Pricing child care

[daisyduck123]

To be honest, I wouldn't give up 50 hours of my week for $80. That's a little ridiculous in my opinion. I'm guessing it's 10 hours a day so that's $8/day? No way.

HE** would have to freeze over before I would take that job. No way! I wouldn't even consider it unless she at least DOUBLED the pay. She would also be providing the food & diapers.

OP, stand up for yourself. Be strong. You can only be taken advantage of if you let her take advantage of you. Don't do it for those conditions.

 

[Heidict]

I would consider that amount insulting. I can't believe she would expect you to supply diapers and food also!! If you had agreed to it, you probably would have been paying out of your own pocket to take care of this woman's child. She is just trying to take advantage of you.

Glad you stuck to your guns and that your DH stood beside you.

Here in CT it is about $250 weekly for full time care and about $180 a week for before and after care with half a day of kindergarten. Now that she is starting first grade she only needs a bit of before care at the school and that is $110 a month. We are celebrating!!!

 

[libinatorsmom]

I think providing diapers is unusual - food is not however - I currently pay $75 a week for my daughter for just before and after school care and we pay $100 a week in the summer. So I think you are a little light... we are in Iowa and that could make a difference on the location

 

[sunshinehighway]

I wouldn't do it unless it was a close friend or family member. Your sanity is worth way more than $80. I just had a third kid, and believe me, three is much more work than two... But then, my third is just a baby.

If you were to help this lady, she can't expect to pay you so little. A box of diapers will run you $20, food at least $10. Which means you're watching the child for $10/day. Nuts and not with the money.

Since its for a set amount of time (five weeks?) maybe say you'll do it for $1,250-1,500 and she brings diapers. Don't get taken advantage of. I had a "friend" like this, and she never spoke to me again after I said I wouldn't watch her kids for super cheap.

I agree. Op, you might end up feeling taken advantage of once you realize how much work it actually is. Don't be afraid to come up with a number you feel comfortable with.

 

[bettymae1121]

I pay $150 a week for my DD so $80 seems pretty low. But I guess it depends on if you're in a LCOL area or not.

 

[Fjobe]

I have never heard of a childcare provider supplying the diapers.

Around here (very low cost of living), its is $95/week for daycare for a preschool child and we supply the lunch and breakfast (they provide snacks). Home daycares around here charge more than childcare centers! The one my coworker sent her daughter to was $110/week. That home daycare was very strict 7:30-4:30 and took all the breaks the public school took with pay (this lady only watched teachers kids). Again, we are in a very low cost of living area.

There is no way I'd watch a kid for $80/week and supply food and diapers. Not worth it at all and will take away from your son plus complicate your day. I'm glad you and your husband are on the same page.

 

[HM]

19 years ago, I paid a coworker's wife $75 for 30 hours a week for keeping my son for me while I worked. She had decided to stay home with their son and chose to do this because it benefited her to be bringing in a little extra. But, look, it was nearly 20 years ago....things are much more expensive now, and I only left him there for 30 hours...not 50.

OP, you really need to think about this. Do you want to do it? What would make it worth it to you to give up so much of your day/week? Good luck!

 

[irishsharon]

Don't Do It!!!!!!! I stay home also and we planned for this also by getting a smaller home and new to us cars.I care for two little girls(sisters) for
$60 a day and diapers and wipes are ALWAYS provided by their mom.My boys are in school full time now but still being home to get them on and off the bus is a plus.I would feel resentful if someone thought my time was worth so little

 

[auralia]

I found her child a slot at the school my dd went to for pre k. They just had an opening and it is 100$ a week. They are very nice there and I hope she takes advantage of it. She thinks when baby 2 comes she will be able to get a live in nanny for 800$ per month almost 12 hour days Monday-Friday (she has a long drive to and from work). I think its a pipe dream but perhaps she is right. We will see what she decides but I'm sure she's Mad at me and annoyed that I think a in home 2 on 1 setting is worth more than daycare. The last time I made 1$ an hour sitting I was 12 and living with my brother for the summer to help him with his kids in the early 90s and he was feeding me!

 

[littlebit0863]

I would do it for $80 per week and tell her she must provide diapers & wipes plus pack a lunch & two snacks.

 

[disykat]

I'd be tempted to say flat out "you want me to care for, feed, and diaper your child for $1.27 an hour? Is that what I'm worth or what your child's worth?"

MAYBE for $3 hr/$150 a week, but I think $4 hr/$200 a week is more realistic. Even then, that's not nanny wages, that's helping out a friend wages.

Food might be negotiable, but diapers? No way.

 

[akcire]

I found her child a slot at the school my dd went to for pre k. They just had an opening and it is 100$ a week. They are very nice there and I hope she takes advantage of it. She thinks when baby 2 comes she will be able to get a live in nanny for 800$ per month almost 12 hour days Monday-Friday (she has a long drive to and from work). I think its a pipe dream but perhaps she is right. We will see what she decides but I'm sure she's Mad at me and annoyed that I think a in home 2 on 1 setting is worth more than daycare. The last time I made 1$ an hour sitting I was 12 and living with my brother for the summer to help him with his kids in the early 90s and he was feeding me!

Oh I can think of the kind of persons she can get for $800 a month. You can call them felons or paroles.

Seriously, if she found anyone they would have NO English skills and would leave as soon as they found a better job.

One of my best friends is a doctor (I work from home) for years she had a succession of Nanny's (live in/out) and her kids were really nice. It was a combination of low pay and too many hours that drove these women away. I would always step up and fill in anytime she needed help. I really like the kids so having them a couple weeks a year was fun. One year I was in Asia when she had her latest childcare crisis, she finally started taking their care more seriously and paid top dollar for a great lady. I still take the kids for a day every once in a while, but the Nanny has now been there almost 4 years.

This lady is going to have a hard lesson in the real cost of childcare.

In my area home daycare is $200 a week. Most of the centers are $1000-$1200 for infants. Starting salary for Nanny's is $500 a week CASH, and closer to $700 for the legal girls. I know people who travel frequently and have to have live-in's paying $1000 a week, plus retirement, plus health insurance for their Nanny. Nanny's who do straight childcare and basic meal prep. They still need to hire cleaning ladies.

 

[DSNY4ever]

The cheapest I have ever seen for home day care where I live is $150 per week, but it is usually more like $250. That did not include diapers, but did include food.

I think you made the right choice.

 

[danceintherain]

I wouldn't take less than $100/week with food and diapers provided, and even then I would seriously consider declining.

If she's mad...that's her problem. I understand that it's frustrating how expensive childcare is, but that's how the world works. It's not your responsibility to make sure her children are cared for.

 

[3pletprincesses]

I have a home daycare and I charge $25 a day for 10 hours a day and do not provide diapers nor formula. I wouldn't do it for less then $125 for 40 hours ceertainly not $80 for 50 hours

 

[MickeyHereWeCome!]

I also provide in home care, and I charge $175/week for my preschool kids.

You aren't licensed and this may all be under the table, but there is no way I would give up time with my own children and my freedom for such a small amount of money! I'd say at least $150 to make it worth it (I would provide meals but make her send diapers and wipes).

I hope she takes the slot at the preschool, as that might be ideal for everyone. That was nice of you to help her out by asking around.

 

[reginaastralis]

I'll give you my take, and I'm a bit jaded from my experience, honestly.

I was a single mom for years, and I just started staying home this October. Last year I made the decision to go back to school full time, and I was going to work part time. It was a disaster, my house still hasn't caught up from that mess! So, with me on the brink of an emotional breakdown, my boyfriend and I decided that I should stay home.

The next semester, I ran into a girl I'd worked with. I knew she was a single mom, working and going to school part time, with two kids. I casually mentioned that if she ever needed help, just to let me know. We'd had a certain agreement at my old job that if you ever were in a bind, people would help out (we were servers, so in the since that I'd watch yours if you watched mine sort of thing).

She called me a couple of weeks later, and asked if I could watch the kids that week. The next thing out of her mouth was if I could watch them 5 days that week. (First off, so not what I was planning) We settled on a price, which wasn't much.

I ended up making $2.50/hour for two kids. I wasn't doing it for the money, I was doing it because I was a sap who couldn't say no. I know what it's felt like to raise a kid on my own without help in the babysitting department, and it's not fun, at all.

So, when the summer started, I told her I'd only watch the kids during the week. It was going to be about 25 hours/week, but it wasn't that bad, honestly. All of a sudden, she was calling me every weekend to say she didn't have anyone for her. I was officially seeing her kids more than she was seeing them. When she did bring over food, it was junk ... which again, wouldn't have been a huge deal because we always have leftovers, so if they'd eaten the food I'd cooked we would have been fine.

We ended up getting into a pseudo fight. She cornered my boyfriend at work and asked what was wrong with me. He didn't want to talk for me, but said honestly, he thought I was being taken advantage of. She wrote me a long text about how she was supporting our lifestyle and I was charging her too much money.

NEVER AGAIN!

It just wasn't worth it. I am watching my friend's son when school starts next week for a few hours a day, everyday. He's a doll, and very respectful and sweet. I love this kid, and my friend was paying $1200/month for daycare for her two kids, so what I'm charging her is honestly nothing ... but it'll really help her. Again, she's a single mom, but an actual friend. Plus, he's become pretty much my borrowed son, so I know this won't be as bad. It comes into play that we won't be able to go to Disney on a whim after school anymore, but that's fine. We'll get used to it ... or I'll buy him a Disney pass

 

[sookie]

make her provide more money, food and snacks, plus diapers. then sure. go for it.
it seems that the way this was put on you, it was almost assumed it would happen. not cool.
fulltime childcare here for non-school age is 150-175 a week. for school age i paid 900 a month.

***
EDITED TO ADD...

omg... she thinks she can get a live in nanny for 800, she wanted to pay you 320 an hour for 50 hours a week? how insulting, number one.
number two - she is crazy. a lunatic. run away op, run away. wow!!!!!!!!!! what does this woman do for a living, that she thinks she can justify the need for a live-in and thinks she can low ball someone to live in her house to care for her children? she is really going to have a crisis on her hands - her current one will be a cakewalk compared to what she will be experiencing in the future. this will be a huge mess, and not just with the pay, i guarantee it. if she wanted you to do everything, including providing meals and diapers for goodness sakes - think of how she will treat a live in. that she is under paying. if she finds someone. i pray for that person if she appears.

 

[sookie]

My boys used to go to a home daycare. She charged $3.75 for one child & $5.50 for two. I brought all my supplies (diapers & wipes) and she fed them, but she is part of a YMCA food program that reimburses her the cost of food.

To be honest, I wouldn't give up 50 hours of my week for $80. That's a little ridiculous in my opinion. I'm guessing it's 10 hours a day so that's $8/day? No way. She'll probably find that she won't find anyone to do it at that price. I hate to see what she'll do when she has 2 kids that need care!

But a daycare can run cheaper because they run a business and take care of several children at one time. So the costs are spread over several families. I hope the op can explain that its not the same situation - and I agree - when this mom has another, what will she do then?

 

[auralia]

She got into the daycare dd went to. I am so happy I won't have to deal with this! Thanks nor making me feel better about turning it down!