Hi, I am wondering if you can give me your feedback about what to charge per hour for childcare in my home. A mom I know called me up to ask me if I could do childcare for her 2 yr. old son and 9 yr. old daughter for the summer. It will be about 3-4 days per week, some Saturdays.
I haven't done childcare, so I'm wondering what would be reasonable, as I do not know what she'll be making, so I don't want to ask too much, but on the other hand, I can't do it for nothing, and she thought of me because she knows the extra income would be helpful to me, but it needs to be affordable for her.
What do you think?
(I'll also have my almost 17 month old daughter, my 3.5 yr. old daughter and my 7.5 yr. old son at home with me. My son will be going to visit grandparents in August.)
I pay $75 per day to my friend - she watches my son from 7:15 AM to 5:30 PM and provides lunch and snacks. She takes him to play with other kids, to the beach (at her expense), parks, and to a private pool (I paid his fee for the summer) - if I want him to go to classes, I just pay the fee.
This is a hard situation. She is a friend, so you do not want to over charge. Watching the two year old will be a lot of work, although the nine year old shouldn't be any trouble. She may even be able to help entertain the the little ones. If I were watching just a 2 year old for three days a week, I would charge $50 a day. If I were you I would add an an extra $30-$40 a week for also watching the nine year old.
Wow, sounds like you'll have your hands full! I would take into account the fact that you will most likely be doing many activities outside of your home because of the ages of the children (pool, museum, etc). Will the mom be giving you an "allowance" for activities and gas plus a salary or just a salary? Knowing the answer to this question will help some in your decision.
I love that you actually have a degree in elementary ed - that's awesome for an in-home provider! You also bring a lot of other things to the table with the languages and interest in arts. It sounds like you have a great resume to work with children as opposed to 'hey I have a kid and I want to stay at home, so I'll just 'babysit' other kids'.
I might be a little off the mark, but if I ever decided to go with an in-home provider I could not imagine paying any less than $10 an hour. Quality childcare is so tough to find, and let's face it, this caregiver is going to be spending a WHOLE lot of time with the children and teaching them so many things.
