Would you pay 8 or 10$ or drop in child care/mother's day out?

[onerubberducky]

I am looking to bring in a small income, not to rely on, but to supplement. I was thinking of starting a drop in child care. Don't want to offer full time care as I have other children and they have so many commitments.

Target audience, babies and toddlers under 2. We live in a wealthy area so prob can bear a bit more cost wise. I am not sure if I should ask 8 or 10 dollars.

Qualifications;
I am an experienced Mom of four
Registered Nurse
Big house/large yard
Think I can keep children amused and entertained, have snack and activity planned out
Drop in, no reservation required

What do you think?

[TwoBees]

Is that per hour or a flat rate?

[onerubberducky]

Sorry, per hour.

[SnuggleBuggles]

I'd figure out what all the liability insurance and licensing (if required) would cost so you could figure out a rate that actually makes you money. But, that is a typical amount for 1 kid- you'd have to decide if you'd discount more. And you would have to have a system so you didn't have more kids than you could safely and adequately supervise.

[sunshine873]

If I needed it, I'd pay it. For ease of paying, not needing to make as much change, etc, I'd charge $10.

[TwoBees]

I think that rate is very reasonable, at least for my area. I would not feel comfortable, however, without knowing you first, so I suggest first promoting the service at places/activities that you go to often with your DC, where other moms may know you, or at least see you often, eg, library, kids' gym, playplace, YMCA, etc.

[Cam&Clay]

Around here, you could get more than $10 an hour. We pay that to the teenaged babysitters!

[onerubberducky]

I don't need licensing for drop in and I would make sure that I did not have too many at a time (reservation requested would be nice) maybe offer a 9$ rate for ones done in advance.

I would make sure to be covered under our insurance, and have the right forms for the Moms to fill out.

[onerubberducky]

That is true I could charge more. I would offer a background check info (run by local police) for reasurance, and since I am an RN that could help.

[onerubberducky]

Also a portable IP camera so parents could see children, or is that overkill?

[SnuggleBuggles]

I'd want you to have all necessary clearances (child abuse and state criminal) and FBI check too. That is what I am required to have to volunteer at ds1's school.

[KrisM]

I take DS2 to a drop-in Mother's Morning Out program. It's in a room at a local church. She runs it 9-11:30 on Tues and Thurs and charges $10 for those 2.5 hours. She offered us the background check, etc. She's been at it for years. DS2 loves it!

[hillview]

charge $10 -- I'd pay that no problem

[anonomom]

Depending on where you live, $10 might be a little steep. I pay $7.50/ hr at our drop- in daycare, $9.50 for a kid under 12 months.

Fwiw, I live in nc.

[FTMLuc]

Where were you last year when we were deperately lookign for drop in care? :) I would definitely pay $10.

[hellokitty]

My biggest concern if I were you is about fulfilling reqs as a home childcare provider. I had a friend who did it and in her state, there were a LOT of hoops to jump through, she had to keep her childcare area in her finished basement due to certain rules, the kids were not allowed to other parts of the house, etc.. I would check on this reqs first. That price is too high for our area, but we live in a lower COL region.

[janeybwild]

We have a drop-in child care offered through our local college. It is $9/hour, no reservations, one hour minimum, but you have to call the Sunday before to pre-book if you know what time you need. You can buy a punch card to bring it down to $7. I love it and would likley pay up t0 $12/hour only because I can use it for just one hour, whereas if I hire a babysitter, one hour would be hard, then I'm paying $20. I don't think you should make it totally drop-in without calling ahead, otherwise you'll be stuck in all day every day.

[lowrioh]

Around here, you could get more than $10 an hour. We pay that to the teenaged babysitters!

:yeahthat:

We pay our babysitter $15 per hour for the two kids.

[mom3boys]

Yes it depends where you live. I would be thrilled to pay $10 hour. For an evening of babysitting I pay $15 an hour (that's for 3 kids, but even when I had one kid I paid $12).

I wouldn't go over $10 though if you are caring for other children. For my DS1 I occasionally used a woman who had two kids of her own, plus my kid, plus sometimes another kid, everyone under age 5. I paid her $10/hour but when she raised her rate to $12 I stopped going there. At the time, $12 was what I paid my own nanny to be completely devoted to just my kid.

Also if someone wants to drop off 2 kids, maybe there could be some discount? I don't think anyone would want to pay $20/hour.

[daisymommy]

My neighbor charges $10 an hour, or $50 a day. She doesn't have any of your qualifications, and this is not a wealthy area. But she is constantly booked solid.

[Jo..]

Yup I would.

I pay $10 per hour for our neighbor to BBS and she really doesn't even LIKE kids that much...but I trust her. I would pay more for someone that liked children! :) Probably as much as $15 per hour for two kids in the Midwest. (PS while she claims not to love kids, she is GREAT with them and plays hide and go seek, tag, etc for our two-hour date nights).

I would love to have someone trained for medical emergencies+responsible+ reliable with whom I could drop my children. I would probably do so several times monthly.

I didn't read the pps...do you offer a discount for multiple kids in one family?

If I were you, I'd do $10 per hr for one kid, +$5 per hour for more in the same family. You will have people knocking your door down.

[lucybabymamma]

$10 per child, then $5 more for each additional child sounds fair and seems like it would make it worth it for you.
The past year or so, I began watching a few friends' children a few times a week (it was a regular schedule not drop in), but some things to consider:

* prep and clean up time that will probably take place before and after watching kiddos (so yes, $10 is per hour, but expect a bit of extra time on your end preparing and cleaning)
* snack and lunch (extra cost? out of your profit? bring their own?)
* room/cribs for naps
* cost of supplies -- crafts, extra paper towels, extra cleaning supplies, etc, etc,
* inevitable cost of wear on your house and toys (this was a BIGGIE I hadn't expected -- not that we had the nicest house or toys in the world, but things will get broken and used-looking super-fast)
* siblings will probably be older than 2, so making sure the older kids are entertained (and contained -- they will want to explore your whole house)during this time, but still keeping things safe for little ones
* allergies and gathering insurance and medical info (having some kind of coverage for liability)
* keeping records for taxes
* preparing your husband & children to share you and their home (another BIGGIE)
* your policy for cancellations
* your policy for "sick"
* your policy for late drop offs or pickups
* your policy for cancellations of one sibling (instead of two or more)

Just a few things I wish I had nailed down before starting -- and, have to admit, I stopped watching the other kiddos recently and was pretty relieved.

Once you get started it is WAY easy to get referrals and stay busy though:)

[diamond]

I was recently thinking the same thing. How to get started doing this? I mean do you plan to advertise about this in paper? Etcc..tell your neighbours etc..

Also how to do paperwork for liability insurance , background check etc... can the babysitting be done for cash only without involving any tax receipts etc...would u guys leave kids for cash without receipt?