I am going back to work soon and am trying to figure out childcare for my boys (28 mos & 4 mos.) before lo2, my mom used to watch lo1 part time for free 
I'm just curious to see what you would expect to pay for full time, in home child care of an infant and toddler. Would it be comparable to centers?
nectarine / 2987 posts
In home care where I live is in the 30-50/day/kid range. Less than most centers.
eggplant / 11287 posts
My MIL ran an in-home daycare and charged $35-$42 per day per kid, depending on their age.
She currently just watches her grandson, and charges $25/day to watch him. He's 21 months.
grapefruit / 4321 posts
Totally depends on your area. I would expect to pay much more for a nanny vs a center if I only had 1 kid. For two kids I would expect it to be about even. So I pay around $25k a year for my two kids to go to a center full time which sounds to me like a fair annual salary for a nanny in my area. If we had grandparents watching our kids full time I would not be comfortable paying them less than the going rate for a nanny. Even though they love their grandkids, they are still completely giving up their freedom to provide year round daily childcare.
coconut / 8430 posts
In my area, nannies ask for $18-25 for 2 kids. Centers are anywhere from $1800-$2400 for infant care. I think in home centers are slightly less than large centers.
squash / 13199 posts
@jill_a55: inhome is usually cheaper than a center but the actual rates will depend on a lot. Its cheaper if the person taking care of the kids is taking care of other peoples kids as well as yours. If its just your kids than that can cost a bit more
cantaloupe / 6669 posts
I paid my mom between what daycare cost & what a nanny cost. She just watched my one LO, two days a week.
grapefruit / 4361 posts
Just keep in mind that if you pay over $2000 a year (which is what most of these estimates are over), then you are supposed to pay employer tax and she is supposed to pay income tax.
grapefruit / 4770 posts
I think it's a discussion to have with your mom. It'll be very dependent on your area/relationship/ other factors. My mom quoted a price she was comfortable with weekly, and that's what we pay her. If we have a second, we will probably add $150-200. She provides full time care in our home. We also give her quarterly bonuses. It's not as much as she received from her other job, but we try! And we pay all taxes as well.
pomegranate / 3895 posts
@DesertDreams88: That doesn't apply to family.
https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p926.pdf
See page 4
We pay $15 per hour net to our nanny.
wonderful pea / 17279 posts
If she wasn't your mother would you choose her to watch your children during the day? Are you replacing her current income or is she already retired? I would factor both of those into what to pay her.
apricot / 448 posts
@LBee: oooh good to know! Thank you for the link!
Thanks everyone for the info, that helps a lot.
@Mrs. Lemon-Lime: yes I would have her watch them all the time! She's a baby whisperer 
It would be replacing income, so I know it would have to be comparable to an actual provider. We are considering using her, or going with an in home daycare that has been recommended from friends.
papaya / 10343 posts
We'd pay about 2200/month for two kids in a daycare center. I would rather have my kid(s) home with my mom full time so I would pay up to that amount to have her watch them (maybe 2500 if we could afford it, because I'd prefer it). But also I'd sort of like to have them in some classes to get interaction with other kids and that also costs money, maybe 200-300/month? So I'd probably see if my mo would be okay with 2k/month + i'd pay to enroll LO in 2-3 classes so they'd have stuff to do all week.
apricot / 448 posts
@Mae: yeah, that's my only worry about them being at home with my mom. But we've started taking lo1 to open gym and she would continue that. Plus she could do Drs appointments if I couldn't make it, which is a plus.
GOLD / wonderful olive / 19030 posts
We have always used an in home, her prices are the same no matter the age of child (so my infant caused the same as my toddler.) In our area our in home daycares run about 30% less than the local centers we toured. I also get a multi-kid discount of 10/off each kid a week. We pay for 2 weeks paid vacation plus paid holidays. but our savings is so worth it.
pomegranate / 3658 posts
I think the more apt comparison would be to what you'd pay for a nanny, not for an in-home daycare. In-home daycare is in the provider's home (not yours) and usually a lot more kids than just your own. Grandma is going to be more analogous to hiring a nanny - never cheap!
Having said that though, MIL has offered to provide 2x/week care for DD starting in a few months and she isn't expecting us to pay her anything. We'll work out the details but I imagine we'll pay for her gas money and provide all of DD's food and any needed equipment/gear, but that's probably it. She's retired so it won't be replacing any income.
wonderful pear / 26210 posts
Since it is replacing income, I think you kind of have your number. I would think you have a little wiggle room, but she's going to have a base number that she can not go below.
My parents are the before and after care for my son...during the work week, he is enrolled in either preschool or camp and attends there from 9-1. I found this to be a great fit because it still affords my parents some kid free time, my son is at a great place where he has fun and I save a bit of money by not having to pay for a ton of hours.
wonderful pomelo / 30692 posts
@DesertDreams88: @jill_a55: Actually, that link that @LBee: posted actually says you DO have to pay taxes if paying your family.
Page 5: Wages not counted:
Don't count wages you pay to any of the following individuals as social security or Medicare wages, even if these wages are $2,000 or more during the year.
1. Your spouse.
2. Your child who is under the age of 21.
3. Your parent. Exception: Count these wages if both the following conditions apply.
a. Your parent cares for your child who is either of the following.
i. Under the age of 18, or
ii. Has a physical or mental condition that requires the personal care of an adult for at least 4 continuous weeks in the calendar quarter services were performed.
pomegranate / 3895 posts
@Adira: You forgot part B 
- I'm pretty sure OP is married. Both items have to be accurate.
wonderful pomelo / 30692 posts
@LBee: Oh good call. I missed the second half of the exception - BOTH have to apply, not just your parent caring for your child, but ALSO if you're a single parent or your spouse is disabled. Definitely complicated!!!
wonderful pomelo / 30692 posts
Although I'm not sure why a single parent is subject to more taxes than a married one... that makes no sense to me.
pomegranate / 3895 posts
@Adira: It's completely complicated. I edited my post, but at first I assumed I (or my accountant) was wrong. It took some googling to re-confirm. I found an article that actually discussed how confusing the guidance on this is:
http://www.marketwatch.com/story/tax-rules-for-hiring-family-members-2012-03-27
It is interesting the groups they have deemed have to pay taxes. I'm not really clear on the logic of that aside from it potentially being a live-in situation?! (totally off topic)
pomegranate / 3895 posts
@jill_a55: All this to say, a good place might be to discuss what she nets a month as a starting place for pay.
apricot / 448 posts
@PawPrints: thank you for the nanny comparison, I'll have to tell my DH that. He's under the impression that we would pay her a lot less 🙄
@looch: yeah that seems like a nice compromise. I don't want to burn my mom out with the boys, so maybe just like a once a week or daycare pick up would be a good alternative.
@Adira: @LBee: I can't stand tax laws, I don't know why they have to be so complicated!! But thank you for doing the research for me
@LBee: thanks, we've had a few conversations about it. I just wanted to see if what we were discussing actually seemed right, which it does now.
apricot / 448 posts
@LuLu Mom: thank you! The in home I've looked at has been a lot less expensive as well. Interesting about the vacations/holidays. I'll have to remember to ask that if we go the in home route.
grapefruit / 4361 posts
@LBee: @Adira: yeah, sooo confusing!! I was going reply like Adira originally did, and then I probably re read the IRS code like 12 times and figured it out. Our in-laws care for LO so it's important for me to understand the rules! And yep, married.
squash / 13208 posts
@jill_a55: in this case I think I would do an in home center and use your mom for backup when the kids are sick or your in home closes for whatever reason
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