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My neighbor, who is also a friend of mine has a 2 yr old boy. She does work part time, but her mom watches him. She asked me if I could watch him 2 days a week for 1.5 hrs each time because she just simply wants to exercise in the morning and doesn't want to have to bug her mom. I would not really have alot of expense with him because he would at the most have morning snack with us. Would not be doing any other meals and wouldn't be here for our craft time. What would you charge? Thanks!
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I charge drop in's a daily rate.
Drop in's are usually tough because it throws your routine off and you don't
always know the child very well.
I would NEVER charge less than my drop in rate because drop in's are hard.
My smallest attendance rate (for 3 days per week) breaks down to around $35 per day.
My drop in rate is $45 per day.
I don't care if it is only an hour or an 8 hour day.
It's just not worth it to me to charge anything less.
If you are willing to do it, just break down your smallest rate and work off that. I don't know if you normally charge hourly, daily or weekly.
I also know that if she is a friend or neighbor, 9 out of 10 times that 1.5 hours will slowly grow over time and you will find yourself regretting a cheaper rate
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I charge $35.00 a day and that's anywhere from 7:30-5:30. So, that's $3.50 an hour. I was thinking if she said she needed 1.5 hrs, that I would round that to 2 hours and say that up to 2 hours it would be $10.00 a day and anything beyond that would be more. We're friends, but I wouldn't say close friends. I do know her son and he should be no problem. I know she wouldn't pay $35 for a couple of hours and honestly one of my kids is going to preschool one day a week, so I'll be out that $35 and the extra $20 would help. What do you think of that?Comment
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That sounds fair.
I would make sure you make it clear though that it is for 2 hours ONLY and anything she goes over will need to be addressed ad paid for.
I think if her child is pretty easy then it would be a quick $10 in your pocket. Especially if you didn't have to do any meals/snacks or rest time while he is there.
I'd also make the $10 payable upon drop off in cash. Makes it seem more tangible as waiting to be paid and having a check that you need to go cash makes it harder imho.
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Absolutely it would only be for 2 hours. I'm going to text her that and tell her that if she needs more than 2 hours then we can discuss the rate then.Comment
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Well Day 1 of this neighbor and her child and already there is a problem, but I wasn't shy about it and it is corrected. He's going to come 1 day a week and she said only for a couple of hours. I told her that 2 hours is $10. Ok, fine. He comes at 8:45 and she doesn't come back until noon. I am in stress mode because at 12:15 my 6th kid (without the neighbor kid) is due to come and I'm only licensed for 6. If she only needed 2 hours, she should have been back by 10:45. Not to mention she thinks I'm sure that her rate is going to be $10. So she comes in and I'm almost done making lunch (her son is not eating here ) for 6 kids and the baby is crying (what else is new). She comes in on her phone while all this is going on and motions for me asking me if I have a piece of paper. Seriously? I give her a look and slide over a piece of paper and go back to getting lunch ready. She gets off the phone and says, what's wrong? I said, oh nothing I'm just getting lunch ready for 6 kids under the age of 3 and the baby's having a cow and I was worried about being over ratio because you were late. That's all. DUH!!!!! So I told her that it absolutely cannot happen again and it's not $10, it's $5.00 per hour. grrrrrr Oh, the dcb was an absolute angel and so so cute!Comment
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I wouldn't take a neighbor. Too many issues that can arise and then you are stuck living uncomfortably next to each other for many many years. I have heard too many horror stories of neighbors and family as clients.Comment
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Good for you for setting her straight. Better to do it now than later.
What did she want paper for? At first, I thought she was going to write down something for you as a way to communicate since she was on her phone.
I would tell her late fees apply (mine are $1 per minute) after her 2 hours that are pre-paid are up.
Bet she gets there on time from now on.
fwiw~ I charge a daily rate no matter how little time in the day is used because of the exact situation you mentioned...your next kid coming in and possibly putting you over ratios.
Charging the daily rate eliminates the possibility of that ever happening to me.Comment
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I honestly don't know what she needed the paper for. Something to write down from the phone call she was on. I would love to get the full day rate, but I know that she wouldn't pay $35 for 2 or 3 hours and I lost a day's rate for my one PTer that is in preschool on Tuesdays, so thought I could at the very least make 1/2 of that up and I'm really desperate for cash at the moment. Now that she know it's $5 per hour and she has to be here before noon, then we should be fine and he really is an easy kid. She also knows that if I fill that spot then she's out.Good for you for setting her straight. Better to do it now than later.
What did she want paper for? At first, I thought she was going to write down something for you as a way to communicate since she was on her phone.
I would tell her late fees apply (mine are $1 per minute) after her 2 hours that are pre-paid are up.
Bet she gets there on time from now on.
fwiw~ I charge a daily rate no matter how little time in the day is used because of the exact situation you mentioned...your next kid coming in and possibly putting you over ratios.
Charging the daily rate eliminates the possibility of that ever happening to me.
I thought it hilarious though that I have a 4 month old, three 3 year olds, a 16 month old and a 22 month old minutes before lunch and the baby's screaming and she wants to know what's wrong? When she is hiring me because she can't get on a treadmill with 1 child. dumb dumb
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2 hours for $10
2 hours and one minute or more $50.
Honesty, in the future, I'd decline.Comment
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sorry, but this has disaster written all over it!!! And this is from someone about to watch a child for a neighbor/friend for 1 hr. a day, LOL!!!!
I would write up a contract for drop in care if you don't already have one. Make sure there are late fees, etc. Payment due in advance. No care again if late fees aren't paid, etc. etc. Emergency contacts are a must…. I would have been calling that mom by 11am saying she is late and needs to pick up immediately.Comment
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