to be available at all time in case the kids need to be picked up. Also tell him you will not take care of sick kids, for your families protection and once the payment is made it is not refundable regardless if the kids are there or not.

This is what i charged for full time, 5 days a week (in a ballpark):
Infants and un-potty trained: $165 a week
Potty trained: $145 a week

I gave a sibling discount on the oldest child of 10% off. For the two kids I would not charge less than $250 a week for both, to be honest. Those are long hours and even when you break it down...at $250 a week that is only $5 per hour!!!

Why does he only need 2 weeks of care?

FYI...I always made sure Troy was home when I did interviews...esp if a male was going to be in my home. When people I didn't know came into my home, I didnt' want to take any chances.

I also would only provide food if the kids are eating all solid foods, or have them bring in bag lunches at the least. If the younger one is not eating solid foods, I would not provide baby food or formula, that gets too expensive. Do not provide diapers or anything like that either, they can bring it. Being a licensed center is different, I provided that stuff, but if I was only doing some care on the side I would not provide all that.

boyohboyohboy replied: thanks everyone..
jenny i am taking this right from you, and making the contract, and asking $300 for the two weeks. i also did ask my husband to be home for the interview. i also am wondering why only two weeks...so i wanted to ask, and is it ok to ask where the mom is? he has these two little girls and no mom?

i know its going to be really hard, and i wouldnt do it if it wasnt christmas time,but we could use that extra money..so i am taking on these two other kids..for two weeks only..

thanks for this..

edited..meant to write $300 a week

luvmykids replied: JMHO, I would ask why he only needs two weeks but I wouldn't ask about the mom unless he brings it up. There are lots of dads who have wives who take off, or only have their kids part of the time, etc...My BIL has full custody of his kids. I know it's not the norm but I always feel sorry for guys taking care of their kids who have to explain themselves, kwim?

boyohboyohboy replied: i thought it might be best to ask, in case she would be the one picking them up, or if i was only going to be returning the kids to him each day, or if there was another emergency contact. i think i would feel a little better about helping out a single dad. my brother in law is a single dad.
i respect him for wanting to come and check us out, but at the same time, i feel since he is going to be coming to my house when my husband isnt here, and i have three little kids, i have the right to know something about his back ground..
because i do not think its the norm for a dad to have his kids, especially a one yr old with no mom around,
and the two weeks does sound a little strange, but maybe he is moving or something, or someone is coming to take are of the kids on a more full time basis..
i dont know, until i meet with him

luvmykids replied:
ITA, I just couldn't think of a way to ask other than to say "What about the mom?" and I know if I asked that it would come out wrong You could ask "Who, other than yourself, is authorized to pick them up?" When he gives you emergency contacts you could ask the relation...

My first thought was that he has someone lined up but they can't start yet or something. KUP though, now you have me curious

MyBrownEyedBoy replied:
Holy cow!! That's like $480/month! I pay $325/month for full-time child care for Logan. When he was part-time, it was $200/month. Wow, makes me glad I live in Idaho. How do people afford to work?

Boo&BugsMom replied:
Totally! You need to know who has custody of the children and LEGAL guardianship. If he is not married to the mom and has sole custody then I would ask for a court order document just in case the mom would come and take the kids. You have to cover your butt. An example...I had a child whose mom had custody, the dad never saw the child but mom never had anything in writing. Legally, if that dad came to get the daughter I would HAVE to hand her over to him because he legally still had rights to her but there just wasn't anything in writing through the courts. You need to know what is going on for the child's and YOUR protection. If dad just doesn't "want" mom to pick up, but she has legal shared custody, you can't legally withhold the children from mom, know what I mean? There are SO many legalities with childcare it's insane. You also need to know where dad and mom will be, in case of emergencies, every day the children are with you. Asking about mom is not being nosey, it's covering your butt since you will have their most prized possessions and putting your butt on the line taking those children into your home.

If someone other than them (dad/mom or guardian) are also going to be picking up...check a picture ID to be safe!

Another thing on the cash payment...if they say they have childcare subsidy through the state (low income childcare payments), they will not pay someone unless they are a licensed or certified facility/provider. Just an FYI, in case that happens. So...ask for cash!

MommyToAshley replied:
That sounds like a custody agreement... a lot of times the father will get the children for two weeks at a time during the year and then on weekends. This may or may not be the case?

You coudl question why he needs only two weeks, but I don't think I would ask about the Mom. It's really no one else's busineess. YOu could and should ask him if anyone else will be picking the kids up besides himself.

PrairieMom replied:
Exactly. if I worked full time, and had both my kids in the HOSPITAL daycare (which only runs 8-5, and the majority of employees do 12 hour days... ) I would make a whopping $25.00 more a pay period than working part time and not using daycare at all.

Boo&BugsMom replied:
She NEEDS to ask about custody arrangements and the mom. Trust me, I ran a daycare for 7 years...she needs to ask to cover her butt. It IS her business if she is providing this kind of service. When you take children in and care for them, you are putting yourself under a HUGE liability.

What if she didn't ask about the mom, dad never said anything, and the mom suddenly showed up on her doorstep to get the kids? What would she do then? Hand them over without knowing for sure? She needs to know. There are crazy people out there and these crazy people sometimes have kids. A woman I knew once took in a family with a situation kind of like this. Come to find out the mom was illegally keeping the children from their father who had legal split custody. Dad came to get the kids one day because he found out where their daycare was and the daycare didn't know what to do because the mom never told them the dad had shared custody and they never asked for custody papers. On ALL daycare forms and regs it mentions the legalities and the daycare providers right to know this information and how parents could get in trouble if they do not share this info. It's the smart thing to do to ask about the other parent and anyone else who has legal custody.

Here is another situation. Someone takes in a family. Dad has been in and out of jail. Mom has legal custody, but there are no legal papers. The provider thinks dad just isn't "in the picture". Dad all of a sudden shows up to the daycare to get the kids and doesn't know how dangerous the dad is, AND she has no papers stating who has legal custody. I had a situation like this, exeptt it was a grandfather who was a sexual predator. Luckily I had a picture of the grandpa, and he DID show up at the daycare one day. We knew who he was and the police were called to escort him away. The reason I am telling this story is because it's SO important to know as much information as possible to PROTECT the children and yourself. If a family needs someone to help take care of their precious children then they will share any and all information that will aide in their protection.