On top of that, a recent NPR program described a case where a group of boys is regularly asked to spend a portion of each week taking care of small babies. He announcer also mentioned that the boys now look forward to it. Unfortunately, I don’t have any more details on this, but it certainly sounds good. Indeed, very good! Those boys can now go out and get babysitting jobs or childcare jobs, moving in on the girls who monopolize it, and preparing themselves to be involved fathers.
Except that the current monopoly will work very hard to keep them off “their turf”. As does any monopoly which is threatened. Those boys are probably less likely to be afraid of, or threatened by, babies. However, they may be more aware of the responsibilities of: kids. In practice you probably need to convince the parents (especially mothers), who are the people who select babysitters… Chances are that if you are human, you have been babysat before.
I am considering paying a friend to look after my child for around 40 hours a week. Obviously this would be at least $1000 a month. This would be based entirely in her home. She does not have a business or any particular child care license; she does look after another child for payment, on a similarly informal basis, but only for about 10 hours a week and not necessarily every week. My basic question is how is this treated, as far as I am concerned, for tax purposes? Specifically, would I have to pay payroll taxes, unemployment tax etc. as I would for a “household employee”. I want to do this all “above board” and properly, of course. I’ve looked around a lot for information, including IRS publications, but they always seem to relate only to household employees” ie the “nanny tax” and these people apparently have to actually work in your own house, not their house, according to publication 926.
Over the past decade, the number of American families with working parents has expanded dramatically. Making high quality child care more affordable and accessible is critical to the strength of our families and to healthy child development and learning….. Each of us — from businesses to religious leaders to policy-makers and elected officials – has a responsibility and an important stake in making sure that children of all ages have the best possible care available to them. From infancy through adolescence, in child care settings and after-school programs, children can learn and thrive with the right care, attention, and education.
As a child-care provider, I would not have a problem being video-taped, but only if I were informed that it might be happening. I would be very uncomfortable if I were to find out later that it had happened and lose my respect and trust for my employer and probably leave the position that may have otherwise been a good match for each of us.
The UK law provides a lot of protection for parents. People working with children are not allowed to examine children physically, or to take them to the doctor without parental consent. If a child comes into a setting with bruising, the first action of the nursery worker should be to talk to the parents about it. This is done partly to protect the worker – it has been known for parents to accuse workers of bruising their child, when the bruise was an old one acquired elsewhere. It is also done out of concern and interest in the child, and should not be threatening to the parent.
For mother no qualifications are required to get the job and no one interviews you beforehand to check that you are suitable for the position. This ‘anyone can do it’ degrades motherhood from the word go. Well, it’s true – anyone CAN do it…but not everyone can do a GOOD job of it. Personally I would like to see our government introduce voluntary courses in childcare aspects such as nutrition, discipline, morality, mental and physical development – with attendance/passing exams bringing a recognized qualification.
MOST family’s childcare is a necessary expense so they can have a job. (For most of us, there is no grandma willing and eager to pinch hit 8 hours a day, and to do alternating shift work [mom works days - dad works nights] just means that SOMEONE is never sleeping). If we didn’t have child care, we could not work, and we could not earn money and we COULD NOT PAY TAXES. (And note that, just as I must make a profit most years for Uncle Sam to consider me self-employed, you can’t deduct more in child care than you actually earn being employed.)
Many states and centers require a four-year degree in education for childcare jobs, or if not in that field, plenty of non-credit coursework and experience in addition. The government requires a Bachelor of Arts degree in ECE, sometimes a Master’s degree, but they’ll accept other degrees as long as you’ve got equivalent training and experience. All places, I think, should require at least two years of experience in a licensed facility, if not more in a supervisory /management role, before an individual is qualified to lead a center as a director.
Range of salary varies a lot. On average, the salary of the childcare jobs is between $18-22K a year, less if it’s a very small facility, more if it’s a very large place, and possibly, depending on the city/state. Directors working for the federal government make between $22-25K a year, again more if there are additional responsibilities or if the center is a high capacity facility. Usually, an assistant director for a government center will start at a GS-5 or 7, depending on the size of the place, while a director may start at a GS-7 or 9. Location may factor in here, too; overseas directors usually make a little more as compensation for moving out of the country.
