Babysitting for a good friend, what would be a fair rate for a 2mnth old?

Question

A friend of mine needs help w/daycare. I don't mind watching the baby at all, in fact I am excited she asked. Although, it may at some point hinder working my contingent position where I make decent money. I would also have to travel the baby with me to pick my daughter up from school and possibly Dr's appointments (since I'm PG). What is fair to ask for? It would be 9hrs a day, 2-4 days a week? What would you pay your friend?

Answer 1

I do the same thing. Some friends of ours had a baby 1 year ago and needed help. I have watched their baby 2-3 (8-9 hrs/day) days a week for the past year and charge them $30/day. I don't charge for sick days or holidays. This figures out to be about $3/hour. If they were to take her to a reg. daycare, they would have to pay for full-time (as many do not accept part-time infants). In that case they would have had to pay $125/week (roughly $7/hour). They claim that it helps them out a ton and they know she is being cared for the way they want. I don't have to waiver my schedule at all. I have 2 kids I take to school daily and this morning we went to the grocery store for a mini-field trip (they provide the car seat if need be).

Answer 2

You're a wonderful friend for doing this! Although it's probably a little awkward to ask for payment, I can understand your need for a bit of compensation for the time & effort. I would call a local childcare center and ask what their hourly, daily, and weekly rates are. Choose which way you want to be paid, and make your price a fair bit lower than the childcare center's. If the center charges $5/hr., maybe you could charge $3. If it's $35/day there, maybe charge $25. And if you go with weekly, and their cost is $125 or thereabouts, you could go with $100.

Make sure she gives you a carseat to keep in your own vehicle, rather than having to install/uninstall the same one in both cars. Or if the baby is in an infant carrier carseat, have her get you a 2nd base for it. It's best not to uninstall/re-install seats often, because it leaves more opportunity for deadly mistakes if there were (heaven forbid) ever an accident while the baby was in your care.

Best wishes! Your friend is lucky to have someone like you she can trust to care for her baby. :)

Answer 3

I am certified ECE and I am now doing home daycare. The going rate up here in Canada (CAN$'s) is $40/day per child over 18months. A full day is anything over 4 hours. Under 4 hours would be $20.00.Food is not included in this price. If you will be driving anywhere with the children you need to insure your vehicle for work and extra liability. You also need to have extra insurance for your home or you will not be covered in case of an accident. According to your local laws you are also limited to how many children you have in your care at any one time. I am limited to 2 sibling groups - my own children count as one. With a Home daycare license you can have up to 7 children but you will have to pass health and safety inspections from your local officials. Hourly rates for Nannies is about $10 - $14. CAN per hour.

Answer 4

$20 per day at the very least!
Geographical location plays a big role in daycare costs, as well as the age of the child. And helpless babies are much harder to keep than older children. I live in a small town, where daycare centers get $100 per week for babies. My neighbor sometimes keeps my 2 kids (2yrs., and 11mo. old) and if they're with her more than 4 hrs. I pay her $40. She kept my 2yr. old for 6hrs. recently and I paid her $25.
Daycare is high these days, and I now understand why after having two babies in 2yrs. time!!! It's hard, and your time is worth alot!...especially if your pregnant. Anyone that won't pay at least $20-25 per day for a baby is just a plain ol cheapskate!

Answer 5

I agree with the person who answered below 20 bucks the average is about 10 a day for sitting but since its a baby and you do have to travel 20 a day is reasonable

Answer 6

i would go probably 20 a day considering that a day care would charge her about 125 a week just for those 2-4 days. And thats crazy. So I think 15 -20 a day would br pretty good.

Answer 7

I'd say $2.50-3 an hour, or $20-27 a day. . . I think if its an "up in the air" arrangement-- like you could go back to work at any time so can't commit to long term, I'd stick with $20 a day.

Answer 8

i would say somewhere from $5-$10 an hour. i would decrease that if the totally is really high and she cant afford it. kuz im guessing u wanna make money but not so much that u rip ur friend off or make her go poor. lol.

Answer 9

I would charge about 10-15 per hour.

Answer 10

$20 a day.