Does working at a daycare center pay as well as babysitting at home?

Question

Does working at a daycare center pay as well as babysitting at home?

Answer 1

Working at a daycare center is most likely minimum wage or just above it.  So say, $7 an hour, 40 hr week  would be $280 gross pay, about $230 net.

Depending on how many children you kept at home and how much you charged, it's probably more to keep kids at home.

Say $80 per week per child, you'd need at least 3 to net $240.  More than 3 would be the gravy.  (If you have children of your own that you pay daycare for, then that's more money in your pocket.)

However, take into consideration the cost for snacks and meals that you will serve the kids and the fact that you will have to pay taxes on that money at the end of the year as most parents will want to claim that expense.

Just put the numbers in each column and see which has more!  Hope this helps.

Answer 2

you can make more at home.

Answer 3

The daycare center would probably pay less depending on how many children that you are watching at a home. Most daycare centers pay minimum wage.  Working in child care should def. not be about the money because it is an underpaid job. Usually you can make more money baby-sitting and most of the time it is cash payment, unless you claim it.  At a center, there might be other benefits such as training that they pay for.  You might also have a chance to move up when working at a center.

Answer 4

It really depends on the area your in, the level of education you have adn what position you are at the daycare and how much you would charge per child at a home daycare.

I earn more by doing a homedaycare than I would with a commercial daycare.

I have a son who I would need to pay daycare cost for if I were to  work for someone else, that is a HUGE amount of my cost and was the deciding factor for me. After my taxes were taken out and even with a discounted rate for my son at the daycare I would have been essentially working to have him there.

With me working at home and having 3 children (2 full weeks and 1 4days) at $30 a day (which is cheaper than a parent going to a daycare center but average for home care here) I have an average pay of 420 a week. I also provide all snacks and meals so I keep meticulous records of everythinga dn I claim this on my taxes along with rent, supplies cost, transportation costs to buy the things needed, electricity costs etc.

I end up paying in nothing to taxes at the end of the year because of my business deductables aswell as personal deductables. AND begining this year because I am a working individual with dependant I also recieve the new Workers Income Benefit  of $1000. So I get money back instead of paying in!

For me the choice of staying home or working for someone else was clear. You must also realize nobody has gotten rich by working for others, your income is capped if someone else is paying-you can only get so many advancments until there is no more! when you work for yourself you decide if you sink or swim, if you want to earn more you go out and you generate more income! Although with childcare you are limited because of the amount of children you can care for you can depending on how far you wish to go, start a daycare chain one daycare into years down the road possably dozens.

Answer 5

Up front yes, after the fact no.  When you run a business from your home most of your household expenses can be partially deducted from your taxes.  This included mortgage, utilities, second phone/fax/cell phone, groceries, office and craft supplies and lots of other things.  However, you have to wait to be paid back.  Plus you have to keep perfect records so that you can prove everything with receipts at the end of the year.

Answer 6

baby sitting is better especially if you become a full time nanny to a rich family. i have a nanny that drops a child in my class she takes care of 3 children 5, 3, 1 year old she gets payed 500 a week and she uses  the family car to take the kids around with gas fully paid. i have 20 children in my class and i make 350 a week. so do the math.

Answer 7

Are you considering baby sitting or licensing you home for family or group child care?  Check your state's licensing requirements.

Presently I am licensed for 6 in my home.  I have been employed with centers and preschools.  However, with the pay rate in our rural area being between $8-10/hr...it definately was not worth me working out of the home with two children in child care, the cost of driving etc.  So the decision to open my own child care.  Since I have two children of my own I can only accept 4 other children at the rate of about $2.50/hr so I usually make about 12,000-15,000 a year.  However out that is the cost of training, manipulatives, indoor equipment, outdoor equiment, meals, the extra cleaning supplies, the replacement of equipment such as vacuum cleaners (since you vacuum sometimes more than 1x a day), etc.    

You will also want to think beyond the $$$.  There is quite a difference between working in your home and not.

1) The wear and tear of your home's furnishings/carpet.

2)  Your family...are they going to accept the changes that are inevitable.  

3) You can't leave your work at work...you are surrounded by it all the time.  Many home child cares are open longer hours.  I started out being opened form 7AM-11PM... I now am open from 7AM-4PM and do an occasional evening for my enrolled families.  However, the paperwork, the lesson planning, the prepartion takes time after the children are gone.  So working a 10-12 hour day is not unusual.  

4)  You are on your own for family child care.  That means it you and 6 other children all day and at all transitions...Most days I have 6 children ages 5,4,3,2.5,2,1 and I am on my own for getting them outside, meal prep, meal clean up, and every other activity.  When you are doing family child care...it's the toddler age that you are going to see most of.

This is sounding a little negative...which isn't my point.  I enjoy what I do for the most part but I want you to be aware of what reality is before you make the decision to do child care at home.  There is so much more to it than what it seems.