Paying Someone to Watch My Twins for 2 Weeks

I live in the Midwest (where most homes cost $150,000 to 200,000), and daycare for a 2 year old is about $175 per week. I think $210 for two 2 year olds is a bargain!

When I watch 2 girls (almost 3 and 4 1/2) I get paid $250. Now, I do provide food, but they are also waaay easier than 2 year olds.

I think $500 is more than fair.

I would pay her what you pay daycare. I keep my neice those same hrs and I charge her 100 a wk/ 20 a daylight. I provide all meals for her and bath. My sis is getting out pretty cheap!

i have a few friends who use nannys for child care. so just to give you some perspective/approximate numbers here you go. One pays $475/week for one child. Two of my other friends pay $500+/week for two kids. This is for 40-45hrs/week. I have mine in day care and pay about $515/week for two. I completely understand costs vary based on location. But I am a little depressed knowing you only pay $210 a week for two kids!!! Not fair! Anyway, i would suggest at the minimum the $500 for the two weeks. that's a great deal.

500 for 2 weeks = 250 a week = 50 a day = $5.50 an hour for 2 kids which is a STEAL if you can get someone to agree to it.

(and heavy work toddlers at that!)

$10 per hour for 9 hours a day, 5 days a week, for 2 weeks = $900

Keep in mind, group daycare EVERYONE is paying. 1:1 is significantly more expensive than group daycare. Typically 2-3 times more expensive.

((For our area, $1500 for 2 weeks would be the baseline for nanny care, unless they're bringing along their own children... $10 an hour would be a steal in our area))

So you want to pay her 500 dollars for 2 weeks to watch twin toddlers? What kind of quality person do you think you will get? She can't even take them anywhere so she has to entertain them for 9 hours a day for less than minumum wage? If you want someone to sit around on the couch and let the kids watch tv for two weeks then 500 dollars sounds about right. 10 years ago in Ct. I took care of one five year old girl. I made 10 dollars an hour back then. If the two older siblings were at home (did not have to watch them as they were 8 and 12) I charged 12. No way should you pay less than 8 dollars an hour since you get what you pay for.

You should be paying $450 per week minimum. We're talking about 9 hours a day watching TWIN TODDLERS. A sitter deserves $10 an hour for just one kid, let alone two. You'd be getting a steal for an in-home sitter last minute for two solid weeks for twin toddlers for only $10/hour for a 45 hour week. If you want decent care then you're going to have to pay for it.

I would pay her what you pay your day care.

Babysitters normally charge a higher hourly rate when it is just for a few hours. When you are paying for full time, it is normally a set amount per day or per week.

When my daughter was that age, she was in a private home daycare. I paid $120 per week and provided her food. This provider was licensed and had all the necessary certifications. If I had two kids there would have been a discount.

You gain the convenience of this person coming to you (cuts down on travel time and gas) but you also have the added expense of food for the kids and the babysitter. I would not pay more than what you pay your normal daycare unless absolutely necessary. She is helping you when you need her so that is a bonus but again, you are paying her so she's gaining something too.

I would ask the babysitter what she would like to be paid and go from there. If she says anything less than $350 I would pay her $350 (she would be thrilled). If she says anything over $350, I would pay her what she asks (or a bit more) up to $420 (since that is what you would pay at her daycare). If she asks for over $420, I would play that by ear...If she aks for $450 you could either say"well I was thinking $375, can we meet in the middle at $425" or you could say "I was thinking $350, instead of meeting in the middle, I can go as high as $420, is that ok? Or something along those lines.

Alot of people have commented about nannycare being more expensive but I didn't read "nanny" anywhere in your post so I am assuming you are utilizing someone you know as a babysitter not a professional nanny. Under that assumption, I am figuring this is tax free money to this person AND you can't claim it on your taxes like you can your daycare. If my assumption is wrong and this is a professional nanny, she will tell you how much she charges.

Nanny care and temporary nanny care, at that...is much more expensive then daycare. I would be surprised if you can find one (a good one. You can probably find a "babysitter" for that) for what you want to pay.

We would pay our nanny $875 for that number of hours. We're in a very high cost area but I'd compromise at at least $450/week. That's about the same as your daycare and people are right that in-home care is more expensive than daycare. Ratio is lower. As well, this is temp work which typically carriees a higher rate.

EDIT: I'm talking per week. I see now you meant $400 for 2 weeks. That's below minimum wage!!!

If they are in your home they will never be totally relaxed. They will feel like a guest and a little out of place the whole time. If they aren't in their own home or own daycare it should be higher. I agree with your husband. Nannies earn a lot more than in-home caregivers (their own home). I saw a family trying to find a nanny today and they want to pay 25 per day for one child. Holy COW people can be cheap.

I was going to say $300. Thats how much i would expect to get if i babysat.
HTH

Daycare is a lot cheaper than a sitter in your home because there are more kids paying the facility for daycare and at a daycare you don't have the convenience of someone coming to your home to watch only your children. My son was home with a sitter 9a-5p M-F until after age 2. I had to pay $10/hr for a sitter. I would think twins would be more..maybe $12/hr. I think if you could find someone to do both weeks for $500 you are getting a good deal. Good luck.

My daughter has been babysitting a lot this summer. Most people pay $10 an hour. (during the day) I think that is resonable for an in home sitter.

Simply pay her the same amount that you would pay your daycare, $420. She has the expense of coming to your house, and I think that seems more than reasonable. Personally, I would charge $150 per week/per child. For two weeks at $420, you are getting a steal! That is just under $7 per hour.

To my knowledge, you do not pay a nanny less than what you pay a daycare. A daycare is cheaper, that is why most people use them. I used to be a nanny. I got $15 an hour for two kids.

Im really shocked at the cost of child care now! I know I was cheap when I did daycare, but this is really amazing to see what it costs now. I always figured the facility that cares for kids can charge more per child per day because they have higher overhead than in home care. They have to pay for the building, the bills that go with it. There is hired staff to pay and all the benifits and taxes that go with them. The schooling most had to have was not cheap. And licensing can cost money too. Insurance is way high. If I agreed to go to a friends home and take care of her 2 toddlers for a couple weeks, I wouldnt have all that to take care of. I dont think I would charge more than a licenses day care facility. I think telling the sitter what you would be paying if the kids were in the regular daycare, and offering her that same ammount is very reasonable. She will be in your home, and they will have their own beds for nap time, and no other kids to bug them. I dont think 2 toddlers will be that terribly difficult, unless they are uncontrollable monsters that constantly cause problems and distroy the house in the blink of an eye. I did in home daycare for 27 years and had 4 or 5 kids every day. I see 2 kids as an easy day!

Babysitting during the day is harder than at night since the kids are awake a greater percentage of the time. Ten an hour sounds reasonable to me. Baby-sitters here charge fifteen an hour whether it's day or night. We paid our nanny $14 an hour two years ago ( for twins).

Do you pay $210 each for daycare? If so, $10 an hour would be just slightly more than you're paying for daycare. Again this makes sense because your kids will get more attention with only two kids and one sitter. and having someone come to your house is less work than driving them to daycare.

If you are paying $210 a week that must mean for both total (I also have twins) and having someone come into your home for 400 is a great deal!!

About 15 years ago I babysat for a family who had two young, forty hours a week and got paid 1000$ a month. I had no certification but definitely devoted my time and attention to them: hours of reading, pushing on the swings, toddler walks to the library,cooking baking etc. as well as light housekeeping. Talk to your sitter about what you are currently paying and ask her if you can pay her the same. Underpaying someone who watches your children can make them resentful and you want them to feel respected and valued so that the care they offer your family is from the heart!

Your husband is right.

Blessings......

I pay $480 a month for some good quality in-home daycare, but for one child (her house, not mine). Most commercial daycares I have seen in the area charge $500-$600 a month for full time daycare (8-5) and a discount for 2 children, like $800 instead of $1200 (double the $600). Maybe you should pay $300-$400. I would say $200 for my one child so if I had twins $300 sounds good because the daycare price is also paying for the daycare to fork out all those necessities (food) they have to provide. Your in home sitter doesn't have to put up that necessity out of pocket.

Do you pay $210 per week per child? Then $400ish per week sounds about right.

I was going to say $200 as well. You will probably need to ask the sitter what she charges first. I would not say, "per hour" I would say, "per week" b/c they are two very different things. There should not be an hourly charge when it is a full week. I have heard the norm is about $35-$40 per day so $200 seems fair to me.