What is fair to charge...

[anissa]

...for babysitting? We are in financial need (welcome to the club, right?) and I may need to hire myself out as a sitter. My husband breaks things down into hourly wages, but then gets upset at how little I'd actually be making if I charged $200 a week. He values the work I do and thinks I'm worth more...aww how sweet....however, I say others don't share his opinion of childcare. Do any of you have experience with sitting? I am curious what the going rate is...thanks!

[Pretty in Pink]

I currently pay a girlfriend 10.00/hr to keep my kids approx. 4 hours per week. I pay 13.50/hr at the drop-in. This is for four children.

[Joyfullyblessed]

Hello,

 

I have been doing in-home childcare since 2003 and you can't break what you make weekly down by the hour or you will be depressed! :) It simply doesn't work that way with a full time childcare business in your home.

 

I am in GA. and I keep the amount that is legal without getting licensed, which is 3 or less. You need to check your state laws and see if you will have to get licensed or not in order to do childcare in your home.

 

Goodness, the running rate around here varies greatly if you check out Craigslist. I don't base my rates by what people advertise on there. I am lower than the public childcare centers, but not so low that I would have to herd in tons of kids in order to make a decent income.

 

I would say that here that reasonable rates for in-home childcare would run between $160-$185.00 per week. I charge in the middle of that range. I think it is a great price to charge for childcare and the parents that I provide childcare for have never once complained.

 

I would suggest making sure that you create policies for your childcare that you hand out to your parents. This includes your rules, weekly rate, sick pay, vacation pay, hours, late fee charges, what you provide for the child, what the parent needs to bring daily for the child, etc....

 

I have my parents sign the last page of my policy packet and return it to me along with a page listing important information on the child as well as important phone numbers where parents can be reached, etc... in case of sickness or emergency. I just keep all of this in a file marked childcare.

 

I hope that this helps! Best wishes to your possible new childcare business!

[Joyfullyblessed]

I meant to also say that I simply charge by the week, not by the hour. I get kids from 6:45 am till 5:30 pm, M-F. I do not do evenings or weekends.

 

Four hours or more a day is considered a full day, and less than four hours per day is considered a half day. For a half day I charge a flat $20.00. Full day rate is based on my weekly charge, just divided by five.

[Wheres Toto]

It all depends on where you live. By me, in-home childcare can run $150 to $250/week depending on the age of the child (babies are more), if food is provided and whether you are licensed by the state or not. Part-time care can run $5 to $10/hour.

 

Different states have different requirements for licensing. I can watch up to 5 children in addition to my own without being licensed.

[Lily of the Valley]

The rate in my area for in-home care is between $80.00 and $130.00 per week. Daycare centers charge between $125-$175 per week. Most providers charge on the higher end of the range. I charge $120/week for full-time care and $3.75/hour for part-time.

 

I would suggest calling around to several daycare centers and private daycare providers to find the average for your area.

[jewellsmommy]

I watched a 3 yr old boy full time (many yrs ago) for $65 a week. It was 6am to 6pm. I watched a 5 yr old before & after 1/2 day kindergarten until about 4:30pm for $40 a week. It was worth it to me because that $400 a month really made the difference, kwim. But, if you broke it down hrly it's pitiful. Our church daycare charges $100 wk for infants and, I think, $70 a wk for 1 yr and up. Check the daycares in your area and come in a little under them to attract a child or 2. Like someone else said, check your limits. I personally would not do more 3 extra children even if I could legally.

[anissa]

Thanks everyone...you are all so great! Your info is really helpful.

[StaceyinLA]

One thing you could check into is whether there is a food program in your state. It goes hand in hand with the free school lunch program and provides child care providers with money to feed the kids they care for. If you are belowma certain income level, you can feed your kids on it as well.

 

I often got 300-400/month just from that. When you add that to your babysitting income, it does bump you up a bit.

[Chris in VA]

I charge 12 an hour, and the family I sit for (one 2yo) pays the nanny tax. They actually pay me slightly more than 12 b/c that's what comes in my check. I sit at least 8 hours a week; today I did 14 (she's a NICU nurse and does two shifts a week--I do the long shift if her dh is OOT).

Are you thinking of having children in, or of going out as a nanny? Nannys here can make 700-1000 a week. In Uniontown, it's probably significantly less, but most true Nanny providers make at least $400 a week. That's different than having kids in your home.

[lisamarie]

Around here if you do childcare in your own home, it's about $150/wk for full time. If you are a nanny in someone else's house, the average is $10/hr. And yes, if you break down the $150/wk into an hourly wage, it is pitiful. But if you have 3-4 kids, it makes it much more worth it. If you can stand to watch 3-4 more kids who aren't your own. (I do not have this gift--I tried and lasted 3 months)