How Much To Charge Friend to Watch Her Child

[Frosty]

Wanted to get thoughts on this from you PBers. The situation: My wife is a stay-at-home mom. We have a 14 month old boy who is a wonderful kid, and is extremely active. A friend of ours asked if my wife would watch her newborn when she goes back to work around Christmas time. That would put our son at 16 months and the newborn at about 3 months. It is once per week, all day (drop off before/pick up after work). The extra money will be nice as we are trying to finish off our college bills and be debt free (minus the house) ASAP. She will only be able to watch the child until June. So we're looking at late December--> June, once a week. My wife is willing to do it. The child's mother would supply whatever supplies are needed for her son. This isn't a done deal, but we're strongly considering it.

These are friends of ours. We're looking around to find good advice on what to charge. We live in the far SW corner of PA, a small town in a fairly rural area. I'm seeing everything from $25 per day to $75 per day recommended online. We were thinking in the $40-$60 range before we looked anything up.

Thoughts on a fair price that still makes it worth her time and effort?

 

[Douglas P.]

My wife did the same thing for my sisters kid. I just asked her and she said she charged $6 an hour. My mother in law is watching a child for $8/hr.

My wife said to call around to local home day cares or check out care.com to see what the going rate is in your area.

 

[Andres]

Before I even saw your prices, I thought $50 a day seems reasonable, so it looks like we are on the same page. That must settle it!

 

[Frosty]

Thanks, gents. That $50 is looking pretty good right now.