How much should I cahrge for regular overnight child care?

I watch a two year old boy about 35 hours per weeks for $150 in Denver, CO. This is an excellent price. Most in-home child care providers charge $8-$15/hour here. I am child CPR certified. However I do not need a license to watch one child, so I do not have one. After we move into a larger house (in 2 months) I am setting up for child care and will obtain a license at that time in order to watch another child. My question is this... The boy I watch needs care as early as 2 am, and sometimes overnight. NO child care centers even have the option to leave your child overnight, so what should I be charging for that time? Should I do an hourly rate of $5/hour for regualar hours & $7/hour for night? This is for parent who make 90K per year. The child is good, but he is not potty trained. I'm thinking $200/week is good. I met with the parents and informed them of a rate change (with a 30 day notice). The mother was not willing to pay more, so they are seeking care elseware! Wow... I didn't know I was so unappreciated.

Public Comments

1. $200 dollars.


2. keep ur hands to urself


3. 50 TO 100 DALLARS


4. that depends on the child(how bad or good)

   and what the parent can afford

   use fair and good judgement

   is it for a single parent?



5. It all depends on the bahavior of the child. If the child is easy to take care of and doesn't cause many problems, charge like 10 and hour. If he is awful, i ould charge like 15.


6. Wow. Are you sure you're not selling yourself short? Teenagers get AT LEAST $10/hr. to babysit. At $5/hour you're not even making minimum wage. But to answer your question, you should at least double for working evenings. Say you charge a normal rate from (for example) 8AM until 7PM and then double from 7PM until 8AM. I think that's fair. Most people make time + 1/2 for working overtime or graveyard shifts. Hope that helps.


7. Be careful of what your charge. Being a CPA, I could tell you that you could be in danger of having to pay self employment taxes and filing and paying estimated taxes. Now I know this does not answer your question but remember I am not the only person reading these answers.

   Make sure that you keep impeciable records. Save all receipts for goods purchased on behalf of the youngster. Much of what you go through is a deduction from this income, Including your American Red Cross CPR certification fee. (See Form 1040 Schedule C for more details and Publication 17 both available at your local library)

   You must also hand to the "customer(s)" at the end of each year a statement saying how much they paid in child care. There is no standard form so you could make one up for yourself.

   In any case. Please consult your own tax advisor if and when you decided to do this.



8. YOU ARE WAY UNDERPAID! $7.50 during reasonable hours, and at least, time+ half per off hours. Overnights are usually set rates, so please do not be cheap with the digits. Evaluate significance of your lost hours of sleep+Liability+ perhaps-the level of inconvenient cost to your family members+food/room and board= your overnight rate, which Rounds up to about $70.00 per night.

   WOAD- you need to give your self a rise. Anyone who pays out of pocket for full-time child care usually means they are making enough money to pay you a decent salary.

   Lastly, Seek out the nearest HRA office and fill out a Family Care Provider Application Form ASAP. This will help you obtain your license quicker and cheaper, all courses, finger-printing w/ the BOE and correctly certified for free while getting a weekly +$150.00 paycheck.



9. $5 DURING THE DAY EVERY HOUR

   STARTING AT 5PM $8 A NIGHT EVERY HOUR