[brimack]

Hi everyone!

I thought I would send this question out to everyone as I'm not sure what to do....
I am an elementary teacher who has been on childcare leave with my three little ones. My cousin recently had her first and will be taking this year off. She returns to work in September as a school psychologist and her little one will be 10 months. Since I'll still be home, she has asked me to watch the baby which I have agreed to do. My question, I'm not sure how much to charge. She has asked me to come up with a figure and I'm a little lost.

I did have my oldest daughter in daycare for awhile when I went back to work but this was about 7 years ago. At the time I was paying 250 a week for full time care. I will be watching my cousins baby 5 days from between 8 to about 3:30. Being that she is my cousin I don't want to charge a crazy price, but being that I am a licensed teacher and have three kids of my own I do want to get a decent price. My SIL has said that I should charge at least 200 a week (which works out to 40 a day), does this sound about right to you? I did check with other facilities to see what their rates are here in our area and the daycares now charge 275 a week and the at home family cares are charging 60 a day with no meals included which I would be providing the meals. What does everyone think?

[kimberf]

It sounds like 200-250 a week would be fair, from the information you've provided. I think you have enough comparison points to discuss it with your cousin and have a reasonable starting point. Good luck to you - I tend to be a pushover and struggle with any discussions like that, so I hope it goes well for you.

My suggestion: before you talk to your cousin, ask her to call around and see what she gets as comparison prices. Then she'll already be walking into the conversation with a realistic idea of what day care costs. It also gives you a good way to introduce the topic and price range, since the two of you can compare notes on where you called and what they said. That way you might be able to mutually agree on a price without you having to feel awkward about being the one proposing it. Just a thought...

[lulilu]

$200+ sounds fair to me if you are happy with it. Your cousin is not only getting "day care," she is getting the peace of mind that comes with someone you know and love taking care of your baby. That is hard to put a price on, IMO.

[Swanky Mama Of Three]

$200 seems low to me to be honest, that's about $5.30/hour.
I'd ask for more like $250-275/week especially if YOU supply food.
I understand not wanting to gouge a family member, but adding another child to your home is a lot of work, do you have any little ones at home now?

My Nanny just left but she was making $12/hour, don't undercut yourself.

[Needanotherbag]

Seems really low to me too - you essentially will be a nanny, which commands a much higher price than daycare centers!

[bamalsch13]

I offer daycare from my home, and I charge 10$ and hour, or 9 and hour if its going to 45 hours a week.

[treck]

Originally Posted by lulilu

$200+ sounds fair to me if you are happy with it. Your cousin is not only getting "day care," she is getting the peace of mind that comes with someone you know and love taking care of your baby. That is hard to put a price on, IMO.

ITA!!! Its impossible to put a price on knowing you are not leaving your child to a total stranger but maybe up the charge to $250 since you will be providing food.

[Elara]

I think it depends on where you live- in NY, especially in or near the city, that sounds like a fair price. Here in Richmond, in-home daycare is much cheaper than centers (we paid $255 a week for my daughter as a baby at a center) and usually is closer to $130-150 a week per child. But you have to remember, most in-home daycare has at least 5-6 children. And when you consider that, those prices aren't so bad. However, if you were billing yourself as a nanny, which is a lot different than in-home childcare, I'd say you were underpricing yourself.

[bonniec]

We're in OH and we pay $12.50/hr for someone to come to our home for one toddler. Operator-run daycare runs around $250/wk. Home daycare here (for a 4:1 ratio) runs around $300-350 per week (and you BRING your own meals/food). My colleague paid her sister in law $350/wk and brought her own food...

You should be asking for at least $8-10/hr and think about whether you WANT to prepare meals or have her do it (which she willingly should do if you don't want to). I think it would be a LOT to ask for you to make meals/take care of her child/$200/wk.

She is lucky to have someone she knows who will take good care of her child and should pay you accordingly.

[esiders]

Originally Posted by bonniec

We're in OH and we pay $12.50/hr for someone to come to our home for one toddler. Operator-run daycare runs around $250/wk. Home daycare here (for a 4:1 ratio) runs around $300-350 per week (and you BRING your own meals/food). My colleague paid her sister in law $350/wk and brought her own food...

WOW...I can't believe how much at home daycare cost in Ohio. Here in northern New Jersey, most people prefer daycare centers, so the home/family daycare are really cheap. My sister pays $1100 a month for my niece to attend a Goddard school, whereas I was paying $540 a month for my son to attend a home daycare.

BRIMACK - I agree with the person who suggested your cousin should shop around so that she offers you a competitive amount of money per week. Sometimes people look to family to take care of their kids, not because they want the comfort of the baby being with family, but because family is cheaper. If money were no object, there is a possibility she might not have approached you at all (she could always go the nanny route).

One more thing...will this be under the table or will you pay taxes? That may also impact how much you charge. If you go the under the table route, I hope she realizes she can't claim the baby's daycare costs on her income taxes.

[purseinsanity]

Originally Posted by lulilu

$200+ sounds fair to me if you are happy with it. Your cousin is not only getting "day care," she is getting the peace of mind that comes with someone you know and love taking care of your baby. That is hard to put a price on, IMO.

ITA! But may I make a suggestion? No matter how close you are, I usually believe that it's better in the long run to not have business arrangements with family members. Someone always winds up feeling like they're getting screwed. If I were you, I might just stay out of it. After all, you've got 3 of your own to deal with!

[jlmrocks]

My son is in FT daycare at a private daycare franchise. I pay about $315.00 a week, but that is on the high side. I know some other daycares charge a little less in the $233 a week range. Honestly, I would prefer to pay less as daycare is getting more and more expensive. I could pay a little less and send my son to a not so great place, but if you don't mind charging a little less I don't think she is gouging you. She is picking up the child at a decent time say 3:30, while some of the drop times for daycare are 7:00am to 6:00 pm, so that isn't so bad. think of it as you are making $200 more than you would have.

[sea0fyears]

Holy...! I had no idea daycare was so expensive!! DH and I already checked out the daycare at his place of work since it has gotten rave reviews (especially from MIL who's an early childhood specialist) and for 40 hours a week it runs a little over $500 a month. This is for a 1:2 caregiver ratio though, and perhaps it's a bit under the average since it's a military facility, but YIKES! Kids are expensive.

One of the girls I used to work with had two young boys (ages 6 & 8) who were watched after school 5 days a week for about $500 a month as well. Her SIL would pick them up and watch them in their own home.