Rates question

[Supermomlb]

Not interested in starting a daycare but thought it would be a good place for insight.

I was wondering what do you think is a reasonable rate to pay a college student to watch 2 kids ( 2 year old and 9 month old) a few hours a week? Maybe 6-8 hours. I was thinking maybe $10 an hour since the hours would be split up between days.

Also what do you think is reasonable to pay a college student to take care of a 3 year old, 1 year old and NB for 6-8 hours a week?

[Krystle512]

I think $10 an hour is a good price for a college student. I paid something like that when someone watched my then 3 and 9 month old. Although if you consider a typical daycare costs between $150-200 a week and 8 hours at $10 is 80 bucks you may think about making it less. I'd probably pay the same for both. Maybe just a tad more including the NB.

[superpriya]

Supermom those rates sound about fair. Although What I did with my kids was gauge not the just the time but the amount of care, effort, and labor that would have to be expended by the student watching my kids as they progressed from younger to older.

I paid more for when they were infants compared to when they became toddlers. Infants require extreme care, caution, and watchful eyes for suffocation or the slightest head injuries.

[VibrantHealth]

I charge $5-10 per child, per hour, but I've gotten complaints (FROM CLOSE FRIENDS!!) that my discount rate of $5 was too much. Ick. Their daycare for 40 hours is $5 less than my rates would've been, and he loses the one on one attention. Their loss!