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Daycare Center and Family Home Forum>Don't Know What to Charge
SquirrellyMama 06:29 AM 02-23-2014
My dcb is going to K in the fall. I will only have him for 1.5 - 2 hours each day. We will do a bus run in the afternoon, but that is only 4 blocks away.

I was going to charge $25 which my dh thinks is too low. Twenty-five is my daily rate and he'll only be here about a day's worth of hours.

My dh was thinking $30. I see others on here charge $40. I will still have his sister full-time until next year.

Kelly
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momofboys 06:33 AM 02-23-2014
Originally Posted by SquirrellyMama:
My dcb is going to K in the fall. I will only have him for 1.5 - 2 hours each day. We will do a bus run in the afternoon, but that is only 4 blocks away.

I was going to charge $25 which my dh thinks is too low. Twenty-five is my daily rate and he'll only be here about a day's worth of hours.

My dh was thinking $30. I see others on here charge $40. I will still have his sister full-time until next year.

Kelly
So will he just be there before school or before & after? That is what would matter to me. I would at least do $40/week either way, probably more like $50 if it is B & A.
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JoseyJo 06:40 AM 02-23-2014
Originally Posted by momofboys:
So will he just be there before school or before & after? That is what would matter to me. I would at least do $40/week either way, probably more like $50 if it is B & A.


It is much more work than you think it will be to watch a SA. I have done it twice and I don't think it's worth the money. Even a child that has been here as a preschooler is much different once they go to school, plus the disruption of your routine twice a day. I charge 120 a week for preschoolers and 50 a week for schoolagers, plus $20 a day on the days they have off school. More money per hour for the hours I watch them but so not worth it.
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itlw8 07:04 AM 02-23-2014
after you serve snack and supplies there is not much left of that 25

Will he take up a full time spot? I can have 3 overlap after school I charge $35 and my f/t rate is $100 There may or may not be room on school vacations but I can take them on emergency school closings
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Naptime yet? 07:26 AM 02-23-2014
I take my full time rate and half it (I don't charge by the day, but rather for the week). I don't charge extra when school is out during the school year, but come summer, the rate goes back up to full time.

It's probably too little, but I never worked out the logistics of it. The kid isn't any trouble & spends less than 15 hrs a week here. Plus I don't plan on getting any more school agers....famous last words.
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countrymom 09:15 AM 02-23-2014
for those kids its 5 dollars an hour whether it be before or after school. And I charge less then the school programs.
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SquirrellyMama 09:51 AM 02-23-2014
He will only be here after school and won't keep me from taking another full time child. My thought was to charge $25 per week and then an extra $25 per day if he's here for half or full days when school closes or gets out early.

I'll keep thinking about it. I have until next fall to make a decision.

Kelly
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cheerfuldom 11:23 AM 02-23-2014
You have to take all the daycare kids to the bus stop 4 blocks away every day? I can tell you firsthand that that is going to be a big pain. Pay yourself well for the annoyance of getting all kids diapered and dressed out the door every day plus waiting on late buses. If you have an hourly rate, I would double it just because of the bus pickup. I would do $50 a week.
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TwinKristi 11:40 AM 02-23-2014
I charge an hourly rate for SA care and if they're here all day I charge the normal daily rate for that age which is typically less than what I charge for infants and toddlers.
I charge $45-50/day for infants and toddlers, $7/hr for SA care. I average out what their weekly hours would be and charge weekly. So the boy I have now is $95/wk for after school care only. He doesn't come on holidays or vacations and they still pay it. Sometimes they come later or earlier and I just keep it at their weekly rate and it seems to work fine for us all.
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Annalee 12:46 PM 02-23-2014
Originally Posted by JoseyJo:


It is much more work than you think it will be to watch a SA. I have done it twice and I don't think it's worth the money. Even a child that has been here as a preschooler is much different once they go to school, plus the disruption of your routine twice a day. I charge 120 a week for preschoolers and 50 a week for schoolagers, plus $20 a day on the days they have off school. More money per hour for the hours I watch them but so not worth it.
I charge one flat rate for all ages...probably why I do not have school-agers other than my own....but that is OK with me!
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Brustkt 12:57 PM 02-23-2014
I charge $45 a week for after school only...and I don't transport at all! Too much of a pain. I only take a SA child if I have a brother or sister in my care full time. Just not worth the hassle.
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CraftyMom 04:48 PM 02-23-2014
Originally Posted by cheerfuldom:
You have to take all the daycare kids to the bus stop 4 blocks away every day? I can tell you firsthand that that is going to be a big pain. Pay yourself well for the annoyance of getting all kids diapered and dressed out the door every day plus waiting on late buses. If you have an hourly rate, I would double it just because of the bus pickup. I would do $50 a week.
This would be the biggest consideration for me! This is a HUGE undertaking! I've been there with 6 kids 2 and under, not fun and not worth the hassle for $25/week. You might consider giving it a trial run for a couple weeks before you fully commit. This will help you decide if you need to charge more, you may also decide it's just too much work!

Another thing to consider is nap. For me pick up time is during nap. At the end of nap but kids are still sleeping. If I didn't have someone to do pick up for me I'd have to wake up 6 kids and drag them to the bus stop, still tired and grouchy from being woken up, ugh. I only had to do that a few times. I could not do it every day and not for $5/day!
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countrymom 05:58 PM 02-23-2014
I agree, I didn't read the part that you would have to pick up. Heck no. Can you imagine all the crying and whinning every day, I would have to shoot myself.
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