the Price of Daycare for One Child between 13 and 24 months

My 20 month old son has had three babysitters since I went back to work. My most recent sitter came to my home to watch my son. She watched my son from 8am to 4pm, Monday through Friday. She charged $25 per day. She prepared simple meals throughout the day (mac and cheese, grilled cheese, etc.) My son has never been a sleeper, so typically he would only nap about an hour a day for her. While he napped, my sitter would keep herself busy by unloading the dishwasher or doing some light dusting. My son started walking at 10 months old and running at 11 months old, so my sitter spent most of her day playing chase. She actually lost 14 pounds in the 6 months that she sat for my son.

I believe that $125 per week for child care is extremely reasonable. I know sitters who charge by the hour, so if you work an 8hr day, you could be paying anywhere from $40 per day to $60 per day. The sitter who watched out of my home made life pretty simple for me. I didn't have to lug my son out in bad weather or worry about putting a bag together for him everyday. When my son napped, my sitter would do dishes, laundry, whatever she saw needed done. She enjoyed keeping busy. Best and most important part, my sitter truly formed a bond with my son. She was older, but kept up with my little ball of energy all day long. She was like having a third grandma.

When looking for a sitter, place an ad in your newspaper. You will get many calls, but you can weed out a lot of candidates this way. You really do get a sense for people after talking to them for a few minutes. Let people know what you want to pay, ask around your area, you'll find out what the going rate is for a sitter service. When you interview your potential candidate, find out if they smoke and if they will be watching other children along with yours.