help with how much to charge - baby sitting job
boyohboyohboy wrote: So I posted an ad a while back about taking on a child during the summer to help supplement our income, and today I got an answer from a lady with a 3 month old.
how much do I charge?
she needs three days a week 10 hour days, and one 4 hour day.
i thought about $70 a day for the full day and then $35 for the half day?
is that to much?
msoulz replied: I reallly don't know but to find out I would call around to some places and see how much they charge - that will give you the going rate in the area!
boyohboyohboy replied: ok so the woman just told me that i am charging to much..
she said it should be more like, $25 for the full day and $10 for the half...
does that sound right?
it seems low for a 10 hour day with an infant...
help???
mckayleesmom replied:
That sounds right to me.....I have always heard of 20 -25 dollars a day....NEVER 70
bawoodsmall replied: At daycare we pay $25.00 per child per day for up to 9 hours. No offense but where did you get $70.00 a day? She would be paying almost $900.00 in child care per month.
mckayleesmom replied:
Exactly....if that were the case...alot more people would be stay at home moms.
lesliesmom replied: $70 a day is very high... because I have 2 kids in daycare I pay discounted rates; however, I believe her rate is $25/day for a full day... usually 9-10 hours and then 1/2 of that for a 1/2 day - which she considers to be 5 hours or under.
moped replied: I would have thought more honestly............let me think
lovemy2 replied: Dylan will be going into a daycare center in September - two days a week - it will be $110 a week - but that is a center - I bet it would be more like $75 a week if it was an inhome - I think $25 is a bit low for the 10 hour days - I would pose it more on a weekly basis - like $80 a week.....
Kaitlin'smom replied: my sitter is $3 an hour, if she charged me $7 no way could afford it
Teesa®© replied: Wow, here the going rate a week per child is anywhere between $3-400! And that's for the ladies who watch children at school. I've no idea what the going rate is for daycares, but I do know that our landlord is paying just over $1100 at a daycare for just ONE child!!   
kimberley replied: i pay $9/hr to my sitter
when i was babysitting, i got about $8/hr
guess canadians pay way more for child care grrrrrrrrrr
Teesa®© replied: That 1100 is per month, I forgot to specify that, but still outrageous.
boyohboyohboy replied:
i have never babysat before thats why i posted for advice.
sparkys2boys replied: Here it is about $25 per day also... hope it helps you!
Kentuckychick replied: I make $70-$80 per day nannying for three children in their own home (I will add, it's a wealthy family whom I've been with for years and I also tidy house, wash dishes and take the children places a lot!) I think for one infant in your home for 10 hours $25- $30 sounds about right. That's what it costs for daycare and people should not assume that inhome care should be cheaper than daycare -- there are SO many benefits of inhome care I'd be more than willing to fork out extra money myself. As long as the parent is providing formula and diapers and all the necessities then I would stick to the lesser price. If you continue sitting for the child and you start having to provide meals or other supplies then it often becomes necessary to raise the price a bit. My mother makes $35/day babysitting for Caydee and Connor (it would be more if they weren't like her grandchildren) and they also give her $20 per month for food.
bawoodsmall replied:
Sorry if I sounded snotty. I thought maybe you derived that amount from somewhere in particular.
boyohboyohboy replied:
No, I had my first son in day care for a few months when he was 6 months old or so, and I knew I paid like $116, but I couldnt remember if it was a week or a day, after all its been 6yrs and three kids later.
I know that most people do tend to take less for in home care,but I agree with the person who posted it shouldnt be so, after all there are tons more perks to having a private person sit for you.
I just think its over all better care.
we agreed on $25 a day and $10 for half days. and since we are not running a daycare we also agreed on no payment for days he isnt here.
I think its exciting.
thanks for all who responded and helped get me a new job! 
bawoodsmall replied: It does sound exciting. I hope you like it and it works well for your family. Extra money for any family would be a perk.
moped replied:
Sounds VERY Low
lovemy2 replied: Might be a little low but if you are OK with it - then great - and good luck - I hope it all works out - any extra money is wonderful!!
As for in home vs center care - I thin they both have their place and while ideally I would LOVE to have a nanny come into my home it would cost me much much more - not that my children aren't worth it but I am looking forward to Dylan going to daycare in Sept. - its only two days a week and will provide him with some much needed socializing that he hasn't gotten yet because for the most part he is home with my Mom, me or DH -
Good luck Stacy - I hope it all works well for you
Kentuckychick replied:
I think it also depends on where you live (cost of living, amount people make, etc..). For instance a daycare in Kentucky most often will cost less than one in say, New York City.
I have always thought of it this way...
If you have a couple where both parents have to work and they absolutely have no choice in doing so then it must be taken into consideration that they can't afford to pay out more than they are making for child care. Part of the reason my mom only charges $35 per day for both kids ($175/week) is that she knows my friend spends 3.5 hours in the car driving to and from work each day and that gas prices are outrageous and that charging her more would literally mean her entire paycheck would be going to babysitting costs. She also doesn't pay when the kids aren't here. They've had 17 snow days this semester and the kids were gone for 2 weeks with the flu. My mom just saw it as time off and enjoyed it while it lasted. It's part of being in this business if you want parents to respect you you have to find a fair balance. There's also a big benefit for you being in your own home (you can do your laundry and other personal things while the child naps and so forth).
I'm extremely lucky to make what I make working for the family I nanny for, but in that situation the second parent doesn't have to work. It was a personal choice, they own many businesses and a developing firm and therefore they can afford to pay me more... but even then I've felt sometimes I was making too much (I shouldn't) but I have.
I think that the $25/week is a good start. Again, if you start having to provide supplies or anything like that then you might need to renegotiate those terms.
sparkys2boys replied: GL with it!!
Kentuckychick replied: Oh yeah... and congrats! And have fun!!
My actual job right now (I'm just nannying on the weekends these days) is the teacher in an infant room at local hospital's development center. My favorite part of the job is watching them grow and learn (oh and the cuddles too). Right now we have 4 babies under 4 months and it's amazing how much they change each week.
It's such an enjoyable experience 
stella6979 replied:
I agree. $10.00 for a 4 hour day means you'd be making a little over $2.00/hr and caring for an infant is no walk in the park (as we all know). Good luck to you though, I hope you enjoy it.
Hillbilly Housewife replied: When I did daycare, my fees were 35$ / day per child, for up to 10 hours of care, including lunch and 2 snacks.
half days were 25$.
I charged 50$ for intermittent care - that is, for example, this one little girl I watched here and there when her regular daycare was unavailable, and the higher fee was for last minute changes to schedule / activities.
Kentuckychick replied: This sounds very fair!
I do personally think that the $10 for half day should be upped at least to $12. Just because it's not "technically" 1/2 of the ten hours, it still means you have to be home for at least that half of the day.
waitingfor#3 replied: I don't post on here too much but thought I'd add to this topic because to me it's an important one! I think that you should be charging more too, looking after kids especially when they're not your own can be A LOT of work! I too used to do a full time dayhome (I live in Canada) and now only take kids in on a part time/casual basis but I charge $45.00/day for up to 9 hours and that is what I charge no matter what the amount of hours they will be attending in the day! I also have them book and pay in advance at the beginning of the month for the days they want and if for some reason they do not attend on their own accord they still pay the fee, on the other hand if I cancel, then I will credit them the following month for the day. I've NEVER had an issue from a parent with my fees and I find people are more apt to bring their kids to me not only because I offer care from my home but because I charge a higher rate and don't take on too many kids as I would probably do if I charged less. My fee also includes lunch and two snacks, as well as any activities/crafts we do any given day. Anyways, a really good quote I always like to refer to especially when people are asking about how much to pay/charge is: Childcare isn't expensive, it's priceless. I'd pay ANY amount to know my kids were in a clean, healthy, loving enviroment where they would be cared for they way I would want them to be outside of my home, as I'm sure they would be if cared for in your home!
Brias3 replied: Ok, I have to say that your original figures didn't sound so off to me. If I had an infant, the going rate around here for decent childcare would be about $400/week.
IMO, $25 for a ten-hour day is positively absurd. I really hope you can work something out with her, because you don't want to be jipped either- watching a child, especially an infant, is alot of work and your time spent doing this important job is certainly worth more than $2 per hour!
Calimama replied:
That's what I was thinking. That seems so LOW.
ZandersMama replied: Before I had Zavier, I was taking care of 2 children, aged 1 and 4, in their own home, for 10-12 hour days and got 25$ a day. BUT, I took Zander with me every day, and didnt have to worry about mine or his meals.
mom21kid2dogs replied: It's been quite sometime (5 years) since Olivia was in childcare but I paid $25 a day no matter what~full day, partial day or sick day. I provided her food. I was certainly willing to pay more because the sitter was very AP oriented and never watched more than 4 children at a time including O (and they were always the same 4 kids). Several very good sitters in our area took less $ but they also watched 8 or more kids a day~way too many for my personal needs. I was certainly willing to pay more in exchange for the perfect caregiver.
Not sure what the policy is in your area but here full time childcare costs (non center based) a flat rate a day whether your child is there or not and whether you need the whole day or not. You pay for the "space" as well as the care. I think negotiating less would be selling yourself short.
ETA: No matter what you charge, be sure to negotiate all the other issues involved in childcare such as what payment arrangements are when they are on vacation or you are, what happens if you become unavailable and can't sit that day, what happens if the child is sick and can't come and what "limits" you set on sick child care, how and when payment is expected, who provides meals, food diapers, etc. Personally, I think a written contract or at least policies signed by both parties are best because there usually is less room for a misunderstanding. Good luck on your new endeavor!!
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