My friends pay me to watch their kids alongside my own. It's a fulfilling way to make $400 a week as a stay-at-home mom.

I have been a stay-at-home mom since my son was born in 2024.

The cost of day care in my area is high, with prices I saw starting at $1,400 a month for a few hours a week.

It didn’t make sense for me to work a full-time job only to give my entire paycheck to someone else to watch my kid.

So my husband and I decided he would keep his full-time job, and I’d do freelance writing work in between watching our son to give us a little left over for extra expenses after paying rent and bills.

My schedule shifted in late 2025 when a friend reached out to me.

Since I was staying home with my son, would it be too much trouble if I also watched her daughter?

I wanted to be a good friend and help her out in any way that I could.

She was pregnant with her second child and juggling two teaching jobs while her partner was also working.

They needed the extra help, and I could offer more flexible hours than any day care.

So, I began watching their kid for about 10 hours a week, and my friend became my first client.

Honestly, when you’re home watching a toddler, one more doesn’t really make that much of a difference.

My son was also excited to have someone to play with regularly, and some of the socialization he may have been missing out on by not going to day care was made up for by his mama taking on another kid.

When my friend’s second child was born, I continued to babysit for the family, now watching two toddlers and a newborn.

That came with its own challenges, but the toddlers usually kept each other entertained while I tended to the baby.

Eventually, other moms in our circle found out I was babysitting my friend’s kids and asked me to watch theirs as well.

I now have three regular babysitting clients, which isn’t too challenging for me.

I’ve worked as a babysitter, after-school teacher, and children’s library aide in the past.

I’m very used to being around kids — I’m with my son during all his waking hours, and we typically attend various story times or children’s activities in our neighborhood.

I don’t mind being around a lot of children, either.

I think they’re fun and creative, and I love seeing them experience the world for the first time.

I relish being a teacher of sorts, and I’m happy to do it for any of my son’s friends.

The babysitting part presents its own challenges, of course.

Sometimes there’s conflict between my son and another kid.

In those cases, I have each of them play independently for a bit until they cool down.

Other times, a child I’m watching misses their mom or doesn’t want to play.

At this point, I just remind them that their parent always comes back, and encourage them to try different fun activities.

My clients are also pretty good with on-time pickups, but sometimes there’s a time crunch if they’re running late and I have a lot of freelance work to do that day.

Otherwise, most days are fairly smooth sailing.

I typically charge $25 an hour for each babysitting gig, as I believe that’s a fair rate for juggling multiple kids.

I decided on this number after talking with some of my nanny friends to find out what the average rates looked like in my area.

Admittedly, I charge a little bit less than I probably should because I’m typically working for friends.

Still, I manage to make an extra $400 or so a week from doing this work.

The number fluctuates a bit depending on how much I am needed.

Since my freelance writing gigs are flexible, I’m still able to do those in between babysitting shifts, too.

All the extra income definitely helps, as I am, by nature, a hustler when it comes to how I make money, and I scrape by with whatever I can to help with my family’s expenses, while also staying home with my son full time.

Money aside, I genuinely enjoy helping my friends with their children.

However, I do want to have a second kid, so it is tough to say if I will continue babysitting in the future.

I do love working with kids —especially ones I know well already — and I hope to continue doing this work as long as I can.