The cost of 3month old twins

How much would daycare cost for 3month old twins? i'm babysitting my neighbors twins. i watch them at her house from 10:30am until 3:15pm.i dont know what to charge her?

[AndiJ78]

We have a member here, K1990, she would probably know...

[Elyz1214]

I have looked around at places and have found the general consensus to be $38-$45 a day for infant daycare, where I am in central IL.

I guess what you would charge would depend on how difficult it is for you to watch them, how close you are to your neighbor and what you would otherwise be doing with your time.

Can you take them with you to run errands? Do you have the ability to run home for a moment (maybe taking them with you across the way) to get something? Are they good babies? Do they just generally sleep all the time? Do you do other stuff there like the dishes and laundry?

How much is she paying you now? I would assume shes having you watch them instead of daycare because she can't afford a daycare or because you are a good friend. So for 5 hours of daycare a day - maybe $40 or $50? That's still half what she is paying. That would be $8-$10 an hour, which I don't think is unreasonable for newborn care....

[tiredbuthappy]

depends on where you are. i found a GREAT deal for inhome care- $65/day per infant ages 2-12 months; $55/day for anyone over $55. But i'm in a part of NJ where everything is ridiculously expensive.
it's not a full day, so you could charge an hourly rate instead of per day. since there are 2 of them, i would definitely charge more than I would charge for one. around here hourly babysitting for one child starts around $10/hr, but that's what the teens make.

[spiderman0]

well she my next door neighbor. the twins sleep the majority of the time while im there. but the twins have their moments.i dont do laundry. i do wash out bottles that they have used while im there. she is paying me $100.00 a week now but my husband says thats too cheap.  thanks for the info!!!!

[Brown Eyed Gurl]

I'm paying $60 a week a piece for my twins so that's $120 a week

[GRose]

When I took my son to a in home daycare he was 6 months old and we were charged $100 a week. We knew the lady though so she gave us a deal, it should of been $150/week. She was charging us about $2.22 an hour, usually charges $3.33. In our area daycare is usually about $3.50 an hour, it isn't the same as babysitting.

[kris123]

I think it depends on where you are located and how much cost of living is.  Wow 65 a day is like 325 a week!!  That is a lot.  I live near DC about 35min and the going rate for one baby is $225 a week and for two $300or 315.   I am so so lucky, i pay my sis 135 for my 15month old.

[kjbutcher]

I charge $145/week per child but I also do it at my house using my electric...  I do not supply diapers or formula though.  I prices are low in my community though.  You may also want to consider checking our your state food program.  You could get up to $100 per month per child just for taking your time to feed them, which you would have to do anyway.  It is a nice deal!  (I am on the other side of DC in MD.)

[kjbutcher]

I dont know if this is your normal job, but she may have asked you to do it, not only because you would care more and you know them, but because she would get a break from normal daycare prices.  Have you talked to her to see what she can afford?  Oh my, I just read she was giving you 100 per week.  wow!  I charge more than that for one child over 2...even if they are 10 yrs old!  Look, she may not be able to afford more.  I would look into the food thing and see if you can get another $50 a week from that and then go from there.

[April2]

I agree, a lot of it depends on where you live. I'm a licensed in-home daycare provider. I have three rates:
Hourly rate - $5
Daily rate - $35
Weekly rate - $125 for over 3, $140 for under 3

I do give discounts for siblings. So, in your case I'd probably charge my hourly rate, making it $125 per week, per child and then knock off some, rounding it off to $200. Babies are hard enough, twins are harder, I think. I do think $100 a week for the both is pretty cheap but I don't know how old you are or how inexperienced. I'm assuming you're not licensed so you wouldn't get paid as much as a licensed provider. We go through a lot to get and maintain our license, including classes, zoning fees, licensing fees, CPR and First Aid certification, Medication Administration and on and on.
So, perhaps $150 for the two each week would be fair? That's just my opinion. I don't know how she'd respond, though, if you ask for more money. That's going to have to be your call. She may decide to go elsewhere. I don't know where she'd find someone for that amount of money, though. Anyway, hope that helps a little!  

[kris123]

I think April2 has good points and has good advise.  

[spiderman0]

Thanks everyone for answering my questions. really helped!!!