Family and babysitting

[sweety80]

Since I have become a stay at home mom.  I have been watching my bil's kids for him and his wife.  I am only charging $10.00 day per kid. They have 3 kids, I thought that was a reasonable price well they have managed to get behind on paying.  They owe me $310.00.  We told them Friday what they owed and they went crazy.  For some reason my sil told her husband that I was going to watch all three kids for $15.00 a day.  Now, if they were proving food for their kids then I might have only charged them $15.00 a day.  Am I wrong for the amount that I am charging?  I usualy feed the kids two meals and atleast two snacks.  I know at a daycare, it would be atleast $65.00 per kids a week and that is the cheapest for a liecened or Registered Daycare.  I was just wondering if any of you have had this problem.  They still haven't payed me, but I no longer have their kids either.

[rexroad04]

Jun. 9, 2008 at 10:50 AM

I had a Day care and this is a normal reaction from parents. I wrote off an unpaid bill because I just got tired of hassling with it. I then started a cleaning business and had to deal with owners not appreciating what I was doing for them. I have tried a lot jsut so that I could stay home with my babies. Good luck trying to collect and I hope that it does not ruin your friendship.

Congratulations on staying home with your kids!  I started a home business and it is really successful. I switched my home to natural products and I get to tell the world about it. I get residual income each month by my natural company and all I have to do is refer others. It is so easy. I am not selling to you or selling products. I just really enjoy sharing this knowledge with friends. If you are interested in learning more please let me know.  

[bethelann2004]

Jun. 9, 2008 at 11:03 AM

   You are in the right here! I don't know what the daycares run where you are, but I have worked at 4 daycares. The first was in Texas, and they charged $75/week/child. But this is VERY cheap, I hated it, it was awful (you get what you pay for) and the government subsidized it. The second was in Lexington, Kentucky, and it was $125/week/child. This is a good price, because it was at a church, and it was considered a ministry to the community. While I worked there, it went up to $165. The third was in Burbank, Illinois, and it was $110/week/child. Again, this is very cheap, and they had a loooong waiting list. (This daycare was good. I enjoyed it.) The last was KinderCare, in Darien, Illinois-suburb of Chicago. It was $265 for infants, $245 for toddlers, $235 for 2, $205 for 3 & 4, and $165 for school kids. Very expensive!!

   As for licensed home daycares, I have never heard of a single one that was less than $115/week/child. Which is over twice the amount they were paying you. I babysit at home, and I charge $100/week/kid, and this includes meals.

   I would recommend that you call several daycares and check on their prices. Even better, get a printout of their prices. And then tell him that if he thinks you're being unfair, to feel free and move them somewhere else. Otherwise, don't bring them back until he has your money in hand. And for future reference, you want your money, in cash, on Monday morning, or you won't take the kids. Just stand up to him- you can't work for free!!

   Also, if you need the money, have you considered being a nanny? I did this for several months, and took my baby with me. And I only worked 3 1/2 days, and still brought home $365/week.

[strongmom40]

Jun. 9, 2008 at 11:09 AM That is a very reasonable amount of money per kid, ESPECIALLY given the fact that you are feeding them. Whatever SIL told BIL is not on you, but when you babysit at home do these TWO things for sure be it family or not. Have a written contract & get paid UP FRONT. They leave the baby, they leave the money with said child. Babysitting on a credit line for anyone is a BAD business idea. Cash & carry is the way to go. Many daycare do it this way to avoid such problems, that is also why they have enrollment & keeping slot open fees. They also have STEEP late fees when picking the kids up late. Babysitters are not viewed for some reason by many as a necessary BILL so to speak, when they are indeed VERY necessary, no babysitter, no job !! Good luck getting SIL & BIL to pay, family triangles are always a mess, but if you get new kids to watch be professional, do contracts, get paid FIRST & set boundaries. It is called protecting yourself & your babysitting is a business, there are not too many business that sell a service on credit. When my X & I owned our pest control business we had to STOP doing jobs on credit, we would have thousands out on the books the first couple of years because of people not paying & some just did not pay for whatever reason, it was not in some cases lack of funds. I remember one doctor that we would do his boat house where his yacht was & his summer house. That SOB NEVER paid !!! Duh !!! The elderly people with massive infestations of one type of bug or another on a fixed income I can understand, kinda. But when you have a business it is to feed YOUR family, their problems are their own just like yours are you & DH's own. You just can't let SAHM babysitting be a type of business where you let people have a line of credit, they will take advantage. Sorry for the family triangle trouble, those are always fun situations. Whew=Whew !!! Don't be surprised if you never see that money & for the love of God, don't go telling other family members about it. Just send a statement in the mail every other Fri & be done with it. They either appreciate the fact that you took care of their children or they don't. With no written contract there is little recourse on your part. I call these life situations Live & Learn Lessons !!!