Home Child Care

I take my son to an in-home daycare and I would love it if she had a contract that she and I both signed at the beginning because now things have changed a lot from what we were originally told and expected....

check you local government about the # of kids you can have w/o licensing. my mom did a home daycare for yrs. in fl. here if you don't have a license you can't advertise in the papers. just word of mouth. also she would charge a little less than daycares and it would depend on how old they were, just like a daycare. she supplied breakfast (if needed) hot lunch and snack. she also had a paper with important info for the children such as allergies, who could and couldn't pick them up, nicknames, emergency #'s, etc. and kept it on file. if you do decide to get a license (which most parents would probably prefer) than that will allow Children Services or whomever to come into your home and make sure that your home is "adequate" to be a home daycare. for instance you have to have a certain water temp or have a dishwasher, you have to have fenced yard for children a certain age. you have to have someone who will be first aid and cpr certified, etc. (in fl) i would definitely check. it could be beneficial, but i can tell you it's stressful also. parents are super picky about things that to you might not be a big deal.

Wow, I wish it was as inexpensive here as it is in Miami based on Erikas post. We started at an in home provider and she charged $165 a week for my son less than 1 yr old. We ended up leaving because she constantly had Montel and those kinds of shows on. I didn't want him around a TV, something to keep in mind, only provide it for occasional wind down kid movie time. =) Since then we have been in private centers and currently are paying $950 a month for an 18 mo old and $650 a month for a 3 1/2 yr old for full time. They provide breakfast and lunch.

My son goes to a home child care and I love it!!!!! I wish she was there when my first one was his age but now he's in school. First of all - from seeing what this child care person goes through it can be very demanding and exhausting so you definitely have to have the patience for that. I've considered it before and will maybe go through with it.

Also, Moms in my area are always looking for that in home child care for numerous reasons. Direct contact with the child, up to 5 kids per home maximum, homemade breakfast, lunch and snacks. No fighting between the kids because they're so relaxed. A bit more flexibility with hours open and closed (sometimes).

A local daycare provider for my son would be $115.00/week. He's 19 months. But I pay $125.00/week. The government has taken away alot of the grants from private daycares for the food programs and she was one of the private daycares that fell into that category. So I can either bring his breakfast and lunch or have her make it. I chose to have her provide the food so it went from $100.00 to $125.00. However the infants she has there are $100.00 because they are not included for food program.

So a reasonable charge will be between $100.00 - $125.00 a week. Depending on age and if food is provided. If you are not providing food you will have to go with the lower cost.

Some other advice. I love the fact that the front door is always locked. And just because I'm a parent doesn't mean I can just walk right in. And the fact that her home is always in immaculate condition and very clean gives me a piece of mind.

Good luck!! :) And I hope some of that helped!

First....if you have more than a certain # of children (that aren't yours) in your care, you probably need to be licensed. This would involve a home inspection, maybe some classes, and payment.
Second.....If you are looking for clients, think about the kind of kids/parents you want to be involved with. Do you want people in the neighborhood? Church goers? You probably want to set it up so that YOU are doing the interviewing. Then you can weed out people who are likely to not pay you, cause problems and not follow the rules of your home.
Third....You can get an idea of what people charge by looking at something like Craigslist. It really depends on the area you live in and what age kids you are looking after.
You are going to need a dedicated space in your home to set up as a "daycare" if you plan on doing this as a serious job, not just a way to make money. This will cost money. Take that into account when you decide on how much to charge.

Make sure to type up a contract covering anything and everything you need to cover like when they need to pay if there sick they need to stay home. If not some people might shaft you on paying then you just charge them extra. Also put a time on when they need to drop them off and when they need to pick them up if the kids stay later charge them a coming late fee. If you have any other questions send me an email.

I charge 25/day for full time, have been doing it for a year. However I am burnt out. Every person I talk to who does inhome childcare around here charge $45-50 a day. They are not licensed since they only keep 1 or 2 kid/s. All food is included. Little boy (3 years old) that I watch goes everywhere with us: parks, playgrounds, library, strawberry picking.....we get out alot. In the regular daycare he would be with other 14 kids, one room and would go outside once(so people tell me that I do not charge enough) I am getting ready to stop when summer comes since it is just not worth it for the time/effort that I put in.

You probably want to ask local Moms about what to charge - here in Texas I am looking at a church daycare that will cost $350 for a full-time month. My friend in PA pays 3-4 times that. What you should and could charge is going to be largely dependant on the local area and what you offer.

How much are you willing to put into this? Are you going to do crafts? Have an organized day, do educational things, structure? As a Mom, I wouldn't pay as much for an at-home as I would for daycare with a pre-k program unless the at-home was teaching my child the same kind of content - colors, writing capital letters, etc.

You may also want to look into what certifications, licensing and such you need for your state. Since people claim daycare as a tax deduction you might need a tax ID. http://nccic.acf.hhs.gov/statedata/statepro/display.cfm?s...

Check with your state for any rules and regulations you need to follow. I find kids to watch on craigslist, sittercity, and care.com. Other daycare providers also advertise at schools, churches, and I've seen some ads at local grocery stores.

The rate to charge varies greatly depending on where you live. Call local centers and inhome child care places to get a feel for what others are charging.

Create a contract for every family you watch. Create a sick policy, late fee policy, late pick up policy and stick with it. In my experience if you give a little in anything the families will take advantage, not all families there are some good ones.

Take payment before you give care and not afterwards. You'd be surprised at how many people would have you watch their child and then not pay you.

I had my kids in an in home daycare before I started my own. First you need to decide weather you want to be registered or licensed or check with your local health department for info. I am in Kansas and am registered which means I can only have 6 kids that includes my two. I charge $150 from birth to 2 years and potty trained then it goes down to $125.00 till they start school I also have it broken up for before and after school and $75.00 for part time. Once they are on regular foods I provide it all. I have them provide everything for their infants due to so many choices. It is the best job ever and yes it can be trying at times and exhausting but the BEST!!! Good Luck