Babysitting

[NikiM20]

I babysit and make $10 an hour. I would make more in one day than she makes in a week. There is no way I would work 55 hours for $100

 

[kirstenb1]

Too low. I got a great rate for dd back 11 yrs ago when she was 2. It was 135 a wk, lunch and a snack provided. I thought this was cheap even back then, so I gave her sitter one week's paid vacation as a bonus over Christmas, plus would bring random thank you gifts throughout the year. I've always thought daycare should be a win=win scenario, kwim?

This person is watching my most precious possession, kwim? This is one area that I never tried to cheap out on.

 

[amywhite11]

The daycare my oldest goes to charges
$210 infants - 18 mos
$182 18 mos - 3 (or potty trained)
$162 3-5
$89 for after kindergarten care

These are discounted rates b/c my MIL works for the school district. They provide brkfst, lunch and two snacks. I provided diapers, formula and baby food. All field trips, music class, and swimming class cost extra.

I can't afford for all three of my girls to go there, though. My youngest two go to a babysitter. She charges $7/ hour for both kids and provides brkfst, lunch and snacks. I provide diapers, formula, baby food adn wipes. Starting in June my 5 yr old will also go there for $10 per hour.

The hourly works much better for us. I drop the kids at 8:30 and my husband should pick up at 1 pm. But he gets asked to work overtime a lot. I make sure someone picks up by 5 pm. (Me or any of the grandparents).

I feel I pay a good price. Most months we pay more in childcare than our mortgage! But it's worth it to me. A friend of mine sends their 4 yr old to a daycare in Naperville and they pays $300 per week. I think that's way to high, but they have more ammenties there.

 

[bwilcox]

Around here, the going rate for in-home childcare for infants-toddlers is around $200/week. And that's normal 8 hour days, not 11 hours! If someone was working for around a buck fifty an hour, I wouldn't trust them to watch my child!

 

[walkdmc]

DH and I work FT. In the Summer when our 8 and 10 yo need a sitter, we pay $500/week and we buy the food (for the sitter too). She works about 8 hours/day. Plus, if she needs to drive them somewhere, we supply the car and gas money. Basically, the $500 is for her time and work only. I even got her a season pass to the local pool and amusement park so she could take the kids. We live in the northeast, so COL is higher than much of the country.

However, I think $100/week sounds pitiful. I was making that much when I was a 16 yo watching someone's kids for the Summer (and that was 22 years ago).

 

[kkacar]

Yes, I think $100 is way low. We pay nearly that for afterschool care. The only disagreement I have is that I feel (and this is just my experience) that my child is always happier at some one home. They have their whole lives ahead of them to be on a schedule and the like. I am not saying to plop them in front of the TV all day but i am saying there is a certain flexibility that a child gets from being at a home daycare.

Now my baby sitter only watches DD9, she has a 2 year old and a Pre-K child herself. She picks both her Pre-Ker and my DD9 up from school and they may go to the park or they may go over to the local library or they may go home and bake brownies. If she was in a "center" it would be the same thing everyday. I know personally my DD9 is completely happy with where she is and I know she is well taken care of way better than she ever was taken care of at the "expensive child care - learning center" (She has never went hungry and never had any broken bones that no one bothered to call me about there unlike the fabulous center). But yes there are some days that they make popcorn and are watching some sort of disney movie when Hubby picks her up and I am fine with that.

And the best part is that if she is having a bad day, the sitter hugs her and loves on her and makes her feel better and DD9 knows that she is loved. She is MUCH happier at a home daycare than she ever was a center.

kelli

 

[ShesAPirate]

Holy cow, my jaw dropped when I read that it was $100 a week! That's like sweatshop wages

When I was a full-time nanny almost 20 years ago, I was getting 5 bucks an hour (plus the family took me with them to Disney once, all expenses paid ). My niece, when she babysits now (which is just on occasion, not a full-time job) gets between $15 and $20 an hour.

$100 for a 55 hour week is ridiculous to me. Atlanta isn't a small town or anything. It's a major city, and things cost money. Hard to believe someone would work for less than $2 an hour

 

[cinderellamom123]

I am a family daycare provider in Massachusetts. My rate for one day is $65 and that is for a ten hour day. I currently have no opening because I am full. I provide meals and snacks for the kids but get reimbursed by the state.
I would think that $20 a day would be an insult to this person. We are talking about $1.50 per hour. I made that 30 years ago babysitting.

 

[pam95]

$100 a week for 11 hours per day AND she's buying food for snacks/meals?!? That is WAY too low in my opinion.

Here, it seems like private in-home care providers charge more than daycare centers. I have a friend who pays $350 per week for someone to come into her home and watch her 1 1/2 year old. When she was interviewing nannies, she said that the going rate that most of them were asking for was $400-$450 per week for only one child. I'm not sure if it would make a difference if she was taking her child to someone else's home versus having someone come into her home.

The daycare center that I use charges based on age. They just increased their rates for the upcoming school year to $240 for infants, $226 for one year olds, $217 for two year olds, $207 for 3-5 year olds. They offer a sibling discount if you have more than one child at the center. In additon to that, we pay $2 per day for lunch. We provide wipes, diapers, etc. They provide snacks. They are open from 6:30 to 6:00 each day. When I looked into other daycare centers, the tuition rate was similar. There were minor differences - some required that we bring in a lunch instead of offering the option of a paid lunch, etc.

 

[MSSANDRA]

Well, you also get what you pay for. For example, if the going rate in your area is $200/wk but only $100 at her daycare . . . .I can guarantee she is getting pretty low quality daycare. As in kids are set in front of the TV all day, they eat pop-tarts and kool-aid for breakfast and they don't go outside.

See this is just wrong! She might be providing poor quality care or she may have a wonderful, loving home where the child spends the day being part of her family!

In our area, this is how the majority of child care is provided. A parent often finds a stay at home mom with a child or two of her own that wants to make a little extra money and simply loves children. Now of COURSE the quality of care can vary greatly but there is where the parents must do their homework. In these settings, the family functions as they would without the extra child or children there. The caregiver may throw in a load of cloths, start dinner or even run to the store while caring for the children. This is not the setting every parent wants but for those who do, it provides a perfect match for two families. Cost for this care around here runs about 100.00 a week and for two or less kids does not require a license.

I did a bit of this when DS was little and my kids did NOT watch TV all day, one 30 minute program a day limit, where fed home cooked meals, spent lots of time playing outside, being read to, doing art projects and being loved as my own.
They also would "help" fold clothes, sweep up after lunch, go along to the grocery store and just function in a family setting.

It comes down to choice and what you want for your child.

 

[budafam]

The "norm" around here is $3 an hour. Unfortunately that's really low IMO as well but that's what it is. I have an interview tonight to take on two little ones for 2 days a week (8 hours a day)... they are willing to bring snacks & juice or whatever I ask for so that'll help but they're only willing to pay $5 an hour. It's still not too bad IMO since I'm home anyways and it'll only be 2 days a week. If it were going to be all week, I might raise the rates a bit.

 

[HM]

I used to pay my babysitter $175 a week for my two toddlers, she brought her own toddler, and I supplied the food for everyone. Her hours were 8am-4pm. I felt like I was getting a good deal.

Whoever is only paying $100 for the work of that babysitter is REALLY getting a good deal and the babysitter is crazy to be doing that job as described.

 

[LaDonna]

See this is just wrong! She might be providing poor quality care or she may have a wonderful, loving home where the child spends the day being part of her family!

In our area, this is how the majority of child care is provided. A parent often finds a stay at home mom with a child or two of her own that wants to make a little extra money and simply loves children. Now of COURSE the quality of care can vary greatly but there is where the parents must do their homework. In these settings, the family functions as they would without the extra child or children there. The caregiver may throw in a load of cloths, start dinner or even run to the store while caring for the children. This is not the setting every parent wants but for those who do, it provides a perfect match for two families. Cost for this care around here runs about 100.00 a week and for two or less kids does not require a license.

I did a bit of this when DS was little and my kids did NOT watch TV all day, one 30 minute program a day limit, where fed home cooked meals, spent lots of time playing outside, being read to, doing art projects and being loved as my own.
They also would "help" fold clothes, sweep up after lunch, go along to the grocery store and just function in a family setting.

It comes down to choice and what you want for your child.

See i totally totally agree with this! That is why previosly I said if the babysitter and mom is getting what they want and both are happy I think that is great! I mean I've watched kids for that low before, usually to just help out a friend I knew was struggling, but I've also done it because I really just wanted to have a little extra money too. And I did just as you described above, nothing extra but integrated that child into my family and home like she was one of my own, so yes they did watch tv while I did chores etc. but they also got to play outside, playdo, games, bake, pretend play(my fav to do wit the kids lol) etc......

I feel much better now knowing that I"m not some looney that thought $100 was very low pay........I had just heard the sitter wanted the mom to start packing bringing the childs lunch and the mom was upset over it, the mom is my best friend and she was just trying to vent to me and need a listening ear, and we've never had an argument so it was hard but I thought I should tell her I thought the pay was very low and i understood where the babysitter was coming from, of course I also understand the mom's side in the babysitter changed her mind after watching the kid for about a year, but I didn't think it was anything to be mad or upset over with the babysitter.

 

[EeyoreEma]

I'm with everyone who says that is a really low amount. Back about 7 years ago when I was a nanny, I was paid $10/hour plus whatever "extras" I took the kids to. I wouldn't have done it for $100/week. Especially with those hours.

 

[krystalleigh1]

See this is just wrong! She might be providing poor quality care or she may have a wonderful, loving home where the child spends the day being part of her family!

In our area, this is how the majority of child care is provided. A parent often finds a stay at home mom with a child or two of her own that wants to make a little extra money and simply loves children. Now of COURSE the quality of care can vary greatly but there is where the parents must do their homework. In these settings, the family functions as they would without the extra child or children there. The caregiver may throw in a load of cloths, start dinner or even run to the store while caring for the children. This is not the setting every parent wants but for those who do, it provides a perfect match for two families. Cost for this care around here runs about 100.00 a week and for two or less kids does not require a license.

I did a bit of this when DS was little and my kids did NOT watch TV all day, one 30 minute program a day limit, where fed home cooked meals, spent lots of time playing outside, being read to, doing art projects and being loved as my own.
They also would "help" fold clothes, sweep up after lunch, go along to the grocery store and just function in a family setting.

It comes down to choice and what you want for your child.

Now why is that wrong to say that if she's providing daycare for $100 (if the going rate is $200 for home daycare) that the quality of care is probably low? Now, I don't know what the going rate is in the OP's area but IF the "sitter" is charging way under the going rate then-yes, the quality of care is probably poor. I have seen it time and time again in my area. It holds true-you get what you pay for. That's not to say that parent's shouldn't look for the kind of care that best suits them, and to interview and ask lots of questions. That's a given. But if your daycare charges a significant amount less than the going rate . . . .there's a reason.

Also, just because a daycare is the highest cost in an area does NOT mean it's the best. That's where interviews come in and where parents have to find a daycare that meets THEIR personal needs. Nannies and centers are also much more expensive than an in-home dacare. So comparing a home daycare to a center or nanny price is not really accurate either.

I charge $100/wk for my licensed home daycare. That is what the going rate is in my area. So it's not about the cost, it's about comparing the price to the going rate for home daycares in the OP's area.

 

[krystalleigh1]

Also just want to add-there are some wonderful home daycares out there. And I'm not trying to say that home daycares are sub-par at all! Remember I HAVE a home daycare myself. Some home daycares integrate the child into their normal family routine and there's noting wrong with that. MANY parents look for that when looking for home daycare. HOWEVER, we've all heard the story of home daycares that DO sit the kids in front of a TV, or keep them in a pack-n-play all day, or feed them junk. I hate hearing these stories because they give all home daycares a bad name. But in most (maybe all) of the cases where you hear about daycare such as I described above, it is a provider who charges significantly less than the going rate (for home care) in their area.

I'm not bashing home daycares at all. I love home daycares. I am bashing poor quality care that often comes with the provider charging less than the going rate.

Oh also-I have known of many, many home daycare providers who just start out doing home daycar start out charging a very low rate (lower than the average) because they don't realize how hard this job can beand they may not know what the going rate is in their area. And they don't realize how many hours and how much cost goes into it. So after 6 months-1 year they feel taken advantage of and either raise their price closer to the going rate or ask parents to provide more to lower their operating costs. I'm guessing this is what's happening with your friend's sitter.

 

[shellcruiser]

My apologies up front for not reading the entire thread. I can't believe anyone would be willing to watch children for $100/week. Ten years ago we hired someone to watch our children in our own home every other week. At that time we paid $10 / hour. Of course since it was our home we provided all supplies, and meals. Included meals for the sitter if she so chose. Daycare at that time was costing about 275/ week for 2 kids. This may be too much info, but you can barely board a dog for $100/week in this area.

 

[cm8]

Try $50 a week, that is the going rate for an ABC voucher

 

[nathan_nick_kate]

I think its perfectly reasonable. For those saying its too low, yes it may be when your considering one kid. but when your considering a licensed facility that may have 6 or 8 kids at 100.00 each thats 600-800 a week. Not too bad if you ask me......

Alot of people people do childcare so they have the flexibility to stay home with their own children, they want to be a SAHM ect. which holds value in itself. Also, they do it knowing they will be bringing in money from more than one child.

Kary

 

[wiggles]

I provide child care for some of the teachers at my kids school. I get $20 a day but i take out taxes so it's really $17. They provide their diapers/wipes and their lunch. I provide their snack and everything else. I have them 7 to 4 most days, some days longer. I try not to think of what I'm getting an hour or I would never do it! I had two teachers stop bringing their children when they had their second baby because I wouldn't give them a discount. That is something I DO NOT understand! I am going to give you another child to watch but I want to pay you less!!! I think they should be glad they are only paying $20 per child compared to what other people are having to pay.