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In home child care providers...how much and ...?

Ok. I've been corporate bound for too long and I'm feeling hemmed in, I think I need a change, something more fulfilling then pushing paper. Many moons ago I was a nanny to 3 kids and loved it, I had activities most days, field trips, walking discovery jaunts, movie afternoons...it was great.

I'm considering in-home child care to 2-3 kids, I know it'd be a lot of work but feel I'm up to it. What I'm not up on is the details, rates, rules, liabilities, I know that the state would prefer a licensed In home child care providers providers for all the obvious reasons but with only 3 kids it hardly seems worth my time or effort if I have to pay taxes....What does everyone else do? Are you all licensed? How do you handle liability issues?

20 years ago I worked in someone elses home and didnt worry about these things

2 Answers

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  • 1 decade ago
    Favorite Answer

    Check the laws in your State for "babysitting". What are your charges going to be. Are you going to have them pay in cash only? Your taxes wouldn't really be much just make sure you use all your deductibles that you can. Including part of your water & utility bills. Food that you feed them, toys bought for their use, the list goes on and on. Gas for your field trips, etc. Movie money, etc. Sounds like fun! Good Luck with it.

  • 1 decade ago

    I would definitely get licensed. Getting licensed gives parents peace of mind and will help you protect yourself. Depending on the state you live in, you may also be able to get government money if you are licensed.

    The going rate for care depends on what state you live in and the age of the kids you will be watching. $200-$300/wk for infants and then the rates go down as the age of the children goes up.

    As far as liability issues, getting licensed helps protect you. You should consider getting liability insurance (umbrella policy).

    Opening a home daycare is a lot of work. Usually providers want to watch more than 2-3 kids because it is more profitable. If you only want to watch a few children, I would consider being a nanny again to one family. This would pay a lot better (especially since you seem to have experience) than doing home daycare.

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