Originally Posted by Unregistered:
I agree many childcare providers are paid low. However, to state you only make $1.75/hr seems a bit extreme. If you are attempting to get every parent to pay you minimum wage or higher per hour per child that may be an unreasonable expectation. Some states do have a maximum # of kids you may watch (i.e. Providing unlicensed child care for more than 4 children, who are not related to the provider, is against the law in Missouri.) In this situation the provider should determine their desired hourly wage (or wkly earnings) and divide that by the four child max.
We take our child to an unlicensed home daycare that operates a max of 9 hours per day. Every federal holiday is observed (daycare closed) and we still pay for care. We pay the full-time weekly rate whether our child is there or not. In addition the provider is allowed two one-week paid vacations (1 spring/summer, 1 fall/winter).
$125 per week x 4 children = $500 per week divided by 45 hrs of max operation = $11.11/hour.
NOTE: A licensed provider may care for more than the four limit mentioned above. "There are several criteria that determine a facility’s licensed capacity. These include: Square footage for indoor and outdoor areas; Director’s education and work experience; and
Amount of materials and equipment."
I do not know any childcare provider who works "45 hours of max operation" per week. Maybe 45-50 hours with children present, and that doesn't include the time it takes to do administrative duties, clean, lesson plan, prepare materials, go shopping for food/toys/necessary items, etc. I work around 60 hours per week (
minimum).
The amount of money that goes back into running a business like this is unbelievable and I don't think you'd begrudge your daycare provider for charging what they do and when they do if you knew the true costs (financially, physically, and mentally) of running a quality daycare program.
