After School Care Rates for Babysitters in Allen, TX

Does their school not have after-school care????
Our public schools, do.
It is often cheaper.

I would not, personally, leave them home alone by themselves.
Not at all.
Once someone catches wind, that they are home alone regularly... well, what a can of worms.

Also, I would not have a High School student watch them... .high school kids are usually distracted by high school things. And habits. And friends. And High School proclivities etc. Which your 10 year old, might find fascinating. In a not so good, way.

Also, High School kids, cannot be, RELIED on 100% per emergencies or knowing what to do or even CPR etc. Even if they are a relative or friend.

Also, you CANNOT even, expect nor rely on a 10 year old and 6 year old, to LOCK the doors as soon as they come home. AND what if they are playing outside? Even if you tell them not to? Or they lock themselves out, or leave some door unlocked?
Something so simple, but yet so dangerous... .and again, once someone catches wind, that they are regularly home alone... everyday.... that is dangerous. Pedophiles, robbers, etc. They observe the habits of kids... too. And any, that walk home, alone. And then they can see... where the kids live.

Not too long ago, a 12 year old girl in my town, was walking home from school. She lived nearby. Well, a guy in a truck started chasing her. And would not give up, until she got the sense to run back toward the school. She ran for her life.
He would have abducted her.
This was in broad daylight... and right after school where there are LOTS of people, around.

You cannot expect, your 10 year old to be flawless, in babysitting his 6 year old sibling, either.

Rather than a high school student, I bet you could find a stay home mom in your neighborhood. I did this last year and it worked out great. I got a little extra spending money and the other parents had piece of mind that their children had a snack, supervised play, and homework help after school. I charged $60 per child, but my neighbor charged $50 for the kids that went to her house. The only difference was that I made sure homework was done before the parents came. The day care center in our area charges $75 per week for after school care- our schools don't offer it.

Hi!

I run a babysitting service in Tarrant County with a background as a director in childcare. I am not in your area but can offer you some advise.

1. There is no legal law in Texas that states a child has to be of a certain age to stay home. Though for some reason the age 12 floats around many mouths. It is at the parents disgression regarding maturity etc of the child. This link will show you from CPS that there is no specific age. (https://www.dfps.state.tx.us/Child_Protection/About_Child...)

2. Whether you choose to have a HS student or someone else care for your child please take this into factor. Will they know CPR/ First aid? I 100% recommend this as it is required in daycare, schools etc... if you 11 year old is home along with the 6 year old and Heaven forbid the 6 year old chokes on a carrot what will the 11 year old do? At 6 yrs old you can not do the full heimlich. Will the 15 or 16 year old HS student know that? or what if someone is running in the house and falls on something sharp? What will they do. These are all things you need to take into consideration.

I have a daughter who is almost 8. I will not even leave her with an 18 year old. That is just my opinion though. I have 5 sitters who work for me. All are over the age of 23 as old as 41. All have childcare experience and all certifications. I wouldnt expect less from anyone i have watch my 8 year old and my 8 year old is very self sufficient.

HTH

I would just use the school, you know they are safe, they are already there, rates are usually reasonable, they feel comfortable there, their friends are there. High school students are notoriously unreliable, and what happens when they call you half way through the day to say they are sick. That will never happen with after shchool clubs.
As for letting them home alone - it depends on the area you live in, and your children. My son is 9, and there is no way I would trust him lol, but yours may be different, girls are usually more able to look after stuff than boys I find, so I wouldn't let them home alone, maybe next year for that.
Oh and my school charges $10 for after school care, from 3.30 to 5.30, pretty cheap

I live in Allen and we are in the Plano ISD. Plano has after school care, PASAR and it is a great program.

The children get snacks, play time and most importantly they work with teachers to get homework done. Basically, a child has a teacher as a tutor during that time as well. It is a very popular program and I think worth the $$.

Allen is also a good school district and I bet their program is similar.

I beg to differ with S.H....... that ALL HIGH SCHOOL students (not kids) are not reliable and set bad examples for younger children. That remark comes across very insulting. Yes you have some bad apples out there but let's not put them all in the same group.

I have a 16 yr old and she gets paid $12-$15 per hour to babysit. YES she is reliable, knows what to do in an emergency AND knows CPR.!!! IMAGINE THAT..

When she babysits she is interacting with the children, she is currently teaching 1 family's children Spanish. However, she could never commit to after school care because she is at school late every day (5-6) with Cheer and manages to keep all A's in her Honors and AP classes.

Also, the hours for elementary, middle and high schools are different. IF my daughter were to go to school and have no activites afterschool her hours would be 8-4:15. These hours would not work with elementary dismissal which is around 2:45.

Good luck and I hope S.H. lightens up on her opinion of ALL high school students. She may have one too someday!

Kids Club through the AISD is wonderful!! I'm not sure what school your children go to, but my daughter was at Kids Club from Kindergarten through 6th grade at Vaughan. It is a great program. Check the AISD website for more information http://www.allenisd.org/200610610155913427/site/default.asp.