Babysitting Question - Middleton,WI

Don't let it go. You are charging almost NOTHING to care for these kids, and you are entitled to have a life, too. You should make clear to the parents that they must pick their kids up on time. (Dropping them off on time is probably less of an issue.) My late mother-in-law had a childcare, and after many years of bad experiences with parents who were always late, her rule was that for every five minutes a parent was late, it was an additional $5.00 charge. Parents were required to pay the childcare bill every week, and she would not allow them to bring the children into her home unless they had paid the previous week's bill and any late charges.

Do you have a written contract signed by the parents and you? If not you really should get one up and running for all parents.

I personally charge a p/t rate Up to 4 hours and a f/t rate over 4 hours/day. Much easier than an hourly rate. However, I do close at 5:30 and if they don't pick up by then, they do get charged more. I also require money up front. So if they don't pay their overtime/late fee that day, they pay me in the morning or no childcare. If you've got enough heart to turn them away because they haven't paid the overtime fee. However, there are times I let it slide, but I let it be known that this time I chose not to charge you, but next time I expect to be paid what I am owed.

If you are running a business, even a "casual" business, you need to set rules and stick to them. I charge a daily rate and my clients are welcome to leave the kiddos in my care any time during my hours (6:45am to 5:30pm).

I guess my suggestion is to give them definate hours of operation and charge one rate for that time.

Have you set up a document with rules of business? If it's in writing, and they go outside their established hours, you can point to the consequences in the document (they signed), such as extra fees.

You can let them slip a little, but if you're feeling taken advantage of, you'll just feel p.oed, so I'd nip it in the bud and treat this like a formal business arrangement.

You're being paid $6.67 an hour for two kids. I usually pay $10 for two (older kids) in St. Paul. I think you're a steal and should charge more for extended time. Are you paying taxes?

BTW, if they came at 10:45 they probably didn't think they were causing you any hardship b/c you were already home. If that bothers you, though, you should make that clear as well.

Yes, they are taking advantage of you. You should be charging atleast $40 a day per kid.
I suggest writing up a contract with specific hours in it. If they go outside of those hours there is a fee per 5 min they are over. It is not fair for you to have to wait around for them. If they dont like it they can go elsewhere. They are never going to find daycare that cheap somewhere else.

Most daycares, even in home charge extra. Like $5 to $10 extra per half hour they are early or late, or some $1 a minute. You need to be clear and strict. If you aren't it's going to be easier for them to bend times on you in the future b/c you haven't established that no-nonsense routine. I know from personal experience. The mom was just awful, she would show up on days not scheduled, not come on some days, be several hours early... Did you sign a contract with them? Lots of good contracts here:
http://www.thedaycarelady.com

This stuff happens unfortunately when you offer lower rates for part-days. Inevitably, they arrive a little earlier than planned and get picked up a little later than agreed on too. Then, you end up feeling taken advantage of and some parents feel they can keep pushing the boundaries. I stopped offering reduced rates for short days for this exact reason. I would simply remind the parents that you are giving them reduced rates based on a 5 hour day and that you will be charging them $X if the children are in your care longer than that. That way, you can choose to tell them you don't mind the extra 10 minutes in the morning, but you can also have an understanding in place if they pick-up late or drop-off early again. You cam also explain that you will charge them for the times requested not the times of actual arrivals, rounding down and up to the closest half-hour (ie. Asked for 10:30 but arrived at 10:45, charge from 10:30. Arrived to pick-up at 4:15, charge from 4:30). Good luck!

If you need a way to explain it to them, it may help you to tell them that you are "reserving" two spots for their children at the times they request and cannot watch other children at those times, so they must pay for those times requested. And as many have shared, they are getting a really good price from you. It's not really a half day, because you couldn't take other children either in the morning or afternoon, so they take up two children's spots in your child care home. They either need to pay you more, or respecct you more :)

Your rate is super low! Here, someone would charge $40-50 a day PER child.

I would let them know when their times change they need to let you know. Even an hour's notice would be better than you sitting around waiting. Maybe give them the option to text or email you if they are more likely to get in touch with you that way.

Hon, they are taking advantage of you!! Whether or not you want to, you are running a in-home day care. You should be charging them for the time they are there and setting some ground rules. You live in WI and without getting in trouble with the county or state you are allowed 3 children under the age of 7 to be in your home PLUS your own kids. You are considered a un-certified in-home day care. The only real advantage to becoming certified is so you could accept day care assistance and join a USDA food program (get reimbursed some of your food costs).

I just closed my family day care and would be willing to share my contracts and my policies with you. If you are doing this for cash and do not plan on claiming this on you taxes, please think twice about that (big penalties if you get caught by the IRS). Chances are this family is going to expect a statement from you saying how much they paid you, so they can claim it on their taxes. That said there are tons of legal deductions that you will be able to claim so your income will be very little.

Contact me if your interested in a copy of my contracts and policies and where to find out about the deductions day cares can take on taxes. I was in day care for over 15 yrs and really don't like to see other providers being taken advantage of.

Renee

I don't babysit but I did have my children in an in-home one for about 2 years while hubby and I were in college. We had a contract that was straight forward. It showed drop off time and pick up time and rate. Had a notice that if we were late or early there was an additional fee and stated those terms. They let it slide a couple of times because of car troubles and running out of gas though which I appreciated

I say draw up a concise contract. It was so much easier on me, the mother, to know the terms and conditions. It just always is. .

You are giving them a Great rate to begin with and they need to understand that. I watch a little boy in my home for a while and what I decided was here was the number of hours I agreed to watch your child, if you go over that then I charge you per fifteen minutes over. (ex. They pick up or drop off before or after time ten minutes I charged them for fifteen.)
You are charging $6.67/hr for both kids combinded so I would charge $1.67 per fifteen minutes. If they are over a little each day combine that for the week. I always wrote down the time the child came and what time they were picked up that way you have a record and can show the parents the amout they are going over. I also had them call me if they were going to be late or early for pick up or drop off so I wasn't waiting for them.

Oh, I did home daycare and will lovingly and respectfully tell you that they are unlikely trying to take advantage of you, but they kind of are. See, this is just the beginning of some hurt feelings, and it would really be in your best interest to address this directly with them before it gets out of hand. I for one am a stickler for the clock. My time is just as important as anyone else's, and their time is important, too!
If I were you, I would talk to them TODAY. I would tell them, "Hey, I just want to make sure we're on the same page with our schedule. I just love watching the kids, and look forward to them being here each day. I really plan my day around it, making sure to be ready and available for the time we have scheduled. So, I need to know ahead of time what the schedule will be so I can plan my day. If you need to be here at 11:20, then lets set that as the start time rather than 11:30 so I know to be ready a little earlier. Same for pick up time. If you're going to be more than 5 minutes late, I'll need to charge a late fee to compensate me for the additional time. From this point on, I'll need to know the schedule at least 1 week in advance and stick to it so I can make plans for before or after I watch your kids. Thanks so much for understanding!" Then, the very next time they are late, just mention to add $10 to their next check for the late fee.
If you don't address this right away, they will start to walk all over you and you will begin to feel resentful. If you're both on the same page and respect each other's time, you'll both be happy with the arrangements. Good luck and have fun! Watching kids can really be a joy!

Give a few minutes leeway (maybe 15 min?) and then start charging a dollar a minute extra. Those parents are getting a great deal from you - don't let them take extra advantage of your generosity.