How Much to Pay Grandma for Daycare?

We pay my mom $200/month for a day and half of childcare for my daughter. We initially offered her $300/month, but she refused that and said she'd take 200. We often pay her a little extra and do things like bring her flowers or bring a special treat home at the end of the day. Hope this helps.

Hi K.,

Yes not everyone is that lucky! I had that luck also when my daughter was born. My mom watched her on a regular basis. But when I was younger, I was also a single mom trying to make it so she didn't worry about pay. But I finally found a good paying job and did start paying her. It wasn't much, but it helped. I think I started paying her around $100-$150/month. And then I had upped it to $300 later on when things were getting better. It was still a lot cheaper then day care, and I knew that she was safe and happy. We did compromise on it at times. So give her a number and ask her honest opinion about it. They do it more for the love of you and the grand child then for the money. They want to see you make it in this world too. You never know, maybe you both are thinking along the same lines for payment. Good luck! Have a great day!

I pay my mom $20 a day to watch my child, that was her price. I pay my neighbor $32 a day to watch him the other days. When he starts his pre-k program next month we will be paying $48 a day. Hope this helps.

I have no idea why some people wrote Pay Grandma Half of what you would give a total Stranger???
I guess its our society. Sad. Pay your mom what you can. If its more its more if its less its less.
Is she watching you daughter at you house and using gas to get there? is she cleaning and cooking as well? Come on She You MOM. Please dont pay her half of what a center gets. Centers dont always care for your kids like you think they do. If you daughter gets sick or has a low grade fever, grandma will be able to keep her. A Center WILL NOT! The aspects of having family watch her are priceless.

Hi K.
I am responding as the Child Care Resource and Referral Coordinator (CCR&R) for Scott and Carver Counties. Your mom is going to be doing a type of care we call Family, Friend and Neighbor Care or (FFN Care). An average daily rate for licensed family child care for a 2 year old is $34.00, average weekly rate is $149.00 and average hourly rate is $4.71. Some FFN caregivers charge similar rates to these, others charge less.
At Child Care Resource and Referral we have services and resources specifically for FFN caregivers
If your mom is looking for ideas/things to do that support your child's development and to network with FFN caregivers please have her connect with the Child Care Resource and Referral Agency ~360 Communities in Dakota County ###-###-#### or with Tammy in Scott County at CAP Agency CCR&R ###-###-####. We have Play and Learn groups, adult trainings and monetary grants available to support her as she cares for your little one. You can also go to our statewide website at www.mnchildcare.org to find out more about FFN care. Hope this is helpful.
M. Johnson

I'd say $50 a day, too. Seems like a fair amount.

My mom was laid off from her jobs shortly after each of my kids were born and is now retired. My husband actually came up with the idea of paying her to babysit. We pay her $10/hour. She also does some laundry and the dishes while she's here. She sometimes cleans the bathroom or kitchen if they need it. And she'll even start dinner if I tell her what we're having. It has worked out well for us. We have a reliable sitter, the kids love being with her, and it helps her out financially.

I do in home daycare and am paid $40/day per child. I think because she is going to your home I would pay her $100/week for gas money, convenience, the light chores, etc. Just my thoughts. :) That way she wont feel like she is getting taken advantage of and you are still only paying $400/month for childcare. A steal!!

I pay 175 for a full week and that's about normal around here, I think.

$10/hour sounds like a good round number--I've worked in childcare for the past ten years. Not too high, not too low. I live in CO and my parents live in VT. Man oh man--not only are YOU lucky, grandma and your daughter are too. :)

Hi I would ask some local babysitter and child care providers in your area what the cost is. Maybe you would be able to pay a bit less than the going rate. Also I would leave a supply of diapers, wipes and baby food so your mom doesn't have to use her money to purchase baby items.

My sister pays 30 dollars a day to her in home daycare provider.

We just started part-time daycare for our 2 yo and we pay 8 dollars an hour but that include two meals.

Lucky lady!

http://www.daycarematch.com/articles/art_avg_childcare_ra...
Maybe this rate info will help in the link above. Just average out the days of the week your daughter will be there. Be sure to have a medical consent form typed up for her as well, just in case.

And keep a little record of what you pay her so you both can have it to file taxes easily. My mom used a carbon receipt book when she did in home day care, so you both have identical copies. You can get them in any home office store.

Hi there,

Well I think you have handled the situation up to this point well. My Husband and I are very lucky as we he works full time and I work two days a week. One day my son is at My parents home and the other day he is at my Husband's parents. They both love sharing the task of caring for him and we don't pay either one (and usually they cook us dinner as well! - I know we are spoilt). I would say get an average price for a day from an outsider and half that price as this would be a fair price to pay.

Cheers

L.

In our area, $25-30 per day is very common. Use that as a starting point. Also, consider having food around that you know your mom would love, so she can just eat lunch and snacks at your house, rather than have to bring stuff from home. It's a small but nice gesture.

On a side note, I'd highly recommend discussing with mom (and maybe even writing out) a general typical daily schedule. Nothing too detailed, but something like "8am wake up, 9am play time, 10am snack, 11am reading books, 12pm lunch, 1 pm nap, 3 pm wake up and snack, 4 pm play until we get home). It will give her an idea of what to do during the day. Maybe even offer to pay for a museum pass or local park pass so that when mom is over, she can take your child somewhere special and not have to pay out of her own pocket. Maybe suggest one day to stay home and one day to go out to do something. Plan ahead and keep things positive so that you're all on the same page!

what you should do is look at your budget and see how much leeway you have in your budget. you shouldnt be paying gma more than one of you makes to babysit your kid, if that were the case then you would most benefit from eliminating that job.

so i dont know your situation, but just look at your budget. as a child care provider in MN i got reimbursed from the county at 2.43 $ an hr . states differ on that aspect, but i dont have a clue what places charge. it isnt a lot. you could go by the hour, you could go by the day, or the month, whatever. figure out a fixed amount and go with it.

I believe a PT nanny would cost between $8 and $10 an hour. I would not pay her less than you would have to pay any other person to come to your home and care for your daughter.

Call the county that you live in and ask what the normal range of pay for an in home day care provider would be for a 2 year old. I currently pay $33 per day for my preschooler and he is in a private home.

I would go with a daily rate rather then hourly. a few suggested that you pay $10 an hour. that works out to $80 or more a day depending on how long you are gone. Child care workers in centers may get $10 an hour but they have a boat load of children to care for. Call around and find out how much a week would cost at a home daycare or center and then average them out and divide by 5 to get a daily rate. I would think it would be somewhere between $20 and $30 a day. Also, I would still continure with the kind gestures now and then to remind her of how much you appreciate the invaluable service she is providing to your daughter.

I pay my home daycare provider $40 a day for my 3yr old.

My mom watched my son for the first year and we paid her $20 a day.

My daycare lady charges $3.25 per hour for anything under 35 hours per week and $3 per hour for anything over 35 hours per week. When I first went back to work after having my son, a good friend of mine watched him. She charged me $20 per day. Maybe have a discussion with your mom about what she's comfortable accepting and what you are comfortable paying and you can come to an agreement.

Pay her what you would pay an outsider. Yes, you are so lucky to have her in your life. My mom would never see my daughter if I didn't call her -- and that's only on Sundays. I would kiss the ground she walks on. : )

Research/call a couple daycare in your area, consider age of child, facility, activities, travel time, etc. Find the lowest to the highest and go somewhere in between or at the end since it's your M. and only 2 days a week.