I Am Looking For Parents Who Have Their Kids In An At Home Childcare Situation…?
Thursday, February 18th, 2010 at
5:08 pm
I have been asked to watch the child of an an aquaintance. I was looking for some information:
What do they charge you? and for how long?
What are the parents in charge of providing? Diapers, snacks etc..
What if the child has special dietary needs such as vegetarian? Do I charge more for special meals?
What is the typical drop off/pick up time? How about time overages? Do I charge?
Please feel free to add anything that I might have forgotten. I am in Maine if that makes a difference. Thanks in advance!!
Tagged with: Childcare • Have • Home • Kids • Looking • Parents • Situation • Their
Filed under: Free Baby Stuff
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Generally I’ve seen dropoff/pickup times anywhere from 6-8 am and 6-7 pm. Just ask the person what time they will need and then say that if they are more than 15 minutes later without it being arranged first, you will charge them five dollars for every ten minutes they are late.
If there are special dietary issues, it’s acceptable for you to ask the parents to provide meals and that you’ll provide snacks. Or, if you feel comfortable cooking, then cook. Ask them about transportation, etc. if you decide to take their kid anywhere, will they pay for his/her admission? If you take him/her out for lunch, will they foot the bill? I’m not saying spend their money on lunch every day, but once a week is nice.
My niece is 35 dollars a day (age 6) during the summer, but she is going all over and there are 12 other kids there, plus the woman is certified. I’d say whatever the going rate for babysitters is, add a dollar or two per hour and charge that way. Or, say 40 bucks a day and be done with it. We leave her there from about 8-4:30, but she can be there as early as 630 am and stay until 6 pm and it’s the same rate. Parents at non in home daycares provide their own diapers, so it’s fitting that they’d provide them to you. They also need to provide the wipes and an extra change of clothes. I’d also see if they will get you a car seat for him/her.
There are alot of variables here.
Times – Usually not less than a 10 hour day (to allow for 8 hours of working and 2 hours of travel time for the parents)
Charge – Weekly rates are most common. In home ususally runs $95.00 – $160.00 a week. This should be paid at the begining of the week of service. Anywhere from $2.00 – $5.00 per minute past pick up time/closing time. Anything more than 2 hours and you will call child protective services/police.
Meals – Provide lunch and 2 snacks (morning and afternoon)
parents should provide for special needs (ie. vegitarian) without a deduction in cost of care. It is not your responsibility to provide specialty services for each child.
Diapers should be provided by the parent and if they require a specific type of wet wipe they should provide that also (you are free to use generic wipes of your choice in your home).
The best piece of advice I can give- * make a parents handbook with all this information stated in it. Be as detailed as possible. Have a sheet for the parents to sign at the back of the booklet that says they understand and agree to all the terms of the agreement. That you have reserve the right to terminate this relationship at anytime with no advanced notice and that they must give 2 weeks paid notice before terminating the agreement.
Good luck!!!
If you’re only watching one child I would say that you need to talk to the parents about their schedule, determine what hours they are needing, and decide if that works for you. Discuss overtime pay if they need additional care for some reason (appts, extra work, etc). The rates for child care vary by area and usually depend on the age of the child. You need to ask around at some home care places and see what the going rate is. However, it looks like you have to be licensed in Maine if you care for more than 2 children. Keep in mind that you may not be able to charge as much for unlicensed care as the licensed centers do. If you plan to charge as much (or take on more kids), then you need to get licensed and follow the same rules (making sure you have educational toys and centers, posting and following a weekly menu, have separate nap linens for each child, etc.) Do set a payment schedule – every Monday, every other Monday, etc. – and let them know you’ll need them to stick to it. You also need to decide whether they’ll pay you just for days when they are there or if you’ll be paid the same amount regardless of whether the child comes or not. Keep in mind they will expect you to care for the child every day also – you may need to discuss vacations well in advance and what the procedure will be if you are sick or unable to care for their child and they have to pay someone else or take vacation.
Parents should be providing diapers, and sometimes formula or jarred baby food (some sitters provide this, some don’t). If they’re requesting special meals they should probably help with that. Other than that you’re pretty much responsible for meals and 2 snacks. Again, if you’re just watching one child, talk to the parents – see what they expect and what you’re willing to do.
Please make sure that you’re trained in infant/child CPR and first aid – whether you choose to be licensed or not.
My son (who will be 5 next month) has always been in at-home care – sometimes at a home care center and for a couple years with my supervisor’s wife who only watched him. When I’ve been at home centers it’s been more structured – set hours (though I’ve been lucky, most have been willing to work with my schedule), set menus, etc. When it was my supervisor’s wife, things were more flexible and we just worked together to find what was right for us at that time.
Check with your local DHS for support – here is the website I found for Maine. They can give helpful information about all of it HoweverCheck your local DHS page for more information. Here’s the link I found – http://www.maine.gov/dhhs/occhs/infoprov…
Good Luck!
I pay 40.00 per day to watch my child with no extra costs, $800.00 per month for someone to watch my 4 month old baby (my third child). The only things I take to my babysitter is diapers, bottles, milk, extra clothing. she watches my baby for 8 hours (sometimes 7 because i go and take him for lunch most days)
When my toddler (middle child) was being watched by a babysitter before she got into daycare I was paying 750.00 a month (this was before my baby was born and by a different babysitter than I have now) I packed a lunch for her for the day, pampers, change of clothes, car seat, brought her own toys (the babysitter also had her own snacks and toys for my baby but I made sure I had my own packed for her also). The baby sitter watches my child for 7 hours a day but would be 8 hours if my job wasn’t 5 minutes away from her (I go take my child at lunch to spend time with him) babysitter said the charge would be the same if I didn’t take him for lunch so if she watched my toddler for 8 hours it she still would have charged me $750.00.
With my first child my babysitter was charging me 700.00 she provided toys, i packed a lunch and everything else. that was for 8 hours a day.
Varied in cost for each babysitter for 3 of my children so hope that helps.
I am in michigan and my daughter is in a home daycare. The charge is $125 a week. This includes all her meals and snacks. I provide the diaper, wipes, and depending on the age- formula too. Typically most daycares are open 7 am to 6 pm. I would ask the parents their work schedule. Daycare is to be paid if you are open that day even if the child does not attend. However, if you are closed then there should not be a charge, because the parent will most likely have to pay someone else to watch the child. I would not charge for late fees either. If it beccomes excessive then discuss it with them.
I pay 100 a week per child and I am in Philadelphia. It is unheard of and I got really lucky to find someone to do it for so little.
Every pay, when I go shoppping, I buy things to keep at the daycare. Milk, bread, cereal, snacks, juice for 2 weeks. It works out so that I buy milk and bread for other kids for one week and the next, another parent covers. Some parents pack their lunch for the day but I found they wound up eating what the other kids parents bought so i just started doing it like that. Other parents bring their own diapers and wipes. Its just easier that way.
I drop the kids off a little before 8 am and I pick them up before 6. If I am late, they dont charge me anything.
Something you do have to think about is vacation and holidays. The place I send my kids are closed on New years day, Good Friday, 4th of july, thanksgiving. I still pay the full price for the week when there is a holiday.
I took my children to a different place before I moved in the city and they charged me 140 per child a week. I didn’t have to bring food but I did have to bring diapers. They charged me $1 a min after 6:00 per child and if I payed them late, it was $5 per day per family. My children did nothing but watch TV all day.