In general...I don't really like other people's children. Yes, I know that sounds terrible. I like them at the park, they're fine at co-ops...I mean in my house, into my stuff, that's where I don't like them My kids I'm use to but that's it. A kind of neighbor is at her wit's end b/c the lady that is taking care of her 4 and 5 year old isn't doing a good job (she won't lay them down for naps, and last week when the mom picked them up the boy was in the front yard ALONE!)....I told her I'd sleep on it (b/c her husband goes to work in the afternoon so can watch them tomorrow)...I just don't know. The 5 year old will start public school in the fall, but I'll still have the 4 year old with me. I told her I take my children to co-op and various activities during the week and the mom thinks thats great. I'm a long term commitment kinda gal, so I don't want to jump in and not be able to follow throught. Who else homeschools and babysits?????
Well we don't call it babysitting because Babyboy is like a grandson to us and we don't charge for keeping him, but we do keep him from about 8am to 6pm most weekdays. We take him to speech and will be helping take and pick him up from Preschool this fall. He sometimes gets loud when the girls are working on school work, but we love him and work around it. He does tie us down some days, but most of the time we just take him where we need to go. He is a great little traveler and since Freddy is home four weekdays a week we do pretty good. Good luck what ever you decide to do. Beth
I sit for one little girl during the school year only. She is 20 months old now and I started watching her in November. She lives with her grandma who is a ps teacher so she from September - May she gets dropped off at 7am and stays until about 3:45. My kids and dh have fallen head over heels in love with her and miss her a lot now that it is summer and she isn't here. Yes she ties me down but before school starts again I am going to purchase a car seat for her so I can go and do as I please and take her places with us. I also will only be hs'ing Grace this year so it won't be so bad. Plus I get extra money and get all school holidays off!
How does your dh feel about it? QUESTION: What should one charge to baby sit a child? Per hour? Per day? How much?
oh hubby could care less he just wants me to make a wise decision...I told the gal we may have a "trial week" to see how everyone gets along. I would ask 125 a wk, then 100 when school starts? fair?
Call me mean, but I wouldn't do it. I might do it temporarily and set a time limit (2 weeks, a month, etc) for her to find, interview, check references, do criminal background check, etc on a replacement babysitter. But that's a lot of responsibility to take on when you already have a full plate. I have seen other friends do this and they end up bitter about the situation.
Ive thought about doing it, but im sure i could handle it, lol. im kinda like you, i love kids, i taught vbs, but i dont do well with other people's children every day. they would have to be very good kids who would listen to me. here people charge $20/day for one, $15/day for second, so that would be $35/day. when she goes to school, i would decrease the $15 to maybe $5 or $10 a day. this is a fair price in a pretty rural community. my aunt has babysat and hsed 3 dc for the past 2 years, and they were 2 and 4 when she started, now they are 4 and 6, and they have done well, it really has helped out with money, and the kids are very close to her, so i guess i would really pray about it, and def do a trial run. maybe 2 weeks, and then tell her if you decide not to do it, you could give her 2 more weeks to find other help? good luck!
I tried it a couple of years ago. It didn't work out for us for a few reasons, one being that I felt like I couldn't homeschool my own children and give the other children (a 2 yr old and 5 yr old) proper attention. I either had to take time away from my children or not give the babysat children the time I would like to have. The 5 year old was homeschooled by her grandmother so they asked me to work with her as well. It just got to be too much for me to deal with. For the two children I was paid $235 per week, I supplied all meals and snacks.
I run a daycare. I plan on doing school from 12-4......thats most of nap time and down time for the dc kids. I only have 5 and 2 of tem are only here 3 days a week so it's not to bad...check back with me when i start Homeschooling...lol I however cannot go anywhere because i dont have the room to transport nor would I.....so our fieldtrips will be a scheduled day off for me or the weekend.
I charge $125 plus the grandma provides all of her food. She packs her a little lunch kit everyday. This summer I am keeping Sam's best friend from 7am - 5am and I charge her $100 per week but she is 14 and really all I do is fix lunch and provide a safe place for her to stay.
For two kids that is a steal! I get $140 a week just for the one 7 year-old that I watch when school is out. Granted, I've had her since she was a baby, but that is the normal rate around here. Every location will be different. I would even ask for $150 a week for both kid's until school is in session. Unless the rates in your area are significantly lower than here, I think that is also reasonable. Personally, I like charging a daily rate. Hourly is too hard to keep track of. I think once school is in session charging $20 a day (if it's over 5 hours) and $15 a day (if it's under 5 hours) is more than reasonable!!! Whatever you do...DO NOT JIP YOURSELF! Think about what teenage babysitters get. They sometimes get $20 just for two hours. I don't homeschool, but if we ever did (which is still debatable depending on how the start of next year goes) I'd still have my toddler. He's my own, but I would think no matter if the child is yours or someone else's, it would still pose the same situation. I would, like you said, also make sure mom is ok with you transporting. One of the main reason's I still watch my 7 year -old "A" is because her mom and I have an agreement that I can take her wherever I need to go. I work in the evening, so I get all my stuff done (grocery shopping, etc.) during the day so I need to run errands at that time. If you have co-op then you'll need to still be able to do that, and whatever else you need to do. I make it clear that my life does not stop just because I have her in my care. And I know what you mean about other people's kids. I was in the preschool/childcare field for 9 years full time. Unless I held a management position, my patience with other people's kid's on that sort of level just wasn't the same. At the end of running my own home daycare, I just couldn't take "other people's kids" in my home anymore.
Sigh...thank you ladies. I just can't do it. I have to get away from the house periodically or I go stark raving mad. I don't think the mother would like that too much. I tried to let her down easy, and she said she understood but asked if I could just watch them this week...urgh! I don't know what to do! I REALLY don't want to. I was going to take my kids to the dollar movie tomorrow please keep in mind, i've never even SEEN this woman. I could be a crack dealer for all she knows!
REALLY???? Repeat after me: "no." practice over and over until perfected. If she doesn't even know you and is asking this after telling her no nicely, one week will turn into 2 and so on. Just say no. I know I sound like a meany, but I have found that people (intentionally or unintentionally) think SAHM's would love to take of their sick kid, or when they have babysitter problems, etc. I only do it for the people and kids I adore and only on rare occasions because I am just as busy as they are. This woman you do not even know needs to take vacation/sick days and find a daycare or babysitter.
She's never MET you and she wants you to watch her children????? Seriously??? Here I thought you knew her really well. In that case, it would be a BIG FAT NO!!! I never took on children or families I didn't meet with ahead of time and "interview". Who knows what kind of crap you'd be dealt. Knowing that now, I'm glad you said no. You know, I am utterly shocked by people who are just willing to take their children anywhere without even knowing or meeting the person they are leaving their precious ones with. IMO, it kind of tells you a bit about the person when they are so willing to just drop them off on your doorstep without any question. I got phonecalls like that every once in awhile when I was a licensed daycare, and I always lied and said I was full when people would ask if they could enroll without an interview. I don't want to take care of families whose parent's don't care about their children's well being!
I would NOT do it. Plus, I do not know about the rules at your coop, but the coops I have belonged to do not allow children there whose parents are not present. As in..no daycare kids. I think your neighbor had some nerve asking you and I also think you will get in to a bad situation in the end over this. I am betting you will regret it and there will be no good way to end it. Just tell her the coop won't allow it (it probably won't) and she will need to look elsewhere.
bawhahaha Becky! Phew...okay...practicing....nnnnnnooooo...that wasn't so bad I know...it astounds me that someone would do that. Yes, she was starting to strike me as user and abuser....I have a feeling I'd be stuck with them for more than just during the week. I understand and sympathize with the pickle she's in...but my goodness gracious...I never once, not once agreed to keep them..as in...YES! Bring them over whenever...never did that...so when today rolled around, you would think she would have a backup plan...she told the woman who was keeping them that they wouldn't be back anymore....without getting any sort of answer from me. Sigh..PEOPLE!!!
I'm starting to wonder what the original babysitter would say about all of this. There may be more to this than you know. I think you better stay away from this situation. I know it happens, but to ask someone to keep your kids without even meeting first?! Sounds like a red alert sign of trouble to me.
Oh My Gosh please tell me she didn't bring the kids to your house this morning. If she did then you already know what kind of crap to expect from this lady. Run away from this situation and do not watch those children again! You didn't even give her an answer and she is just expecting you to do it. What a piece of work!
I feel the same as you when it comes to childcare and I did daycare for years. Once my kids got older and I was on the move, having to watch another person's kid just doesn't fit. I don't care much for other's people children...lol...just like you. Some I love like my own and some I just can do without. I think it boils down to the parents often...but sometimes a child just doesn't mix well with your family.
