How much should I charge for daycare?

Question

I am starting a daycare. The average cost in my town is 20 a day or 2.50 an hour. I wanted to be a little cheaper so I was thinking 1.50 a day. I want to start out slow to get the hang of it and Im going to start watching my friends 13 month old. Should I charge her the full price of 1.50 an hour? I feel bad, like I should be charging less since shes my friend. Or am I giving her enough of a discount being a dollar cheaper than anyone else in town.

Answer 1

Wow you are super cheap.  Here in St. Louis/midwest most of everything is cheaper than everywhere else (gas, food, etc.) and every babysitter/daycare charged at least $25/day or higher.

You have to remember you are paying income tax on this money.  Don't feel bad - your friend will be getting a daycare tax rebate of 20% when she files her taxes.

Answer 2

First of all you need to get certified! No one should run a daycare without being certified, it's for your own protection. If you get parents who don't pay or if something happens while a child is in your care, you could get into HUGE trouble. Please get certified, it's not that big of a deal to get a certification and it will protect you as well as bring in more parents.

To answer your question, I would not charge her less. Other parents would not like to find out you have different prices for certain people and you are cheap enough, Heck I think you are not charging enough at all.

Answer 3

Wow, that's sooooooo cheap.  I pay $200 a week!

I think you are already giving her enough of a discount at $1.50/hour.

Answer 4

Depends...normally i wouldn't break it down by hour but by the day.  $100 a week is a GREAT price.  I know here we pay at least $200-$300 a week for daycare.

Answer 5

I currently run a home daycare and am also not licenced. The prices for this area are a little higher than the prices in your area. The average daycare here charges $30 per day per child. I charge $20 per day for 1 child ($15 per day for friends or family, so I do give them a little more of a break than everyone else), $35 for 2 children, and I don't have any families with 3 kids but if I did I would charge $45 per day for a family of 3 (basically giving a $5 break for each additional kid).

I would personally recommend that you charge by the day only. I used to do by the hour and it became such a hassle! I would have people using me as a drop off to go do their grocery shopping or running around (an hour or two) and in that time sometimes I would have to feed them, give them naps, take them to the park etc and would get $4 for that ($2 per hour)...it really wasn't worth it. Plus then you have to keep records of when they were dropped off and picked up so if the parents dispute anything you have exact times on your sheets (which is a pain in the butt to do when you start getting busy). I do however, make it cheaper for people who only drop off for 1/2 days (4 hours or less). For 1 child its $10 and 2 kids is $20. I would really recommend you do it by the day rather than by the hour because people will be less likely to take advantage of your cheap prices that way. Good luck : )

***oh and to add, I would not give your friend more of a discount yet. Her baby is only 13 mths old and could be a handfull. I would start her at your 'normal' charge rate and then if you find shes fine to handle you can give her a break a little later on (or when she gets a bit older). You can allways go down in price without parents complaining but you can't say "well, its tougher than I thought so I'm going back up to my full rate"...its either that, or you'll be stressed looking after a tough child and not getting as much $$ as the other easier children.