Child care Question

[Horndogg]

I have a question.

How much would you charge for looking after a 1 1/2 year old girl in my house or hers? A friend has asked me to babysit 3 days a week for 12.5 hrs a day. She is offering $25.00 a day. Is this ok or what should I ask for more like $30? $25 doesn't seem like much for 12.5 hrs. Thanks

[SassyAshley]

I do not know the rates for in house daycare, but my cousin is paying 40/day for his 18 month old in a daycare facility. This covers 10 hours a day and I think but I am not sure that he is getting a discount as his wife works at the daycare center.

[luvthefree]

i run a daycare in my house and i charge $38 per 10 hour day which is low for my area. for a 12.5 hour day i would ask more like $50 per day.

[sweet sparrow]

It really depends on the area. I happen to live where daycare rates are the highest in the country. It's not uncommon to hear parents paying $2000+/month, or $60/day. The lowest I've ever heard of was $30/day, but I peeked in the fridge and it was basically a soup diet, if the care person felt like cooking. Otherwise, it was no-name processed food.

Check on kijiji as to what other people are advertising and what they include (ie. scheduled activities, meals, learning opportunities, field trips like the library or parks, etc.). $25 sounds really low by any standard though.

[coupon girl]

hi - I babysat a 2 year old boy back when I was 18 (that was 30 some odd years ago)-in the summer everyday and I got 25 .00 a day back then I would think 30 or more for sure
-trust me its a lot of work I watch my 2 and a half granddaughter 2 or 3 days a week (I don't want to be paid helping my son /wife out ) and I am tired after 2 days in a row

-oh and my neighbour was watching the past few months a 1 yr 3 month old her sister's grandson one day a week and she got 35 for the day

[Giseledta]

25.00 per day is very, very little.

adding,I am going to ask where you are... what province. in Ontario there is a discloserstatement you must provide, and have tehm sign stating you are not a licenced carefacility . contact me if you want the detail.
also be aware.. you must provide detailed tax reciptits legally.
again, contact me if you want information

[SarahS83]

I pay $40/day for an 8 hr day at an unlicensed home daycare. This is a pretty good rate in my area.

$25/day is unacceptable, especially if you need to feed the child (at 12.5 hrs a day, I assume you're feeding her more than one meal, plus snacks, and drinks).

Your friend is taking advantage of your friendship.

[frugal50]

i would ask for $30.00

$ 25 is an insult

[joandstef]

I'm starting to look at day cares in Toronto for full time care(5 days a week - drop off at 9am and pick up 530pm). The prices vary from $1200 to $2025.

I think your friend is taking advantage of you. i would ask for $50 a day.

[BuggaBugga]

If you like this friend a lot i'd counter offer with $120 for the three days. $75 is too little. Surely your friend thinks your time is worth more than $2 an hour?!

[GeorgiaK]

I am in Quebec and have my son in an un-subsidized private daycare (not a home daycare). I pay $40 per day. Asking that much is not unreasonable. In Toronto, I have heard of daycares costing $80+ per day.

[bhlombardy]

I see a situation that I dont think anyone outside of this relationship can rightly answer because it initially begins by determining a couple of factors... So let me give you some food for thought.

1.) how good of a friend is she? Did you (or would you) be involved with her wedding (as an example)? or would you just be invited as a guest? or maybe not at all? Would you be asked to be a godparent???

2.) The next question would be is if she is over-burdened financially, and is $25 all that she can afford to pay someone, and hopes that you, being "such a good" friend, would see that and offer to help for an unexpectedly low cost.

3.) if something were to happen with the child (God forbid) on ANY level, would she trust that whatever happened that you did whatever you could to prevent/avoid/repair the situation? or would she question it? would there be doubt in her mind? would she then perhaps litigate? -- this would be strongly evident of #1, if she trusts you enough, unconditionally. -- but it can also be a HUGE problem for you, someone who is unlicensed and legally unprotected that is caring for a child, were something to happen.

If you want to do it because she is your best friend (see #1), and she can't afford the usual level of costs (see #2)... and you have that implicit trust that an otherwise un-documented care for her child should come with, then by all means. Be the best friend you can be and help her out.

Otherwise, there are a few more points to consider:
$25 is $2 an hour. Do you think your time is only worth $2/hour? Would you work a lesser-responsible job for the same or less than that?

However, the fact that you're asking us here leads one (or me, anyway) to believe that perhaps you DON'T have the strong "best friend" relationship I suggested in point-1 or you'd probably do it without question. -- And the same for item 2... If you don't know her well enough to know her financial situation, or you feel she could afford more... then she probably should be paying more (be it to you or to a daycare facility).

She might be asking you merely on the merit that she knows you. You're otherwise "familiar"... perhaps someone has vouched for you in some way to her. She doesn't know the staffers at a day-care and would not necessarily feel 'as easy' leaving her child with TOTAL strangers... your familiarity gives you a slight edge up. She might also feel she can get a better 'value' by asking you, and perhaps is unaware of the true costs of daycare.

A daycare that typically charges on average between $40 to $60 for an 8-10 hour day, usually has a staff of anywhere between 3 to 5 who oversee upwards of 15 or maybe even 20 children (of varying ages) at the same time. Not that the children are neglected, but they don't get one-on-one attention all day long.... and 10 hours a day is usually the limit. If you break the normal 10-hour window of their operation, you usually wind up paying quite a bit more, IF the over-time option is even there.

In this case You are ONE person dedicating your time to ONE child... and that's what she wants. (no blame intended, that's what anyone would want). Their child gets all the attention he/she could ever need for the entire day... from ONE person... the SAME person, 3 days a week. That kind of attention is like first-class treatment to a child. She should be willing to pay as much as a day-care for that level of service... if not more. This is NANNY service, not day-care AND you are being asked to do this job, giving up YOUR entire day... for a third of what a daycare would cost. 12.5 hours means your day as you know it is completely GONE. Unless you live next door, your day doesnt begin and end at 6am and end at 6:30pm (12.5 hours). It involves your time to prepare for the beginning of - and to wind down at the end of your own day... making it, easily, a 14-16 hour day for you.


If you're cool about all of that... and if all of the above points are otherwise valid... That is to say that you have that strong trustworthy and unconditional relationship with this person... and if she values YOUR time and the level of service you are willing to provide, then only YOU can attach your personal value to this arrangement and assess that what she is paying is what she can afford AND what you BOTH think is truly fair for the situation.

[Horndogg]

i wrote in for my daughter who just started babysitting for a friend. C was offering $25.00 which I thought was not enough since it is going to be 10+ hrs s my daughter asked for $30.00 a day and that was fine with C. Thanks everyone for your input.

[Midnightly]

i think your friend is getting a great deal $30 a day for 12.5 hrs childcare