after school care

[grace'smom]

Hey guys,

I have a neighbor who approached me regarding after school care for her kindergarten aged daughter. I couldn't ask for a better situation because my daughter is an only child so this will give her daily play time with a friend after we do our homeschool activities. They want to pay me for after school care even though I said I'd do it as a benefit to both of us. I don't even know how much people are supposed to pay for something like that. Does anyone here know what to charge for something like that? I was thinking 20 a week, just to cover snacks and activities? Sound fair?

 

Thanks!

Hailey

[Desert Rat]

I think that sounds fair. If the family wants to pay you, I think you should accept a little something just so they feel like they aren't taking advantage of the situation.

[BigMamaBird]

If they want to pay you, $20 sounds perfectly fine. It's great that your dd will have a playmate.

[grace'smom]

Here's the thing. You are now tied to the house every afternoon and having a non-family member in the house can get wearing, even if it is a benefit to your child.

 

You don't want to get a few months into this and feel taken advantage of and have no way out.

 

Look around and see what after school care really costs, then give the neighbor a discount off of that, but don't just make it so that you break even.

 

Have an out. Tell her you will do it for sure until Christmas break or something like that but you each need a way out of the arraignment gracefully if it no longer works for any reason.

 

What will you do if you or dd is sick? What if you go out of town? What if she is running late one day? What if it becomes a habit and you end up having this child to dinner regularly? Will you watch her all day on days that school is out? What if she is sick and still ends up at your house?

 

None of that may happen, but plan for it and make sure things are really clear to begin with. Establish the expectations for snacks, times, school break, illness or when you otherwise can't watch her. Make sure you have an out.

 

That's definitely some good advice. You sound like you are speaking from experience. Thank you for sharing that with me. I will try to create some good boundaries to make sure everyone is comfortable with the arrangement. It looks like you covered every angle as far as what I should be thinking about. Thanks so much!

[MamaAkins]

Here's the thing. You are now tied to the house every afternoon and having a non-family member in the house can get wearing, even if it is a benefit to your child.

 

You don't want to get a few months into this and feel taken advantage of and have no way out.

 

Look around and see what after school care really costs, then give the neighbor a discount off of that, but don't just make it so that you break even.

 

Have an out. Tell her you will do it for sure until Christmas break or something like that but you each need a way out of the arraignment gracefully if it no longer works for any reason.

 

What will you do if you or dd is sick? What if you go out of town? What if she is running late one day? What if it becomes a habit and you end up having this child to dinner regularly? Will you watch her all day on days that school is out? What if she is sick and still ends up at your house?

 

None of that may happen, but plan for it and make sure things are really clear to begin with. Establish the expectations for snacks, times, school break, illness or when you otherwise can't watch her. Make sure you have an out.

 

:iagree: Take it from someone who has done in-home childcare for the past 8 years...even though it sounds like an awesome situation, you need to go ahead and clarify how you'll handle certain situations that may arise (sick child, out of town). Find out what time the parents will pick up the little girl. Will it interfere with your family's dinner time? etc, etc!

[juelle]

Here's the thing. You are now tied to the house every afternoon and having a non-family member in the house can get wearing, even if it is a benefit to your child.

 

You don't want to get a few months into this and feel taken advantage of and have no way out.

 

Look around and see what after school care really costs, then give the neighbor a discount off of that, but don't just make it so that you break even.

 

Have an out. Tell her you will do it for sure until Christmas break or something like that but you each need a way out of the arraignment gracefully if it no longer works for any reason.

 

What will you do if you or dd is sick? What if you go out of town? What if she is running late one day? What if it becomes a habit and you end up having this child to dinner regularly? Will you watch her all day on days that school is out? What if she is sick and still ends up at your house?

 

None of that may happen, but plan for it and make sure things are really clear to begin with. Establish the expectations for snacks, times, school break, illness or when you otherwise can't watch her. Make sure you have an out.

 

 

It 's really important to set good boundaries in a situation like this. For example, pick up times can easily get pushed back to the other parent's convenience if they're not clearly set, leaving you stuck.

 

I used to look after a friend's baby while she worked 2 days/wk, finishing a commitment she had made years before. She paid me $20/day. And that was 12 years ago. People value what they pay for.

[Whereneverever]

Here's the thing. You are now tied to the house every afternoon and having a non-family member in the house can get wearing, even if it is a benefit to your child.

 

You don't want to get a few months into this and feel taken advantage of and have no way out.

 

Look around and see what after school care really costs, then give the neighbor a discount off of that, but don't just make it so that you break even.

 

Have an out. Tell her you will do it for sure until Christmas break or something like that but you each need a way out of the arraignment gracefully if it no longer works for any reason.

 

What will you do if you or dd is sick? What if you go out of town? What if she is running late one day? What if it becomes a habit and you end up having this child to dinner regularly? Will you watch her all day on days that school is out? What if she is sick and still ends up at your house?

 

None of that may happen, but plan for it and make sure things are really clear to begin with. Establish the expectations for snacks, times, school break, illness or when you otherwise can't watch her. Make sure you have an out.

:iagree:

[QueenCat]

How many hours is it each day? I would ask for at least $5/hour. And I agree with the other posters on setting boundaries in advance.

[k2bdeutmeyer]

I just want to say "Amen" to Cadam!! I'm a "retired" in home caregiver. It can REALLY drain you. Be cautious :)

[swellmomma]

$20 a week sounds like a steal of a deal. I charge $350/month for afterschool care, a Kindy child has to pay fulltime fees which are $500/month. $20 a week doesn't seem like enough for supplies/snacks, plus compensating for being tied to the house as another poster mentioned. If it was only 1-2 hours total per day I would charge my hourly fee which is $6/hour

[Tap]

I used to pay $10 a day for this type of care for my dd to go to a friends home. A HUGE bargain for me. The other child was an only, like yours, but also had a dx of asbergers. Our girls got along great and the mom didn't even want to charge me because she really felt that her daughter was getting more out of it than I was. LOL I needed her too so it was a great benefit to me.

 

One thing to think about is that it will tie you down considerably. You will not be able to go away on vacations quite as easily (you will need to give notice) and any appointments will need to take this into consideration. Hard when you have drs who run late and you can't predict what time you will be done. You will have her dds when they are sick enough to spread illness, but well enough for school. She may even call you on these sick days and you to care for them all day (you may want to consider this and have you answer pre-thought-out.) You will need car seats if you are going to transport them anywhere ie the library. You will have more wear and tear on things like toys and carpet. You will provide snacks, drinks and treats. The $10 a day I used to pay went to lunches out, zoo trips, food, extra art supplies, games, etc.

 

A few things to think about/discuss ahead of time.

 

1. If this is during work hours, and the parent is home, will you still have the child (I have heard this complaint many, many times among neighbors who babysit for each other).

 

2. What are the specific hours. What happens if the parent is going to be late. How often do they expect that to happen.

 

3. Do they have a back up if you are sick or your kids are sick. How are vacations on both families part going to be handled....amount of notice? If there is a sick child in either family, what is the preferred method of contact and hours. ie if your child is sick all night with the flu, does the parent need to know sometime before noon that you won't be able to watch their kid, or do they need to know before they go to work? What is common sense to one family, may not be to the other family.

 

4. When will they pay? I would set a rule that if they are going to pay after the fact, then are you going to have a preset date for them to pay you. Like the 1st of the month or every two weeks. Also set a rule of "if you are more than two weeks late, I will stop care until you catch up". People are sometimes wonderful about paying neighbors, sometimes they are Horrible. You never know how well someone pays their bills, until you are on the receiving end.

 

5. If their child does damage to something expensive (more than normal wear and tear), who will pay for it. Like shattering the screen on a big TV.

 

6. What are the family rules that they want you to follow. ie No Candy after school/before dinner.

 

7. Do you expect to get paid for days when the children are not there?

 

8. Are they going to file for this on their tax return? If so, you will have to pay taxes on a portion of the wages. Here the first $400 is not taxed but over that is.

Edited August 3, 2010 by Tap, tap, tap

[Tap]

One more thing.....

 

if you do it. Agree to watching them for certain hours....2 to 5:30 or such. If they need to go beyond that, let them know they can call and ask you...but you may not be available.

 

Whenever you are asked to go above-and-beyond....always answer truthfully, if you don't want to do it, don't. If it is okay THIS time, say that. DO NOT say "no problem, I am home anyways". Some people take this a green light to take advantage of the situation, and you may get resentful.

 

Always expect to be asked for ANY exceptions, and respond with a specific answer for this day only!!!!! "Yes, I can watch Jonny for an hour extra today, I don't have any plans tonight. Thank you for asking me ahead of time, I appreciate it."

 

 

I have seen just this little issue, ruin many friendships! When one person feels used, and the other person is left wondering what happened because when they asked if the first person could babysit they were always told variations of: "sure anytime, just come on by, I am always here and the kids play together so well, it is a blessing to me for them to have the company.......

[Dobela]

I have done this in the past as well and you really need to make agreements in writing - just to protect both families from misunderstandings. Make sure there is a clear pick up time. If they don't pick up by that time, make sure you know what to do. Believe me, I gradually grew very resentful of the mom that was late once a week because she wanted to do her shopping without her child -but I never knew what day she was going to be late..

 

A friend of mine charges $75 a week (in advance) for after school care (from 3:30 to 6pm). If the parents arrive on time or early each day however, she will refund $20 on Friday (or $4 a day). If the parents are late, she charges an extra $5 per 15 minutes, especially if they parents don't give notice they are late).

 

Meals were a problem for me. My dh would arrive home at 6 ready to eat and needing dinner to be on the table. Even after a snack, the child staying with me would be hungry and if the mom was late I either had to stall dinner or eat in front of the child because the mom really wanted the child to wait and eat at home.

 

To repeat others: How will you handle days the child is not there (sick days,holidays, etc) money wise? Where will the child go on school holidays and teacher work days when the parent is working? What will your fee be for those days?

 

You also need to keep a log or record of some sort. You will want to know when the child arrived and left each day, when/how you were paid, how much, and for what time period. The record will be invaluable in case of a dispute.

[staceyobu]

$20 sounds like too little. I did before school care for a girl a long time ago and got $50 a week. I regretted the commitment in the long run. I did not have a school age child at the time and suddenly we would be out of town for a weekend and want to stay an extra day and couldn't because of a $10 a day job. It was irritating. The girl also had a lot of.... issues. It wound up being a lot more work than I felt was worth any amount of money.

 

Just look before you jump.

[staceyobu]

Have an out. Tell her you will do it for sure until Christmas break or something like that but you each need a way out of the arraignment gracefully if it no longer works for any reason.

 

THIS! I agree. Make up something if you have to... homeschooling may take up more time in the spring and you'll need to reevaluate at Christmas. Trust me. You may not need this out... but if you do, you'll be sooo, soooo, sooo glad you have it. Especially if it's a neighbor that you need to stay friendly with!

[grace'smom]

Well, that's so much to think about! I don't think I will have an issue with them being late because I will have a set time when the babysitter comes to watch my daughter while I go for a run. My husband often works late so we have a teenage babysitter come stay with Grace for an hour every day. I will have her scheduled to arrive 20 minutes after they should leave, and if they are late they will know they need to pay her extra because I'm leaving. So that should take care of that problem all on it's own. I've talked to the babysitter about this already and she is fine with that possibility.

 

As for the sick kind of stuff, I think it will be beneficial for Grace to be exposed to some illnesses to raise her immunity, so I'm OK with that. I am very avoidant of taking her places when she is sick due to immunity issues with other children, but I'm usually OK with other kids passing on any illness to her that does not involve vomiting.

 

As for vacations, we're too poor for that anyway, LOL! No really, we're kind of tied to the school schedule because of the co op we're doing this year, so we wouldn't be able to go on vacation without missing classes.

 

I did think about missing out on things in the afternoons and I think that will be the biggest con about the situation. I'm sure there will be field trips we have to rush home from or things we can't attend. But I think the benefit of a "standing" playdate outweighs the con. Now I won't have to frantically search for activities Grace can participate in because she's so friendship seeking. That will be such a load off my shoulders.

 

I think the idea of "trying it out" until Christmas is a good one, both for us and for them. Because they might find that there is something about the situation that isn't good for them, and this would give them a gracious way of bowing out as well. So that would be a beneficial thing for both families.

 

I am SO glad I asked about this on the forum. I told myself it was a silly question and I shouldn't post it, but then I did anyway and I am SO glad!

[Tap]

THIS! I agree. Make up something if you have to... homeschooling may take up more time in the spring and you'll need to reevaluate at Christmas. Trust me. You may not need this out... but if you do, you'll be sooo, soooo, sooo glad you have it. Especially if it's a neighbor that you need to stay friendly with!

 

I also agree about this. I always do this in every long term babysitting situation. We agree on a date to start and end. Then if we want to renew, we can. It makes it much nicer on both parties.