Just a Quick Vent:

[Daycarelady1979]

I'm sorry, I guess I don't understand. Minimum wage is $7.70. Someone calls & asks me how much I charge for part time daycare & I say $5.00 an hour...how is that too much?

5 bucks is too much for me to keep your child alive & well but $7.70 is a good amount to make your burger? I just don't get it.

No disrespect to anyone...we all live in different areas & have different rates. To each his own.

[Daycarelady1979]

And yes, I do love kids!! lovethis
Like I said before, I am blessed to be able to do this job.
There are many benefits.

[NeedaVaca]

To the OP, how many kids do you watch each week? Only one?

[Blackcat31]

I'm sorry, I guess I don't understand. Minimum wage is $7.70. Someone calls & asks me how much I charge for part time daycare & I say $5.00 an hour...how is that too much?

5 bucks is too much for me to keep your child alive & well but $7.70 is a good amount to make your burger? I just don't get it.

No disrespect to anyone...we all live in different areas & have different rates. To each his own.

Because the guy flipping burgers for $7.70 per hour isn't also flipping burgers for Burger King at the SAME time and making another $7.70 per hour.

You are looking at it like you are making less than minimum wage PER child. We all are. You can have more than one child so you are making way more than minimum wage because you have more than one child at a time.

I think that is where everyone in this thread got confused..... you need to look at your wages OVER ALL not just per child.

[lovemykidstoo]

Because the guy flipping burgers for $7.70 per hour isn't also flipping burgers for Burger King at the SAME time and making another $7.70 per hour.

You are looking at it like you are making less than minimum wage PER child. We all are. You can have more than one child so you are making way more than minimum wage because you have more than one child at a time.

I think that is where everyone in this thread got confused..... you need to look at your wages OVER ALL not just per child.

That i right. If I just looked at what I was making for 1 child per hour I would be depressed You have to add all the kids together. Plus so many people don't make too much per hour and can't afford to pay $5.00 per hour. A person working at McD's may make $7.70 per hour but how much are they actually bringing home? Just because someone can't afford $5.00 an hour, does not mean they don't feel their child is worh that if that makes sense.

[daycare123]

I make 8.30 per hour that's with 4 full time kids

[EchoMom]

See, I live in the wrong part of this darn city. Well, plus I have two kids of my own under 6. IF I were full (I'm not) with kids paying my full-time rate (ha!) I'd make $9.60/hr.

Although...I must ask...how are you calculating that wage?

I work ~10 hours/day so my weekly rate divided by 50 times the number of kids gives my $/hr.

I'll PM you

[thatdivalady]

Maybe I'm just a little down because our numbers are insanely low right now. But, playing devils advocate....

I make more money as a therapist than I do doing daycare. Plus my income at my job was pretty stable and set. In daycare I can lose a child at any time and/or not recruit enough. I have my reasons for getting into it and I do acknowledge the benefits. But at this point, I still have to work an additional job to provide for my daughter and pay bills.

Okay, $5.00 per hour may be a bit much but if that's the provider's rate you don't have to be nasty about it, you can just not go with that provider.

To the previous poster, no it's really not the family's "fault" if you are not full but it is a reality for many providers that they are not.

Don't mind me, I'm just so annoyed with parents calling about daycare, and then stating that the rates are too high. I post the rates freely on the website and whatever medium I am using for marketing so maybe that's the source of my irritation. Especially when they do get rude and say with an attitude that "it's too expensive." But you want weekend care for your child, or you want those non traditional hours that barely anyone provides... I guess I agree with everyone who posted

*end rant*

[lovemykidstoo]

Maybe I'm just a little down because our numbers are insanely low right now. But, playing devils advocate....

I make more money as a therapist than I do doing daycare. Plus my income at my job was pretty stable and set. In daycare I can lose a child at any time and/or not recruit enough. I have my reasons for getting into it and I do acknowledge the benefits. But at this point, I still have to work an additional job to provide for my daughter and pay bills.

Okay, $5.00 per hour may be a bit much but if that's the provider's rate you don't have to be nasty about it, you can just not go with that provider.
To the previous poster, no it's really not the family's "fault" if you are not full but it is a reality for many providers that they are not.

Don't mind me, I'm just so annoyed with parents calling about daycare, and then stating that the rates are too high. I post the rates freely on the website and whatever medium I am using for marketing so maybe that's the source of my irritation. Especially when they do get rude and say with an attitude that "it's too expensive." But you want weekend care for your child, or you want those non traditional hours that barely anyone provides... I guess I agree with everyone who posted

*end rant*

That's what I said in my first post. The caller had no reason to be nasty about it. A caller can simply say politely no thank you.

[daycarediva]

See, I live in the wrong part of this darn city. Well, plus I have two kids of my own under 6. IF I were full (I'm not) with kids paying my full-time rate (ha!) I'd make $9.60/hr.

Although...I must ask...how are you calculating that wage?

I work ~10 hours/day so my weekly rate divided by 50 times the number of kids gives my $/hr.

I have 5 kids (full with my one under 5) and they all pay $175/week.
Then two before and after school kids who pay $75/w each

175x5=875
75x2=150
=1025 % 50=$20.50/hr

[daycarediva]

I guess I could get technical and add in summer care, after hours care, fees (some of my parents have regular ones) and my 2 weeks of paid time off per year. When my DS ages out of ratio in June, I will be adding in another $175. I am also reducing my hours by 5/week at the new year (parents all aware and ok with it) all of which is going to make my hourly $$$ go up.

[Cat Herder]

TBH, If I told someone here I charged $5 an hour per child, I'd get laughed at. That is more than 2x the going rate for our region.

If you are inline with your region, just give it back to them.

"Oh, well if you qualify for subsidy, the rate goes way down. I can provide you an application if you'd like."

[Daycarelady1979]

Just to be clear, I'm talking about $5 an hour for DROP-IN care...such as PART TIME...such as an hour or two when needed. Not consistently. NOT an 8 or 10 hour day of care. You all still think that's too much??

How much would you pay a 'babysitter' per hour if you went out for the night w/ your hubby? Probably much more than that, I would think!

Doesn't really matter anyway, I guess...I told the mom good luck & to try calling the local CCRRA and to have a great day. I'm not going to argue about my rates for self-pay.

BTW- One parent said "That's all?!?" when I told her 5 bucks an hour & signed her kid up right away for before/after school care. She wanted to pay me twice that amount!

I guess each person {each family} is different.

[lovemykidstoo]

Just to be clear, I'm talking about $5 an hour for DROP-IN care...such as PART TIME...such as an hour or two when needed. Not consistently. NOT an 8 or 10 hour day of care. You all still think that's too much??

How much would you pay a 'babysitter' per hour if you went out for the night w/ your hubby? Probably much more than that, I would think!

Doesn't really matter anyway, I guess...I told the mom good luck & to try calling the local CCRRA and to have a great day. I'm not going to argue about my rates for self-pay.

BTW- One parent said "That's all?!?" when I told her 5 bucks an hour & signed her kid up right away for before/after school care. She wanted to pay me twice that amount!

I guess each person {each family} is different.

I have a dcg that gets off the bus here. I have her anywhere from 15 minutes to 1 hr and I charge her $5.00 a day.

[EntropyControlSpecialist]

My husband and I both work here and we make about $28.00 an hour combined. But, our early hour we do nothing with the children beyond getting them comfortable on their cot and our extended hour we do nothing with the children beyond getting out new toys for them to play with. So, technically we make about $34.00 an hour for actually working. We recently bartered our services so we aren't currently bringing in the same amount for the next year.

I understand it's different for others, though.

When I offered drop in care (briefly), it was $6.00 an hour. So, no I don't think $5.00 is too much!