$135 a day for daycare!!! I'm so frustrated :( (long)

[heidisue]

Originally Posted by ElizasMommy606 Hi mama, i'm not a lisenced provider but also a sahm and i care for a 2 month old from 12-5 a few days a week in their home and i only charge her $7/hour. What she is asking is out of the question. She doesnt have a lisence, and wants to bring her own child. No job would let you do that! You have to keep it within reason. I think $7 an hour would be perfectly reasonable especially considering the circumstances. (Mine is "under the table".) I'd explain to her that exact thing, that she can bring her own child, eat your food, and watch your child for $7-8$ an hour. Ask her if she knows of any other position that you can bring your own child with you paying $15 an hour, I dont think there is one unless you are watching 4-5 kids and giving them rides to activities and the parents have the $$ and even then those types of families hire professional nannies! Good luck!

She wouldn't even be coming to my house - this is for me to drop off DS at her house. When I have somebody come to my house to sit I pay $8/hour.

[Momma_Rock]

I charge $2.50-$4 an hour for the kids I watch in my home. I've worked out of the home, and I know there is no way I could afford anymore than that.

[heidisue]

Originally Posted by slaferriere@berklee.net $25/day is about ... $4/hr. I can't believe someone would really watch your child for that cheap. I do nanny and I wouldn't charge any LESS than $10/hr but I do go to their house and lightly clean, laundry, etc. I've had a child in my home and the mother paid me about $8/hr which was the cheapest I've ever worked for. I was willing to negotiate that because I wasn't paying any gas, etc. I do think that people undervalue in home child care.. to have more one-on-one time with your child definitely costs extra whether in your home or theirs. If you want a more affordable rate it may just be better to do PT daycare?? But anyway, yea $15/r is a bit ridiculous. In our area, the going rate is $10-$12/hr.

It is 10 hour days, $25/day so it is only $2.50 an hour. I interviewed 19 people for the position though and 15 of those charged $25 a day - one only charged $20, the other three charged $35-$40.

[slaferriere@berklee.net]

Originally Posted by heidisue It is 10 hour days, $25/day so it is only $2.50 an hour. I interviewed 19 people for the position though and 15 of those charged $25 a day - one only charged $20, the other three charged $35-$40.

Wow, that's really cheap. Why are you not going with any of these applicants?

[amrijane128]

Yep over here I "nanny" at a woman's house for her 5, 3 and 1 year old. I do light housekeeping (just picking up what ever messes we make and dishes we use) and on a normal day it's 8-5 and I'll make 75 dollars a day. That's 25/day per kid. 15 an hour!? That's pretty ridiculous.

[frogandtoad]

Originally Posted by kkrpata That is ridiculous!! Around here it is $25-$35 a day also.

I pay $75 per week for my 18 mo old and 2 after schoolers for 2 days of care - T/TH. The sitter comes to my house (college age 19 yr old female) and is welcome to whatever we have here and is allowed to use the computer when baby is napping. She has the baby from 10:30 to about 2:45 then my 5 yr old gets dropped off from Preschool and an hour later (3:45) my 9 yr old gets home from school (bussed). (It works out to around $6/hr.)

The going rate here for in-home DC or centers is around $25 per day for 0 to 2 yr olds and around $15 to $20/day for PreK and before/after school. IMO $135 a day is outrageous. Seriously, for me to even consider half that she would have to be *extremely* well qualified ~and~ provide foods/snacks. (Oh, and use my cloth ... )

I don't even make $135/day ...

The way I decided on rate was to check around in my area for the "average" price for DC. In-home are usually a bit less, and usually non-licensed providers are even a tad bit less. I think $4 to $5 per hour per child is reasonable, although I would consider getting close to minimum wage (here it's $7.50/hr) for the right situation.

I have had some "nannies" tell me they charge $10/hr, but I only need care for one child for the majority of the time ... so, for me that was too high.

[schmitz2308]

Tell her what you pay now. I only pay $15, (but it is daycare.)

[rileykidmama]

I'm going to take care of a 2 mo old here in a couple months and plan on charging only about $5 or $6 an hr. It'll be in my home, part-time, and I only have my one other child to look after. I think $15 is high, unless you can drop off your laundry and groceries and have your laundry done and dinner cooked too!

[MamaOf3Cuties]

I know several mamas around here that do sitting in the home, and they charge $20 per day for the most part. The one that I was bringing yds to for social time while I was preggie was $18 a day, and she let her parents bring them for half days. She provided all food and snacks, too. $15/hr is insane! Perhaps she's new to this biz and doesn't know what she's doing yet?

[turtle2who]

I'm thinking she is just a SAHM trying to make some extra money and has no idea what is fair. Kind of strange that she wouldn't have done her homework though. It sounds like what she would be doing is what I consider babysitting- as opposed to licensed child care. Someone who is licensed has to meet certain standards and usually has a predictable routine/schedule of daily activities. They often do things like have outdoor play, art projects, etc. I am not saying that is what you are looking for and I don't even know if your son is old enough to benefit from it- I just think those kinds of situations are things people pay more for.

However- I guess that's beside the point. I agree with you that it would be kind of rude to not respond to her, but I would feel the same way about wanting to just ignore it! I think you can simply tell her that you are currently paying $25 a day and have talked to others who charge around the same. Let her know that it is the going rate for home daycare.

My son was in home daycare in two different places (both here in CT.) The first was $45 a day when he was under a year old, then it was $40 a day from age 1-2, then it went to $35 a day and stayed there up to age 5. The second place was $40 a day- he was 2 1/4 when he started and only stayed for 6 months so I don't know how it changed by age- or even if it did.

Some big centers charge more than home daycare- but I can't quote prices on those since I never opted to use one. Just thought this might help give some perspective on pricing.