Boston Babies

SAHM question

I am due in August and I do not want to return to work right away. I would like to stay home for a year. Does anyone know how to find other mothers who would like a nanny/sitter who would bring their own child or who would drop off their child at my home so I could make a little money to make ends meet while being home?

Any suggestions and ideas welcome
ERIN

Re: SAHM question

  • I am expecting my first in July and will be a SAHM and will also be taking care of other children in my home for some extra money. I put an add on craigslist and care.com. I've gotten several responses so far.
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  • I've been checking this out lately, as if things don't work out with me working from home for my job, I may open at home daycare and accept 2 children.  I have heard that a lot of mother's are doing this now especially with the current economic downturn, having kids dropped off at their house & sitting for people, and I saw some warnings on this.  You may want to look into get licensed & getting properly insured, as if anything happens to any of the children you are watching in your home, they can come after you legally, and the state can fine you on top of that.  I first saw this warning on Craigslist from a mother was just giving a heads up to people, as she had a child fall at her home, and DSS showed up the next day...scary stuff...I reviewed the requirements for having a legal at home daycare, and it's not too extensive....just a heads up though as I have been doing some research on this recently & thought I'd share what I found : )
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  • If the money is under the table and you're only watching 1 - 2 children, it's considered babysitting. If you have several children, you need to be licensed. The insurance for a home daycare is astronomical as you a liable for the children in your home. It wouldn't be worth it for 1 or 2 children.
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  • I wouldn't even consider watching another child til yours is at least 4-5 months old.  the first few months are soooo tough and adding another , unfamiliar child to the mix would be really difficult. if I was in the market for childcare I would be very wary of leaving my kid with a brand new mom also. I would assume that no matter how hard you try to be fair, that your kid will be getting most of your attention, it's only natural.

    plus, keep in mind that for full time daycare it runs around $200-300 a week.  that is not that much $$ for the amount of work you will be doing.  I work part time waitressing at night and it's perfect b/c I am only missing an hour or so of being with DS 3-4 nights a week.

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  • imagechristiney06:

    I wouldn't even consider watching another child til yours is at least 4-5 months old.  the first few months are soooo tough and adding another , unfamiliar child to the mix would be really difficult. if I was in the market for childcare I would be very wary of leaving my kid with a brand new mom also. I would assume that no matter how hard you try to be fair, that your kid will be getting most of your attention, it's only natural.

    plus, keep in mind that for full time daycare it runs around $200-300 a week.  that is not that much $$ for the amount of work you will be doing.  I work part time waitressing at night and it's perfect b/c I am only missing an hour or so of being with DS 3-4 nights a week.

    This isn't true in all cases. As i WILL be a first time mom, i also have 3 years of daycare experience caring for newborns under my belt and 2 years of nanny experience. I have had several responses on both of my online adds and my adds clearly state that i will be a new mom and that this will be strictly babysitting rather than one on one nanny care. I also offer a much cheaper price than daycares offer as i won't be spending as much time with their child doing projects and what not. I am also only accepting children 2yrs and older which will make it much easier on me.

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  • Hi Laubeth87, not quite sure where you getting your information that watching 1-2 children in your home is considered "babysitting" and that the state allows any income to be earned under the table...but I got my information from many state govt. sites, this is one that states it clearly https://nrckids.org/CFOC/HTMLVersion/Chapter_1.html#1085162...I was only offering the information I found factually off of these sites when I was pondering home daycare as an option for myself.  I have also looked into home daycare insurance for myself in my home and the cost is not "astronomical", however it is expensive and could be worked into what I charge for daycare, still allowing me to make a good income.  As you can see from the link if I chose to open up a home day care, as an individual with one child of my own, I could only take in 2 children, if I wanted to take more, I would need to hire someone else and it would soon be considered "Large Family Childcare" and the requirements for space, etc..would change.  I have weighed out the costs in this situation, as this is my back up plan, in case my present FT job does not work out, so I made sure to check with all government agency's and my insurance agent to ensure this is something that I could do, afford, and still make an income off of.  Of course you can watch children in your home, is it legal probably not, if something happened to one of the children would your home insurance cover it if they sewed you, no...I personally would rather pay for insurance to watch children in my home & take a 15 hour course to get licensed than put myself & my family in a predicament that we could lose our home & everything we've worked for if something did happen.  I wish you the best of luck with your babysitting.

    This is also a helpful site:

    https://nrc.uchsc.edu/STATES/MA/massachusetts.htm

     

     

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  • sittercity.com, care.com, or craigslist.com

    it's not as easy as it sounds, especially the first few months. If your LO gets sick, are you still going to care for someone else's kids too? Most families will 1099 you unless it's occasional babysitting, in which case you better be insured and licensed. 

    With that said... it can work. I do after school and evening child care... it limits the time I am not 1-1 with DD, and I can often have DH watch her and not have to bring her along.

     GL!

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  • How about joining a mother's group?  I organize one on the North Shore, and I know people are always looking for temporary, sporadic sitters.  You can always swap time (which negates the income variable) or charge.  But I personally wouldn't do every day child care again (I did it for almost a year when ds, who is now almost 4, was about 2).  It's a lot... kids get sick, share germs, get into a lot of trouble together (think pushing each other down), and it's a lot of responsibility.  If your kid wakes up sick at 4am, that mother that's counting on you is up the creek... you know?  It's just a lot to adjust in the first few months of adjusting to a new baby.  So I'd be cautious.  It's hard.  If you think you're up to it, you will probably be fine, but I know I've got too much going on to manage it.  Just some thoughts. :)

     

    And in regards to the moms' group, check out Meetup.com.

  • You can try a site like care.com or sittercity.com to look for another family in need of a sitter at their home who may allow or even like you to bring your child along as a playmate for theirs.  I am registered as a part time sitter on both sites and have found great families on there.

    You, however, cannot care for another child in your home, other than a family member, and be paid unless you are licensed by the state.  Licensing requires things like CPR/first aid cert, a home visit to be sure you are following the child care laws from the Dept. of Early Education and Care, background checks, blah, blah. 

    I highly suggest you try to find a position sitting for a family in THEIR home.

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