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I'm a provider but I'm planning on going back to work early next year after my daughter turns 3 and is ready for preschool. She's never been to another daycare or preschool so I want her to just go for the preschool program and leave before nap time. My sister-in-law lives nearby and does not work although she's considering watching another family members child to make a little extra money. I was considering asking her if she would be willing to pick up DD and bring her to her home for a nap and a little play time. She'd be picked up at 2, nap from roughly 2:30 to 4:30 and be picked up at 5. She's a great napper and easy to care for so it would be very little work (she may even nap until pick up time). I'm even looking at preschools right near her home to minimize the drive. The standard rate for full day daycare in this area is about $40. Given this, what would you charge daily for this work? She would also be watching our newborn later in the year at $40 per day. I want to have an idea before we discuss it. Thanks so much!!
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I would pay her the full time rate for both children. She would be taking up a spot in her daycare and it would be hard for her to fill a slot only until around 2 each day when she has to pick up your daughter. Even if she only plans on watching 1 other child another thing to consider is her gas and having to get all of the other kids up from nap and in their shoes, etc. to go get your daughter. You will want to keep her happy so she continues to do it because it is hard to find someone that will provide transportation. I wouldn't pick up a child at 2 pm. even if the parents paid full tuition because nap time is generally from 1-3:30 pm and that's my only break for the day. If I had to wake my kids up to go get another child there is no way I would get them back to sleep and I would have grumpy kids to deal with.
I know you said she is only planning on watching 1 other family but this is how a lot of providers start out.
I had a little boy for years who I loved and he left (but he still comes to visit when schools out and I have room) because I wouldn't transport. Anyway the child went to a family members house that had just opened a home daycare and said they would transport because they only planned on watching one other child besides their 2. The family member was also giving them a great deal for tuition. It lasted a month before the family member was sick of transporting the 2 blocks to preschool and disrupting the rest of the day. The family member had also started to get more calls for daycare and realized they could make more money by filling the spot with a full time child that didn't need transportation. The parents offered to pay full rate but the provider decided it wasn't worth the difficulty so they had to pull the child from preschool. They wanted to bring the child back to me but I didn't have the room. -
To be clear she is not opening a daycare and does not have any children of her own. There would be no disruption to a schedule, dd and the other child would just nap after preschool. I believe the other child would only be there temporarily while mom (her other SIL) has surgery. I in no way believe this is worth a full days pay and I could never afford to pay double ($80 per day) for care from 9 to 5.Comment
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I would charge 1/2 day plus gas and only if I wasn't looking to fill that spot full time. If you are paying her to be responsible for your child (whether or not your child is sleeping) this would be her job and she should be compensated as such unless she offers you a lower rate. It is taking up her time and if you pay too little she might get resentful or not take it as seriously as you'd like.Comment
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Just to clarify, the above would only be if it didn't disrupt other kids' schedules as you said.Comment
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$10 an hour plus extra for transportation. I charge $20 a day and $5 a day for hourly so double that.
I would suggest a preschool with a wrap around after school care programIt:
: will waitComment
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I have to say I am pretty surprised by the responses here. I'll clarify one more time. She does not run a daycare. DD would not be taking up any "spots" and would not be disrupting anyones schedule. She will be watching our newborn all day. At 2 she'd have to drive around the corner, pick up her niece, take her back home and put her down for a nap. I could get a private nanny for $10+ per hour to take her back to my own home. She wouldn't have to buy any supplies, pay taxes on the income, or really even do any work at all except a 5 minute drive. I want to pay her a fair amount but what's been quoted here so far is outrageous. As I said, I could get a private nanny with experience and education in the field to work from our home for $10 to $15 per hour and I would expect housecleaning at that. I charge $25 for a half day (up to 5 hours) including one meal and one snack and that is for infants that require diaper changing (I even provide wipes) and much more supervision. Gas wouldn't even be a dollar per day...Comment
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Ok, so you could get someone to take her home for $30-$45 dollars a day for the same time period, and you have a problem paying your SIL 40 a day (right in the same range) for the job?
If you are a provider, why don't you just offer her what you just suggested, $40 for the infant, and $25 for the preschooler and see what she says. You obviously have an idea of what you think is fair already.
Personally, I do NOT transport, but would charge $3.50 per hour for the child to be there from 2-5. But I don't get $40 a day here either.Comment
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why dont you ask her first what she feels comfortable working for. even though you daughter is napping, its not like she can leave the house or anything so there is a committment there. Since its not a full half day and she wont need to feed her, I would offer $10 or $15 a day. my only other concern is that if she decides to do something else down the road, will you be able to afford childcare for two kids at the regular rates someone else would charge? just something to think about. I wouldnt assume she would be willing to do this for five years till your baby goes to kinder.Comment
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1. The money she makes is not tax free. It is mandatory that all income be reported to the gov.
2. You are saying she will be watching your infant all day. She needs to be paid for doing so.
3. I charge $6.00 an hour for children who stay late here. I would pay $12.00 for her (if it's for 2 hours) PLUS gas or let her use your car.Comment
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I agree with asking your SIL what she feels is fair.
I also agree with what the others are saying are fair rates. You can't say for sure that your daughter will always be taking a nap for that long after school, and like the others said, it is still the commitment of not being able to do other things while she is napping.Comment
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$40 per day for 9-5 is $4.44 per hour. I'd offer at least $17 per day for your older child (rounding to 4 hours) plus a bit more for gas money.Comment
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I am thinking she is going to be watching your nb, and a 3 year old DOES disrupt that schedule, especially with packing up baby, put baby in car, drive to pick up neice, take nb into preschool to pick up neice, take both back out and into car, home with neice and NB neice/nephew. Put neice down for a nap (this isn't always easy for someone besides Mom) and if/when 3yo stops napping, doesn't nap for SIL, etc she will have both kids. Regardless of if she is sleeping, she is still in charge of her.
I would offer $40/day for NB and $20/neice (half day rate)Comment
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I don't know about the rest of you, but IMO I view paying for child care so differently now that I have been a provider.
I probably would've asked this question IF I had never been a provider, but now that I have walked in the shoes of a child care provider and I now know how I struggle regarding payments, parents, etc.
I wouldn't think twice about paying full days rate to my SIL for child care.Comment
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In my area babysitters (and this is essentially what your SIL is) make a minimum of $10/hour (usually to a max of 3 kiddos from the same family). So here you would be charged $80 a day (I think you said 9-5, right?) for both your NB or your preschooler.
If you and your SIL already agreed on $40/day for your NB, I would pay 1/2 of that for your 3 year old for a total of $60/day.
The fact your child will be napping is irrelevant to how much her care is worth. She still needs to be supervised, so you still need to pay for her supervision!
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