How much should I charge for child care?
I'm 10 weeks pregnant (with my second child) and I'm in need of some extra income. I was thinking of running an ad for child care in my home. I was planning on watching only up to age 5. I'm planning on providing meals and snacks and teaching them colors, numbers, shapes, letters depending on what they already know... How much should I charge? And I will watch them any hours so if they need me to watch them over night should I charge extra? Thanks for your help!
Public Comments
- Start cheap, you should charge like a few dollars extra over night at the start. Increase later on.
- When it comes to babysitting, you can rake in some big bucks. It's generally around $5-7 an hour. Every time I watch a couple kids, I'm making $40-$60.
As for childcare in your home, providing them meals and other things such as that, I think you could be safe charging a little more. Like $10 an hour per child. That way feeding them isn't a hassle and you're making some extra money. Great ideas for cheap things include corn on the cob (I just saw an ad for 17 cents a cob!) and mac'n'cheese. Fresh fruits can be expensive, but if you find some and cut them up, making a fruit platter and giving some yogurt to dip is good too!
As for over night care, I don't think you should charge extra. I mean, you're not really WATCHING them or teaching them while they're asleep, just making sure they're safe and sound. I think it'll appeal to parents more if you offer them the flat rate of $10 an hour no matter what time of day, needs, or requests. A lot of parents will bring over diapers and some snacks for their kids too.
- 100 per week up to 10 hrs a day. and extra 50 per overnight stay. i pay 120 and my kid isnt potty trained i feel like its too much.
- the cost of living is different for every area. here in southern ontario canada it's $25/day for a sitter. a day care facility (private school for babies) is $45/day
- It depends on what area you live in (cost of living), and if you are going to be licensed. Generally an unlicensed provider will charge lower prices because your clients will not be able to get a tax break when using your services.
My daughter is in a licensed daycare and I pay $143/week (for 2 year olds) which is a reasonable price. I would say between $130-$150 a week would be fair depending on the number of children you are taking care of, and the fact that it will be run from your home.
If you watch a child overnight you should charge extra.
EDIT: I agree with the post below from sevenof... you're not going to be able to charge $10 per hour like another poster suggested. That's fine for an occassional babysitter, but most families would not be able to afford $90 a day for childcare, nor would I pay $90 a day for an unlicensed in-home provider. I would only pay that much for a live-in nanny.
- I have been a licensed child care provider in my home in Michigan for 21 years. I am licensed for up to 6 children at any one time. I offer only part-time child care so I charge by the hour. I charge $3/hour with a sibling discount of $1 per child so 2 children in one family would be $5/hour. Many providers I know charge by the day or the week. In our area, the economy can support around $20-30/day or around $100-150/week. A non-licensed provider is probably not going to be able to charge as much as a licensed provider, but you would have to take into consideration the economy in your area as well as the number of care options available. There was one mention from a poster above me who suggested $10/hour. This may be possible for a teenage babysitter who is providing care in a family's home on an occasional basis, but a regular daycare provider is not going to be able to get that much. For a normal 9-10 hour day, a parent is not going to be able to afford to pay $90-100/day or $450-500/week for child care that is provided in another person's home. If a family made that much money they are going to hire a nanny to come to their home. A nanny could easily see that much per week, but a daycare provider in their home is not going to be able to get that. Even licensed daycare centers don't charge that much. In our area, the most pricey of daycare centers charge $54 per day for infant care with the fee decreasing as the child gets older. I don't know what the economic climate is in your area, but you may find there are no families looking for daycare or perhaps very few. Our area is seeing the loss of many jobs. Many families with 2 incomes are now down to 1 so daycare isn't needed. Even those families who have managed to keep both incomes have friends or family members who have lost their jobs so they are pulling their kids from daycare homes and centers so their out of work family and friends can watch their children. Nearly every home daycare provider I know is down on their enrollment as are the daycare centers. Several have closed their businesses due to lack of need for child care. Since you are willing to offer overnight care you may have some success, but be prepared that it may not bring in the extra income you think it might. After you figure taxes (if you are licensed) as well as food, supplies, equipment, wear and tear on your home and furnishings, you may find you are barely breaking even. When people ask, I tell them only go into daycare for the love of the children as the money isn't that great.
