I've watched children out of my home for a couple of years. I charge $165 a week. These are typically 9 hour days 5 days a week and include meals. It comes out to about $3.60 an hour. My question is... how much would you charge for 2 children from the same family? It will only be part time hours, so I would like to charge per hour since each week may be different. The children are 1 and 3. Thank you!
I guess it really depends on where you live. I have checked other daycares in the area and the going rate is... 200 for an infant, 175 for a toddler and 165 for a preschooler. So, even though 165 sounds dirt cheap, in NH it's the going rate. I've decided since this family only needs part time hours, that I will charge $7 an hour. This is a mom who has 2 small children and is going through a divorce and I thought I'd cut her a break since I have been there. I’m not depending on this money, (though it’s nice to make a little extra) so it makes no difference if it varies from week to week. Thank you for all you suggestions!
I'd probably charge about $225/week. When my oldest was in daycare, the lowest we ever paid was $250/week for ONE kid at a center.
I wouldn't charge by hours, since it will definitely mean less for you some weeks. I wouldn't be able to budget that way. What if you say $100 per week, and if it goes over 30 hours then it's the full $165? Of course siblings get discounts, so maybe charge $175 for both of them? Assumeing part-time is 20-25 hours.
I used to have my dd in an in-home daycare three days a week and I paid $90 per week whether I used all the days or not and then if I needed an extra day, I paid an extra $30 for it. Whatever you charge, I'd charge by the week so you're sure to get paid and you might put together an agreement between you and the parents.
In our area siblings usually get a 10-15% discount. Not a lot. ((In no small part, because those slots can be filled with kids who pay the full price))
Personally, I wouldn't charge by the hour, if you already charge by the week, or OTHER families are going to start wanting not to pay by the week either (same rules for *everyone* is really key in social harmony).
The way to avoid paying by the hour, but still charge part time is to charge by the day and half day. (But be warned, other families will want that, too, so make up your plan in mind of what you create now = precedent). In our area LESS time = MORE pay so
165 per week = 81 for half days... so in our area it would be $100 for half days
165 per (5day I'm assuming?) week = $33 per day ... so in our area a 'daily rate' would be $45
((These are NOT the rates in our area, btw. In our area a half day is $50, a full day is $100 at the *lower* end on perdiem rates, and $10 per hour is the rock bottom hourly price... I'm just converting using your numbers for the standard here.))
So IF I WERE doing up a per diem pay rate using your numbers it would look like this:
Full Week Full Time : 165
Full Week Half Days: 100
Per Day, single day charges: $45
Per Day Half Day: $25
Sibling Discount : _______whatever percent you want to discount______
DROP IN SPACE AVAILABLE: half day = 35, full day = 60
The graduated pay system does a couple things that benefit BOTH parents and provider:
1) Continuity ... you both/all know what to expect
2) Keeps parents inclined to keep to a schedule
3) Makes it "worth it" to a provider to keep a part time slot open/accept a part time child, when they COULD be getting paid for a full time slot
4) Allows parents to not have to commit to beyond their hours
Our area also does "extra meal" charges if the provider provides meals (when milk is $8 a gallon, and lunch meat is $12 a pound, this gets pretty key). Ours didn't, we brought our own sack lunch style, and they were kept in the fridge.
I think it depends on how easy it is for you to stay full at 165 per week. If that's in the lower to mid range for your area, then I would drop the .60 cents and double it for 6 dollars per hour. But, if you are a bit on the high side, I might drop 2 dollars off the total per hour price and make it 5.20.
If they are new to you, I would charge about $8.00 an hour. I used to watch a few children also, and it came out to $3.25 an hour because they
were close friends. When I look back, I think I was nuts!! I see what sitters
are paid today and gasp. So I think $8.00 for two very young childlren is
a bargain. I would like to see you get $10 an hour but that might be pushing it where you live. I would be interested to see what you settle on.
I would call a couple of day cares in your area and price yourself about $20.00 - 35.00 beaneath them.
Do not under cut yourself - you might regret it in the near future. I paid about 200.00 a week for less time then you are mentioning.
I gladly pay $10 for somebody to watch my two young children/hour, and that doesn't even include meals. It's totally up to you, but I think the $3 range is dirt-cheap!
Are they in diapers? Since you are charging $33/day, can you charge the new family $38/day with the second child at $35 with a minimum of 3 days per week.
Or
$114 for 3 days and $33 per extra day after that for the week, giving the second child a 5% discount.
If you really like them, give the second child a larger discount.
Hope that helps.
My sister in Maryland, outside of DC, charges $240 a week for my other sister's 2 kids. She watches them for 7 hours a day, 4 days a week. If my sister were to send her kids to a daycare run by anyone else, it would cost her almost $400 a week. This is the going rate in their region. I would call you area daycares and find out their rates.
I charge $8 an hour for 1 kid and $12 an hour for 2 kids. Just recently gave myself a raise lol. Been making the same for a year and half thought it was time for a raise. It has to be worth your while or you will begin to resent it. that won't work for anyone.
