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I retract my previous statement re: babysitter
After looking over her Terms and Coniditions, I dont like some of them.
B2 would go to her house on Mondays and Fridays. Its $26/day and that price includes food.
She takes all the holidays off, which is fine. But I still have to pay her when B2 is not there. That is what I don't like. Right off the bat, I have already added up over $75 that I would be paying her for days B2 would not be there. (Labor Day, Memorial Day and BF)
She also takes 2 weeks of vacation a year, which is fine and understanable, but again she wants to be paid for that time. I dont feel I should have to pay her and someone else at the same time to watch B2.
I feel that she is a service provider and if I am not utilizing her services, I shouldn't have to pay her. If I send B2 to a center, I don't pay for the days he isnt there.
Am I wrong for thinking this way?
I am going to call her later today to let her know that I would love to send B2 to her, but I just cant agree to her T&Cs and see what she says.
Re: I retract my previous statement re: babysitter
Yeah, no way. I agree with you, she's a service provider and if she's not providing, you're not paying.
I can see if she charged for days you were scheduled to bring him in but just didn't or something, but not for the days that SHE chooses to not be available.
Thanks so much, I will keep that in mind.
I don't know....I know I don't totally agree with that set up either, but that is how every homecare sitter worked that I interviewed, including mine. I kinda get that it is her full time job and she needs to count on that income.
I have to pay her over breaks and summer (Um, that is like 12 weeks he isn't even there!!), but I can call to see if she is available and she'll watch him with no problems...she'd actually watch him full time in the summer but I like him home with me.
Even with that, she charges me $20/day (includes food) and it is still cheaper than day centers would be full time for me down here. Plus she's more flexible if I'm late or need someone in a jam.
I haven't discussed what #2 will cost me sending to her, but I think it is at a discounted rate of 20%.
We're staying with her through summer but probably switching in the fall b/c Alex needs to be in preschool.
Yeah, not something you expect from an in home provider.
But, she is kind of running it like a daycare facility and I guess you cannot blame her for that. If you went to a facility you'd most likely pay for the time B2 isn't there, I believe most give you 2 weeks vacation to use where you don't pay.
I know a lady in Sylvania. I don't think she charges for days you don't take B2. Email me if you are interested.
I guess my problem is, B and I don't get paid for holidays off. And since my day falls on a holiday, I feel like I am getting screwed.
And why should I pay someone when I have my son with me? Again, I look at it as as a service. No service provided, no payment.
A few of the centers I called don't make you pay for days you are not there. I guess I will find out after I talk to her and if she isn't willing to negotiate with me, then I will send him elsewhere.
That is how all of the centers that I talked to down here work. I didn't interview any home providers but I do know a lot of centers run that way to be able to provide vacations and PTO for their employees.
When my sister used to babysit she would charge if you "called in sick" last minute, but she did not charge for vacations or if she had advanced notice you wouldn't be there. She also didn't charge the full amount if the child didn't come because they were sick.... and she only started doing that after watching a kid for one lady who would just decide not to show up and not call until an hour or 2 after she was supposed to be there.
my in home sitter didn't charge for days she didn't have my kids, and she took one week off per year and all holidays, but i didn't have to pay her. she charged us $25 for one and $35 for two kiddos per day, plus $20 per month for food.
she's in the south end, and she'll take B to Holy Trinity if you want her to 2-3 mornings a week when he's old enough. she's got a big fenced yard with lots of treehouses and playground equipment.
the *only* not-so-good things about her are she is not licensed, her mom lives there too and helps watch the kids, and she has a pool. those aren't deal-breakers for me but they might be for someone. i think i gave you her info before, but let me know.
That is crazy. No way. I agree with you. Better benefits and cheaper rates are why people look at home daycares rather then big centers. I would not use our sitter if I had to pay for her week or two of vacation as well has holiday pay. She takes a week off in the summer and I just have to make other arangments. She also takes off the holidays but she doesn't make us pay for those. I am sorry but I think its nuts to do so.
We have it set up with her that I tell her the week prior how many days I need her. If I say 3 days and cancel any of them I still pay for 3. This week wasn't any days, so I don't pay her at all.
My friends sitter charges for 3 days no matter what, whether they use those 3 days or not. Which is totally understandable as well and I would be fine with that. And she takes vacation and doesn't get paid by her sitters.
Thank you all for your responses and making realizes I was not BSC or being cheap about it.
I called her and all she said was "ok, thanks for letting me know. I understand everyone has to keep their checkbook balanced. It was nice meeting you and B2."
I use the same sitter MC does, I had a very set work schedule and paid hourly for the time J was there.
I hope you can find another sitter soon.
I guess we are getting screwed! For an in-home sitter, we pay $135/week (=$27/day). She does not take holidays, but she does take 2 weeks of vacation that we have to pay for. However, we also get to take 2 weeks of vacation and then we don't pay her. Personally, I think this is stupid. If you could break up the weeks by days, then that would work for us, but we usually don't take a week of vacation at a time. So, for our second week, we took it the same week she took her vacation. She said she "still wanted paid, she gets 2 weeks a year". I said "that is fine I will pay you, but I want my 1 week where I don't pay, I get 2 weeks a year!" So... we didn't pay her the week prior to her "paid vacation" even though A went to her that week... stupid huh! She does not get paid holidays. We have to pay for the full week no matter what. There was even one week where A only went 2 times and we still had to pay the full rate.
In the spring, we are switching A to a daycare center. We want them to work with her and have her explore things, create things.. etc. This current women doesn't do much with her. The only problem is that the daycare center we are looking at is $274/week! It is going to suck to pay over double, but I don't want A to just sit in front of a TV or be stuck in a play pen or stroller.