I am going to start watching my friends baby soon. Tomorrow I will watch him from 8:00am to about 1:30pm or 2:00pm. She needs me one month about twice a week every week and I said that $300.00 for the month would be good. What should I charge her tomorrow?

By Angellew on Thursday, May 19, 2005 - 03:38 pm:

I think that's fair. You have him all day and will be feeding him meals.

My DD goes to a home daycare. They feed her breakfast, a snack, a HUGE lunch, and another snack later in the day, and they charge $35 a day! So, you're right in the ballpark.

By Frasersmama on Thursday, May 19, 2005 - 04:01 pm:

Just do the math, if you are going to charge $300 for the month for 2 days/week, that works out to ($300/8 days = $37.50 per day). You could charge $35 to round it off.

By Conni on Thursday, May 19, 2005 - 04:17 pm:

My sister pays her babysitter $20 a day. She leaves him from 7:00 am until 1 or 2pm...

Another friend will be paying $26 a day this summer for her childcare provider.

But this is Arkansas.

By Colette on Thursday, May 19, 2005 - 04:55 pm:

I think the $300 per month is fine.

By Yjja123 on Thursday, May 19, 2005 - 04:57 pm:

I would give her a daily rate ex: $35.00 per day so you are covered if she ups the amount of days. I would also be clear about pick up time. After x time there will be a late fee. When I first started baby-sitting I got burned by people running errands after work and picking up late (no respect for MY time). Get everything clear from the beginning so there is no confusion. I think your rate is OK for a baby (kinda high?0 but once the baby is a toddler you may need to lower the amount. The best way to know is to check out what your local daycares charge.

By Feona on Thursday, May 19, 2005 - 05:06 pm:

Depends on where you live. NY is $10 bucks an hour.

By Karen~moderator on Thursday, May 19, 2005 - 06:11 pm:

In Mill Valley where my sister lives, babysitters get $12 to $15 an hour.

I agree with Yvonne about the daily rate.

It's hard to say if $35 a day is high or not. Daycare prices have escalated mainly due to overhead (and I know the caregivers are not necessarily benefiting from it, unfortunately). If you are supplying meals/snacks/entertainment I think the $35 is fair.

By Missmudd on Thursday, May 19, 2005 - 06:22 pm:

Just as an aside, how in heck can you afford to work if you pay $10 an hour for daycare? I think that $35 a day is fine.

By Rayanne on Thursday, May 19, 2005 - 06:35 pm:

Where I used to work, daycare for an infant is $190.00 a week. That comes to $760.00 a month so I guess $300.00 a month is really good.

By Paulas on Thursday, May 19, 2005 - 07:49 pm:

I pay $4/hr for a casual rate. If my ds (5 years old) is in daycare for more than 4 hours then I am charged the daily rate which is $26/day.

I have paid up to $35/day before in private care where it was difficult to find a sitter.

By Cocoabutter on Thursday, May 19, 2005 - 07:56 pm:

Here in Michigan I charged the going rate of $3.50 per hour for full-time kids over the age of 18 mos. and $3.75 an hour for part-time kids and full-time infants under 18 mos. Breakfast and lunch included.

I would have charged $3.75 per hour for 12 hours per week for 4 weeks = $180 for the month.

You are charging her $6.25 per hour. Find out if that's the going rate in your area for a part-time infant. Things are probably a lot higher in Florida.

Guess I was cheap labor!

By Breann on Thursday, May 19, 2005 - 08:32 pm:

$300/8 days = $37.50 per day is outrageous here. When daycare is needed, we pay $2.00 an hour per child, or $15 per day. Whichever is cheaper. This includes all kinds of meals, snacks, crafts and so on.

I think it totally depends on the location!

By Boxzgrl on Thursday, May 19, 2005 - 08:55 pm:

I pay $3.50 an hour for Kaitlyn and she's usually there around 3 hours. I think your rate is good.

By Dandjmom on Friday, May 20, 2005 - 02:36 pm:

Rayanne I pay $500.00 per month /$250.00 bi-weekly at a licensed day care center. This is one of the cheaper places that I've found in my area. But heard that she is going on on rates soon.

Oh by the way I drop my son off at 5:30am and have until 6:00 pm to pick him up but I usually get him at 5:00 when my bus is on time.

By My2cuties on Friday, May 20, 2005 - 04:27 pm:

I think $35/day is fair. Sounds like she couldn't get it cheaper anywhere else around where you are since daycare is $190/week there. I charge $20/day, but $15/day to friends.