What is a reasonable rate for a private sitter to watch preschool child for at least 8 hours.?

Question

Nice clean home, great play area for kids and quality care. Wanting to watch kids for some people we know but can't decide a reasonable rate. Any suggestions would be nice, thanks.

Answer 1

That completely depends on where you live. I do daycare in my home in Northern Illinois. I charge $30/day for a child over 2 and $35 for one under 2. I offer a lot of activities for this price though including meals and a preschool program. You could call other home daycares in the area and ask what they charge. Just make sure that you receive enough to make it worth your time. Remember that you will receive significantly less money watching a child in your home versus in their home.

Answer 2

Depends on where you live. I pay $18 per day for my 3 year old. I would suggest calling some of the local child care providers and see what their rates are and go from there. I don't know where you live, but here they have an 800 # that you can call to get names of local child care providers. In some areas you can call the local health department and they can either give you a list or they can connect you with the people that can give you the information. There is really no way to tell what is reasonable until you know what the current providers in your location charge. The price will also depend on the services you provide and your training.

Answer 3

I have a day care in my home and I charge a flat rate of $125 a week, no exceptions. I don't get into the daily rate thing because everyone works full time and needs full time care. Fees are due every week regardless of whether their child is there or not, it's 50 hours of care available during the week all meals and snacks included for those eating table food. I do have vacation days every year where I close and do not charge fees. I would call around to other day cares in your area and see what they charge so that you can price yourself competitively, but remember the children you watch will get more individualized care with you than they would in a larger day care setting so you can get away with charging a little more than larger day cares. Feel free to email me through Yahoo Answers if you have any questions. I'll try to help if I can. Take care.

Answer 4

You pay for her time, not for the time your kids are awake. She is there to protect and care for your child, and you are paying for that service. If the child is alseep or screaming or bratty or playful doesn't matter - good or easy behavior is a perk of the job, just as bad behavior is a hazard of the job. You owe the sitter for THEIR time, not your CHILD's time. Offering her use of your electronics and pantry is an optional benefit. You can forbid or allow use as you prefer. It seems fair to offer at least minimum wage - at least $5 an hour, regardless of the age of the child or any benefits. It is up to the sitter to decide if the number of children, their behavior, and the duration of the job is acceptable given the base payment and the benefits. The only exception would be if the sitter could also sleep during the job. I think it's fair to say that she doesn't need to be paid for time spent sleeping. But you should confirm with her BEFOREHAND exactly how much you will pay and what you expect from her.

Answer 5

I would say for 1 child, 8 hours charge daily for the 8 hours, 40$/day. That's how most I know do it.If you do it by the hour, You might get stuck with 2 hours, interrupting your day, for what 15$?, I pay my sitter to come to my home 50-60$ for twin 3 yr year olds, and the other in school. Depending on your area, you may charge 30$ for 1.

Answer 6

Depends on your qualifications... Have you had college classes in child development? Are you CPR/First Aid certified? What experience have you had watching/working with children before? All these will determine a reasonable rate as well as the conditions of the area the child will be allowed to use. Will the parents provide lunch, snacks and nap materials, or will you? Will you be expected to take the child places in your car (you'll need a carseat)?
A great and easy way to compare prices is to call around in your area to home daycare providers, and ask their rates for the same time period and conditions. Since you are only sitting for one family, you don't need to be licensed as a daycare provider, but you may want to think about what modifications you will need to make to your home to make it workable for a four-year-old. Most daycares run about $20-25/day or $100-150/week in my area (Southern Calif), depending on the qualifications of the provider and the services they provide.

Answer 7

we have to pay 280 a weeek for two one infant and one preschooler the baby is more expensive and the preschooler is about 125-- divide that by 40 and you get about $30 per eight hours. the person is not liscened then oyur look'n at well 20-30 depending on how much you will use this person. One time thing sure 30-40 twice a week 25-30- three times a week 15-20 and so on, your looking for return usage!

Answer 8

I would call around to some local pre-schools and find out what their full time rates are for a child that age and base it off of that. If this person is a friend, you may want to go a little cheaper. I pay $525 per month for full time pre-school for my 4 1/2 year old daughter and it's worth every cents for the stuff she's learning!

Answer 9

Sounds like you have a nice arrangement. Check around and see what day care facilities charge in your area. What is the minimum wage? What do these people do for a living and therefore, what do they make during that period of time. What is your time worth? These are all things you have to consider. You don't want to cheat your friends, or price yourself out of the job, but you do need to make it worth your while.

Answer 10

In Florida the rates are $100-130 a week and some do not provide meals only snacks. If I were you I would call around some of your local daycares and ask them their rates and if they provide meals...and price your rate what you think would be a fair price. I watch my friends toddler and I charge her $100 a week and provide her meals and snacks. Hope this helps Goodluck!