When I talked to my mom the other day she said she was watching some kids for a friend. She and my dad are pretty much raising my niece right now so she is in contact with younger moms. She was doing this as a favor on Monday and Tuesday for free.

The two kids are 2 and 5, and are a bit unruly. She said mom gets off at 1pm, but didn't show up until 3pm the other day because she had to go to the bank. The next day she came back late again after a doctor's appointment.

She asked my mom to watch them on Wednesday, but she said no, so another friend is watching them the rest of the week.

I asked my mom what their daycare situation is, because they must have been going somewhere before. She said they did, but didn't know what was up with it.

After being on this forum for several years, I decided on 4 scenarios.

1. DCP didn't want them back for whatever reason. My mom said they were a handful. Or maybe she isn't taking SA kids anymore.

2. She's in arrears on payment, and can't come back until it is paid.

3. She isn't charged when the kids aren't there so she is using free daycare so she doesn't have to pay.

4. Her DCP could also be on vacation this week.

Anyway, I told my mom to stop babysitting for free, or this woman will start to take advantage. It's not the first time she has watched the 2 year old. She said the combo of the two year old and the 5 year old was too much.

My mom is way too much of a pushover, so I said to tell the mom that her house isn't child-proofed enough, which is a true story. She could have a hard time if one of those kids got hurt.

Kelly

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Is it legal for her to watch non-family members along with your niece in your state? Even if she's doing it for free, there's quite a liability for her.

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We don't live in the same state. She's in CA. I believe with my niece they are her guardians. My brother lives across the country from them.

Is it illegal in CA to watch a friends kids off and on without payment? I'll let her know if it is. I doubt she'd ever think about that. I honestly wouldn't have either.

It would definitely be a good excuse to say no.

Kelly

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I don't know about the laws there, but if you aren't getting paid, I would say it isn't daycare, it is a favor. I could be wrong about that, but people do it all the time. I would also worry about her being taken advantage of, but she just needs to say no if it doesn't work for her. There is also the possibility of trading the favor so it could be a win/win, but this all completely depends on the parent involved.

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It would be legal in CA since they are from the same family. You can only watch one family legally, any more and you must be licensed.

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