Originally Posted by Denise:
Thank you all so much for your advice!
I actually agreed to the pay rate with the original babysitter. She is the one who called me to find out if I could take two children on because she agreed to help the family find a new care provider. She said that they are a super nice family and they always pay on time (she has so far :P) and asked me what I would charge. Since I was new and have never had my child in child care, I had NO idea what to charge and asked what SHE (the former sitter) was charging. She said $165/week for a 2 year old and a 6 year old. She broke it down to $125/week for the 2 year old and $40/week for the 6 year old for gas to/from school and babysitting. I agreed originally with her to just keep the same rates.
Then the mom came and met with me and we confirmed the prices. This is the last week of school for the 6 year old. They will not need care for the first 2-3 weeks of summer because they are going out of town to visit family but when they get back, the pay rate will then move from $165 to $200 for both kids full-time.
I was thinking about trying to find a new family but when I looked around (on Craigslist) to see what other in-home dc's were charging, I saw that they are all set up so much nicer than I am! :P I have our main living room set up with toys and have my son's room available to play in. We have a pool (fenced off) and a basketball hoop in our VERY LARGE backyard... but I don't have like a whole room dedicated to play or anything like that. Some of the daycare centers I saw look like little in-home preschools! I am just offering a safe place to play while the parents are at work. I mean, I supervise and we play together and I'm teaching the 2 year old about shapes, colors, animals, etc., and we have also incorporated her into our Baby Signing Time routine... but I'm nowhere near as full-blown as the other day cares in the area. :/ Since the old daycare was charging the same as I am (at least, that is what the old sitter told me), I feel like I can't up my charges or anything (especially since my layout is so simple).
The positives I guess I DO have going for me:
*I am only taking on one family at a time (because I don't really want to go through the process to get licensed) so the children get a lot more individual attention
*We are part of a playgroup that does ALL KINDS of awesome activities (we tour libraries, tour dairy farms, have regular weekly crafts, etc.,)
*The kids seem to really love me (the 3rd day here, the little 2 year old cried when it was time to leave)
I don't have a contract and we never discussed one. I will DEFINITELY look into getting one written up, though. Thank you everyone for pointing out my need for that!
@daycare: we are in So Cal (Riverside County). What part of California are you in?
IO am in the bay area, but just moved from so cali no long ago. I do know the area that you are in, its a very big city. But I still don't understand your rates. I have a friend who lives in Rancho Cucamonga that has a childcare there and she charges $180.00 a week for toddlers. she only provides 10.5 hours of care each day for that price. She also like you does not have a set up for preschool. She advertises herself as a babysitter.
One word of caution, you said you take the kids with you on field trips. How do you afford an insurance policy to do this if the family is paying you so little? Are you sure that the kids are covered? Sorry, not trying to be a debbie downer, just trying to help you. I transport on field trips weekly and my insurance is $375.00 a month just for the car insurance. This does not include accidental/daycare coverage, which is another $80.00 a month. I have lived in CA a very long time and I would not do any business LIC or NOT without the right coverage. Californians are known to be sue happy people.....
Sorry, on another note, I see that you are happy the way that you are and if that is what feels best for you, then keep doing what is best for you.
BTW it is super easy to get your LIC in CA. Sad, but true, I think our state has some of the weakest rules for opening a home daycare. All of us can help you too. It is not expensive, it does not take long and then you can make more money and cover more cost.......