How Much to Charge?? - Romeoville,IL

Are your CPR certified and have First Aide certification?

You either charge, per hour or a flat-rate... either weekly or monthly.
The person has to pay, whether or not they show up.
Because.. you have to 'reserve' their slot.
You TELL them, that.

Will you be feeding them or they bring their own food/snacks?

See what the going rate for your area is.
Each State varies.

At the minimum, $10/hour.

To me, (I have done that before), I charged a flat-rate, monthly. Paid, at the start of the month, or no bringing their kid.
AND they have to pay even if they don't show up and for vacations.

AND, usually, if a parent is late in picking-up, there is a late charge... sometimes it being $5 per every 15 minute or 1/2 hour late.
These scenarios, DO happen.
Some parents, are habitually, late.

SINCE you will also be 'transporting' those kids... you need to have Parent SIGN a 'release of liability" form. (you can find these forms online)
AND, are they providing the car seats, or you???

You ALSO have to decide, how payment is made to you.
Check or cash.
AND, if they can claim you (as a child care provider), in their Taxes.
ARE you licensed or not?
What is the child to adult ratio, in your State, for IF you have to be licensed or not????

You... type up your terms and rules on paper... and have them SIGN it... BEFORE you begin services.
If not, no bringing their kids.

The final answer will depend on the going rates in your area. I absolutely agree that you charge in advance. I have a strict no pay, no stay policy.

I charge 200 per week for 2 children. But I would want 50 cents per mile to transport the child to and from school and I would offer no discount for the time they are at the school.

When it comes to the other child after school, that's a bit harder for me. I find that parents of school agers almost never want to make it fair to do the transporting, provide before and after snack, just getting the other kids bundled up and risking your car on the road for transporting is worth decent pay. Charge as much as you NEED to make it worthwhile.

Listen to S.H. Make them pay upfront or they don't stay. No exceptions.
I hear story after story of moms who get taken advantage of in these situation.

do you have experience? are you a certified teacher or child care provider? are you going to have other children there? are your children going to be there? are you going to be driving the child to preschool? you have to have additional insurance to do this as you are an employee.

Personally, I would ask for at least $3 per hour for the school-aged child no matter what. an infant I would ask for $600 per month. I am certified, experienced and only have one child of my own.

Every state is different and the rules and laws regarding home childcare (licensing, registering with your state, etc).

As far as transporting...check into this. You will be transporting during your business hours...a client. If you misrepresent this, an insurance person can and likely will deny a claim. That is their job...to NOT pay out.

And someone earlier posted about having the parents sign a waiver of liability. I would check your state, but I know here in MN, you can never ever ever sign away your child's right for future legal events. Example...a daycare provider gets into a car accident transporting a child to a class or preschool program (or the child just falls on the swing set in the backyard). The child gets a scar or injury that affects their future life or wellbeing. Maybe the kid wanted to be a model when they grew up and there is a scar on their eyebrow)? Maybe their arm never got set right and its funky forever now? They can be 20 years old and STILL sue you for damages and WIN. It does not matter what their parents signed. You can not sign away your child's rights.

As far as charging, see if there is a local Resource and Referral agency for your state or county. Most have them. There might be an average rate chart for different cities, counties or zip code areas.

http://www.childcarehelp.com/
Is this yours? Search the site or find the right one for your area??

I always warn people to consider the liability you bring into your life when you take on what seems like such a "simple way to make some cash". You are caring for someones most precious jewel, in a sue happy world. And as the saying goes..."Sh*t Happens"......

Sorry, I am definitely a nay-sayer on this topic......

well, i paid $225 a week for my dd when she was an infant when she went to a daycare center and my dd (now in the 3/4 room) costs $190 a week. The daycare only gives a 10% discount for multiples....so given daycare costs and you are a much better ratio 1-2 or 1-3, I'd say it wouldn't be unreasonable for you to ask $350-400/wk for the 4month & 3 yr old and $75-100wk for the before/after care especially with your duties and background.

40 hours a week isn't babysitting... it's nanny-ing. Prices are *vastly* different for nannies v babysitters. Baby sitting is an occasional or very limited in hours. Nannying is depending on a person regularly for extended hours.

In our area the norm for nannies at 40-50 hours is $2500 per month (with about $500 give in either direction). Working out to 15.60 per hour. Group childcare (infants to potty trained) is $1600 per month per child. Working out to $10 per hour. (Minimum wage in our state is 8.60 something 67 I think). CONVENTIONALLY in our area... if you're bringing your own child with you after you figure out the base payment (say $2500) you deduct 1/3 for each child of your own that you're bringing with you... (which would make it apx 1600). I'm not sure about other areas.

In other areas (lowest I've come across) nannies get apx $200 per week/ ###-###-#### per month, or $100 per week for group childcare (low areas tend to charge by the week, more affluent areas by the month). And in some (highest I've come across) $4k per month for nannies and $2k for group.

So it REALLY varies by region... but it is typically 1/2 again to double what group childcare costs.

YES absolutely write in vacation time for yourself (paid or unpaid, your choice... but be prepared to get "poached" if you have unpaid vacation) that is AT YOUR DISCRETION. Meaning you can choose when those days are. ALSO figure out if you will accept non-payment for when THEY go on vacation.

And moving right along... you need a sick policy. What do you do when YOU are sick, and what do you do when THEY are sick? Both in "who takes care of the children" in each scenario, and whether or not you are paid for times when you are sick. ALSO whether you are "salary" or hourly / what to do if/when you end up working 60-80 hours a week instead of 40.

But looping back around to prices... call around to local (at least 10) group care settings. That gets the average / ballpark figure for what group costs. Then increase it by half to double.