Babysitting... Price increase/schedule conversation has not come up... should I just wait and see?

$5 an hour?? That's not even minimum wage. Teenagers slinging fries make more than that.
It is what it is. Most people who do in home daycare take in multiple kids to make it worth while, or you are home with your own kids anyway. You have the benefit of being in your own home, can throw in laundry, prep dinner, clean during naps, and some people prefer to use home daycares because licensed centers and private sitters (who come to your house) cost at least twice as much.

The OP’s situation worked because it was part time, I don’t know of many in home daycares that just have one child, financially it wouldn’t be worth it.
 
Most in home child caregivers that I know charge x amount per day or y amount per week. It rarely equals out to the same as a teenager weekend babysitting per hour price or even a regular job. It's less than a childcare center.

Normally that price is for set hours say 7:30-5:30, giving time for the parents to get to and from work. And set days or number of days. And it may or may not include food for the child--parents may be required to bring in food for the child. But all of that is an agreement up front.
 


The low rates of pay presented on this thread shock me and, honestly, make me sad. I was paid $10-15 per hour as a 14 year old babysitter 20 years ago.

Childcare is the last place anyone should be looking to save a buck and stiff the people working for them. :sad2:

The reality is that might be more than some are making themselves. It varies lot regionally.

I don't sense that's the case here though.
 
The low rates of pay presented on this thread shock me and, honestly, make me sad. I was paid $10-15 per hour as a 14 year old babysitter 20 years ago.

Childcare is the last place anyone should be looking to save a buck and stiff the people working for them. :sad2:
And that’s how much teen sitters are paid today. The cost of in home daycare is about half that of having a teenager come to your house. If you paid an in home unlicensed sitter $10 an hour, 40 hours a week, that’s $400 a week, around he same cost as a licensed facility that is licensed and secured. No one pays an in home sitter $10 an hour, for that amount, the sitter is coming to my house.

Do you have kids in daycare?
 
So what are your thoughts on "pregnancy brain"?

I asked what time for tomorrow and she said 9-5:30, Leaving at 5 but if there's traffic I'll text you right away.

I thought about it and started to recall 9 months ago and earlier that that would be the type of response I'd get and then I remembered that back then she generally kept in better communication with me especially about timing. She'd come on time and if she was running late she'd tell me.

It was difficult to remember that through my frustration until I got that kind of response from her today.


Now I'm wondering if it was more due to the pregnancy than a lack of treating me well.

I think I'll find out in the coming weeks.

Also notice how that time frame is much more reasonable?

I think a conversation about pay and hours may be much less awkward if I feel like she's treating me more like I should be treated.


Stop. Just stop now. This is an excuse. Step up or step out.
 


Completely agree with the above statement.
I did home daycare for about 5 years when my kids were little.
It started with a neighbor asking me to watch her little one. Nothing was put in writing.
The mom was difficult and inconsiderate of my time and family.
The second family that I took care of, a written list of expectations was agreed upon.

I said this long ago here in this thread. Actually, I think it was the first thing of anything I said on this thread, lol.

There are so many legalities and it's not just with taking care of the kids... it's the governmental end as well with taxes. Anything happens to one of the kids while in the OP's care, she's gonna wind up paying everything and WAY more BACK to the family friends.
 
This sounds like a no win situation. You are only being paid $25 for sometimes up to 10 hours a day. They want you to add on an infant, but never mentioned any type of pay increase. I would tell them to make other arrangements.
 
The low rates of pay presented on this thread shock me and, honestly, make me sad. I was paid $10-15 per hour as a 14 year old babysitter 20 years ago.

Childcare is the last place anyone should be looking to save a buck and stiff the people working for them. :sad2:

10-15 an hour for a few hours vs 10-15 an hour for 8 hours, or more, a day and 1-5 days a week is a big difference. Very few working parents can afford that.

I agree that childcare isn't the place to save a buck but caregivers have to be reasonable too. Most in home keep as many as legal for that reason.

The OP needs to decide how much she is willing to keep the kids for and let them know.
 
And that’s how much teen sitters are paid today. The cost of in home daycare is about half that of having a teenager come to your house. If you paid an in home unlicensed sitter $10 an hour, 40 hours a week, that’s $400 a week, around he same cost as a licensed facility that is licensed and secured. No one pays an in home sitter $10 an hour, for that amount, the sitter is coming to my house.

Do you have kids in daycare?
I do not. We never used daycare. However, had we needed it, there is 0% chance that I would have trusted an unlicensed in-home “daycare” with my babies, and I would have expected to pay accordingly.
 
I do not. We never used daycare. However, had we needed it, there is 0% chance that I would have trusted an unlicensed in-home “daycare” with my babies, and I would have expected to pay accordingly.

Actually there are many high quality in home child care providers.

Having a license means they meet the state requirements for a child care center. It doesn't mean your child will necessarily receive better care. Some children do much better with a homenprobider than they do in a center due to the ability to have more one on one attention.
 
I do not. We never used daycare. However, had we needed it, there is 0% chance that I would have trusted an unlicensed in-home “daycare” with my babies, and I would have expected to pay accordingly.

I feel exactly the opposite. My friend has a licensed in home daycare and her care is way more personal than many of teh "professional" centers. Those children are well cared for, treated like her own, and leave that house in better shape than they entered. Her home is inspected, and the area she has transformed into her day care area is equipped with a separate kitchen, play area, craft area, and sleeping space for the childrens naps. Her yard has been transformed into a safe and engaging play yard that rivals some of the school yards.

I realize that you are discussing licensed vs unlicensed, but the reality is that there are many people who provide income care to children that is safer and more personal than the professional centers we associate with day cares.
 
The low rates of pay presented on this thread shock me and, honestly, make me sad. I was paid $10-15 per hour as a 14 year old babysitter 20 years ago.

Childcare is the last place anyone should be looking to save a buck and stiff the people working for them. :sad2:
Not to mention that as a working parent finding and maintaining quality childcare was my highest priority and greatest source of anxiety. There is NO WAY I would have been as casual as these parents seem to be - just assuming it will all fall into place. Perhaps their side of this situation would sound different than what's being presented? It is just unbelievable to me that these parents haven't taken the initiative to get this all locked down for their own peace-of-mind. :confused:
 
Not to mention that as a working parent finding and maintaining quality childcare was my highest priority and greatest source of anxiety. There is NO WAY I would have been as casual as these parents seem to be - just assuming it will all fall into place. Perhaps their side of this situation would sound different than what's being presented? It is just unbelievable to me that these parents haven't taken the initiative to get this all locked down for their own peace-of-mind. :confused:

Some people just seem to operate that way. When we had the child care center we were closed for two weeks at Christmas every year (kept a lot of kids of teachers and others who were off work during this time plus it gave us a time to do renovations, major repairs, extra deep cleaning, etc).

Some parents, that did have to work those days, worried for months about getting child care nailed down for that two weeks. We kept lists of college students that had been checked out and they would stress over these lists, discuss it with family members, etc. Others? They would be saying the last Friday before we closed, "oh it will work out fine. Between friends and family we will have someone" They seemed to take it day by day and be fine with it.
 
You need written rules, including:
  • A set service and pay schedule that is guaranteed to be paid unless there is 24-hour notice of a change before the day of service.
  • Extra pay for late pick-ups by the parents, prorated at 15-minute intervals (perhaps with an initial 15-minute grace period, since you like being "nice").
  • Amount of advance notice required for change of schedule or number of kids.
You'll notice less "baby brain" immediately, once being late or not rescheduling in advance starts to cost THEM money. These terms are ultra basic and completely reasonable. But you'll have to use your backbone to set them up.
 
I think you need to clearly define the expectations of caring for a second child. On average, an infant is ~$300/week and so if you have their toddler + infant, there definitely needs to be some communication. Don't sell yourself short and be verbal to your needs!
 
I feel exactly the opposite. My friend has a licensed in home daycare and her care is way more personal than many of teh "professional" centers. Those children are well cared for, treated like her own, and leave that house in better shape than they entered. Her home is inspected, and the area she has transformed into her day care area is equipped with a separate kitchen, play area, craft area, and sleeping space for the childrens naps. Her yard has been transformed into a safe and engaging play yard that rivals some of the school yards.

I realize that you are discussing licensed vs unlicensed, but the reality is that there are many people who provide income care to children that is safer and more personal than the professional centers we associate with day cares.



I completely agree with this. I took my children to a licensed in home daycare and I think it was the best place for them. They received more care and attention than any center would have provided. I think the big difference with most in home care is how many children are being cared for by one person. With licensing that limits the children and prevents the overcrowding that many non licensed people provide.
In reality as long as the child/children are being properly cared for then that's all that should matter.
There has been much debate on here about pricing as well. I don't think that anyone can give advice to the OP on that matter. Cost of child care can vary greatly based on not only the number of children and amount of hours but also the geographic location. I reside in upstate NY and the average cost for in home licensed care for 1 child is about 30.00 per day, while I know someone that lives in the city and is paying 65.00 a day for 1 child. So it's not really fair to assume that the parents are taking advantage of the OP, maybe in their area 25.00 is the going rate. Also the pay is usually less for someone that is not licensed. In addition to the inspections that Nancyg56 wrote of there is also the first aid/cpr training that all licensed providers are required to have. Here in NY they are also required to provide a breakfast and lunch menu monthly to the state for approval of nutritional value.

I do not. We never used daycare. However, had we needed it, there is 0% chance that I would have trusted an unlicensed in-home “daycare” with my babies, and I would have expected to pay accordingly.

Assuming that a child will get less care from an in home provider vs. a center is just ridiculous and not always accurate.
 
Where did I say that? Are you sure you read my post carefully & understood it?

Huh, when I read your post where you said there was 0% chance that you would ever leave your child at an inhome provider, I assumed that is what you meant. If you meant something else I must have misunderstood it as well.
 

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