Start a babysitting business for a jump start to your stay at home mom income. This can be a great way to determine if at-home daycare is right for you. These ideas for babysitting will get you started.
Running a traditional daycare business isn’t for everyone. Sure, the idea of bringing in extra money sounds great, but it can cut into your family time. Maybe you just don’t “do” diapers, or perhaps your kids are older so you’d rather watch kids in the same age bracket.
One simple solution would be to start a babysitting business that offers one of these things: occasional babysitting, Mom’s Day Out, Homeschooler’s Day Out, Parent’s Night Out, holiday childcare, or preschool.
Occasional Babysitting
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Who says you have to watch children on a set schedule? There are lots of ideas for babysitting out there.
You could offer occasional babysitting and/or nanny services that take place in your house or the child’s home. Something like this could be run on a part-time basis.
For example, in an effort to start a babysitting business, you could keep the child every Wednesday at a certain time while the mother attends to other things like a yoga class, running errands, or doctor’s appointments. A great way to have that stay at home mom income while still spending time with your family.
Mom’s Day Out
Another similar style of babysitting is to offer a Mom’s Day Out. Particularly appealing to other stay-at-home-moms, this type of care can be offered once a week, once every two weeks, or once a month.
Typically, a flat fee of $25 is charged while moms drop their little ones off with you for a 4-6 hour span. And just what might mom do with their newfound freedom?
How about grocery shopping? Getting their hair and nails done? A massage? Visit with friends? A lunch date with Daddy? Sleep? All of these things are possible and would be great things to include in your advertising.
If you start a babysitting business like this, you’d offer services sporadically but still bring in a supplemental income.
Home Schooler’s Day Out
Why not take the Mom’s Day Out idea and market it to mothers that home school their children? While most stay-at-home moms get free time once their children hit school age, homeschooling moms are with their children 24/7. Not that this is a bad thing in any way, but every mom needs a break and sometimes it’s nice just to have an afternoon to yourself.
Start a babysitting business that would cater to homeschooled children and offer them something fun and constructive to do while they are in your care. This way the mom gets a little free time to do other things while you add a little extra money with your stay at home mom income.
Parent’s Night Out
Need more ideas for babysitting? One of the most popular ways to start a babysitting business is offering Parent’s Night Out.
Mom and Dad need alone time every now and again, a chance to remember why they got together in the first place! This is a service that could be offered once or twice a month.
Just pick a Friday or Saturday night, rent PG movies, order pizza and set up the sleeping bags. Now you’re ready for a mini slumber party for school-aged kids that can last from 6pm-midnight. Consider charging $25-35 per child for this service.
Holiday Care
Some parents have to work on holidays and it’s a challenge finding daycare. Add this to your ideas for babysitting!
If you are able to start a babysitting business for these special days, you can charge a premium rate. An example of this would be offering childcare on New Year’s Eve or Valentine’s Day.
A reasonable charge would be $50-$100 per child for the entire night. Of course, when we think “holiday,” images of Christmas or Thanksgiving come to mind but don’t forget about your bank holidays, too.
Not everybody gets those days off. This is where your fabulous holiday care services would really pay off! Which adds to your stay at home mom income.
Preschool Program
Another way to start a babysitting business would be to have a preschool program for other stay-at-home moms as a daycare alternative. Preschool could be held 2-3 times a week and last a few hours. The kids would get to socialize, make crafts and other fun activities, and you would make a little income on the side.
This is just one of many ideas for babysitting preschool-aged children. Want to take the idea further? Consider starting your own home preschool.
