In-home daycare costs
buckeyebaby2011
member
We are considering a woman to watch our little girl when I go back to work that watches children in her home. She has 2 of her own, a 2 yo and a newborn, and my daughter is almost 9 weeks old. She would be watching our little girl full-time for the time being although I may drop to part-time at some point in the future. She charges $40/day which seems a little high for a home daycare and is more in line with a commercial daycare. I really like her and feel that she would be a good influence on our child and am more than willing to pay for great child care but wanted to make sure her rates were reasonable. Right now Reagan would be her only outside child but she is willing to take up to 2 more children if the opportunity presents itself. Her hours are 7-5 and she charges $8/hr for any times before or after those hours. This would increase my cost somewhat since I know I have to drop her off by 6 am in order to be at work at Children's. Most of the time my husband will be able to take her at 7 and so the 6 wouldn't be everyday but it could add up. The daycare we currently have a spot reserved for will take them at 6 and keep her till 6 if absolutely necessary for the same price although I hope to God she is never there for that long.
We are located on the east side of town (Batavia) and I just wasn't sure what the expected rate for in home daycare should be. Thanks
Kristen
Re: In-home daycare costs
I think you're right, it's more in line with daycare centers.
We use a center 2 days/week, and while we pay a little more than that it's because we only go twice/week. If we went all week, it would be closer to that rate. They provide all meals and snacks, and as long as I'm there by the time they close we're good. I like the convenience of having wiggle room in the afternoon.
If you want more info about the center I use, PM me. I live in Eastgate.
I agree with PP - $40/day seems a bit high for in-home care in our area (I also live in Eastgate). $25-$30/per child is more in line with what other area in-home care providers are charging. All that said, I do think that it would make sense for a care provider to charge a bit more if:
? your child is an infant
? your child will be in her care for 9+ hours/day
? your child the only outside child in her care
? she plans to provide all supplies (crib/bed, an array of age-appropriate, educational toys/games, crafts, etc.) and food, especially if she plans to serve an all organic menu
? she plans to provide daily, structured (with age-appropriate lesson plans), educational instruction
In the end, childcare costs are relative, so oftentimes you are comparing apples to oranges. IMO, the biggest challenge is to find someone you trust and whom your child loves. That, in and of itself, is worth its weight in gold.
This. Exactly.
Back in December when we were scrambling to find care for DD (a toddler), we found that the in-home rates seemed to run about $20/day for unlicensed, $30/day for licensed.
But that was for a toddler, and I've also been told that infant care tends to run more, so...
IMO, it seems a bit high, but not crazy high. And depending on what she provides, it might be worth it. Kinda hard to say.
GL!
This, especially the bolded part. I do in-home childcare in Dayton and charge $33 per day, infant or toddler. The way I look at it, infants definitely require more time and one on one care, but toddlers require a lot more costs on my end with food, art supplies, toys, etc.
I went back to work for about 6 months after my DD was born and paid $35 for a lady to watch her and was not happy at all with the experience. I gave her a form to fill out and she never told me what she did with her during the day, just naps, diaper changes, and when she ate. I wanted to know if she read books to her, or if she played with rattles, or had tummy time, KWIM? She also drove her in the car to pick up her kids from school, take another child to preschool, and take her kids to sports practice, which I was also NOT happy with.
Do you have to pay her for holidays or when your DD is sick? That may make it worth the $40 per day, if you don't.... I do not give my parents unpaid days, except for 5 holidays and summers (they are all teachers so they do get the summers unpaid). But for every other day, I require payment even if they do not bring their child.
Thank you for all of your input. It's great to get the perspective from other mothers, particularly those that are in my area and understand the childcare situation where I live.
She does charge for 9 paid holidays as well as anytime we choose to not bring her. If Reagan is ill we still have to pay her for the day and if my mom watches her for a few days we still have to pay. I do understand this as I know this is her income and she needs to have reliable income. She said that if she takes vacation we don't have to pay but if we take vacation we have to continue paying for daycare. I do feel that we should have at least 2 weeks of vacation during the year during which we don't have to pay for childcare as when she takes vacation it will present a serious problem finding backup childcare since I have no family in the area She said she will give me a month's notice on vacations which does give me a little time to try and find alternate childcare but not enough time to take the week off myself. I have to have my schedule requests in a minimum of 6 weeks ahead of time (eg. July 15 th for September's schedule). It is a little riskier for me as not only do have to find alternate childcare or call off for the days that my daughter is ill but also for when she or her 2 children are ill making it a little less reliable.
TTimes3- I think that she would be a great influence on my daughter, particularly when she is older, and that is why I am considering her. She is a preschool teacher and does a lot of educational playing, reading books etc with the children she takes care of. She provides all books and art supplies etc. that the children use during the course of the day. She shares a lot of my values and faith as well as a lot of my other parenting ideals such as breastfeeding, making your own baby food, and organic healthy eating. She will provide meals when the time comes and they will be primarily organic and preservative free which I really like. I do have concerns that 2 infants, a 2 year old, and potentially 2 additional children are a lot to handle. She is not licensed but does file the income with the IRS so we would be able to utilize our dependent care FSA to help with at least some of the costs.
I have never done this child care thing before as Reagan is my first child and it all makes me nervous. I just want to make sure that my daughter is in the best hands she can be when she can't be in my arms. I know that no one will take care of her exactly like I would and I have to accept that.
Thank you again. I truly appreciate it.
Kristen
You really do have to trust your gut. It sounds like it could be a really good set up. That said, I'd ask her for either 2 weeks "free" for vacations or 50% rate those weeks (max of 4). That's in line with most daycares in the area... either a few weeks of no payment when you're on vacation or 50% of the tuition.