Am I Crazy? What Rate would you Charge?

[Dawn2Dusk]

Hi ladies! So to start off I know I'm absolutely insane to be considering this but we are really low on money and my husband will be out of town working till end of March so it might be worth it for me. This mom want me to care for her 2 year old daughter everyday from 1-930 with every second weekend. What do you guys think I should charge? Obviously it is taking up a full time space in the dayhome plus all my private evening time so I need to make sure this is worth it for me. I'm thinking maybe 1400 a month? Would love to get everybody's thoughts. I'm in Calgary if that makes a difference.

[Suzie_Homemaker]

What do you charge for normal day? Hard to advise when rate vary so much across country/different region.

[Dawn2Dusk]

I charge $750 full time per month which is low but on point with the area and usually charge $15 per hour or $60 for evenings and weekends

[Suzie_Homemaker]

My rate $38 and I charge daily rate plus $100 for overnight. It not happen often and I only do for one family no more than once month when Dad away and Mom on night shift.

So if she come on Monday and stay Monday night and then here in daycare on Tuesday before Dad come get her, it $176 but they would be pay the $76 anyway.

[Lee-Bee]

Do you already care for this child?

I would be extremely hesitant about accepting a new child into care right at the start of nap time each day. Unless the child is already used to you, your house and your nap routine I can't help but expect they will completely mess up everyone's nap. I would think it is hard for a new child to walk into a home and go straight to bed. Are you prepared to work not only a full daycare day, but then work evenings and every second weekend...with the possibility that your group as a whole won't be napping for a few weeks until they all get used to it?

[Busy ECE mommy]

I wouldn't even entertain the thought personally. This job is tiring enough, and I look forward to closing time each day to unwind. Do you have your own children? That can play a huge role too.
And I'm sure we all do the "TGIF" happy dance at the end of the week LOL! To give up your evenings and some weekends is going to burn you out very quickly. When will you even have time to run errands, or do something nice for yourself? Just my opinion...

[Suzie_Homemaker]

I agree that weekends I would not do this. Most us work 10-12 hours day plus prep and clear up time. Client family have more of our awake time than own family. When work all week and then do weekend, even if sometimes, it hard to feel like have own life.

[MommaL]

I don't think that I would personally ever do this as I need my "me" time when I can get it and it would greatly affect my relationship with my own kids who want their mom to themselves during the evenings and weekends. But if I ever did entertain the idea, it would only be with a child that I knew very well and who is likeable, well-behaved and not high maintenance. I would then treat the child almost as if she was one of my own. There wouldn't be any planned "daycare" type of activities during the evenings or weekends. There would a lot of down time where the child would be expected to play independently so that I can just sit and relax. There would be some TV watching. She would be going with me during the evenings or weekends to anywhere that I needed to go. And there would be times (which the parents would know about) where another family member may need to care for the child temporarily if there was something that I needed or wanted to do that didn't involve the child. Basically I wouldn't want it to feel like "work", but rather this child would be part of our everyday family activities. I'm not sure if this is realistic or how many parents would go for this, but it's the only way I could keep sane and not burn out quickly.