When people first look at afternoon help, they focus on the hourly rate and stop there. That number matters, but it is the smallest part of what the month costs. The total moves with the school calendar, the minimum visit length, and the calls that come in at the last minute. Start there.
Local option: New Plan Care gives families in the St. Louis area in-home help so a parent can stay home: companionship, help with bathing and dressing, meals, and overnight care. Call (314) 405-0887.
Count the days the calendar changes the afternoon
Go through the school calendar with a pen and mark every day the afternoon looks different: early release, teacher workdays, half days, break weeks, snow days, and the week before a holiday. Some of those days add hours. Some remove them. Some turn a regular afternoon into a full day. Your real total is the sum of those marks, not the average week.
The break weeks are the ones to watch. A kid who is home all day needs more coverage than a kid who is in class, so the helper may be booked for longer blocks, and the monthly total jumps even though the rate never changed.
Ask these before you compare anyone
Ask every helper or agency the same questions, and write the answers in the same order so you can compare them side by side.
Is the charge for hours booked or hours worked? If you book four hours and the kids are picked up early, do you still pay for four?
Is there a minimum per visit? A short afternoon can cost more than its length suggests.
Is there a charge for cancelling, and how much notice is required? A snow day that closes school the same morning can turn into a costly cancellation.
Do weekends, holidays, or break days carry a different rate or a different minimum?
Is travel time billed? If the helper drives in from across the county, ask whether that is included.
What does an extra hour added on short notice cost, and does it need its own booking?
Pick the shape of the month
Most families end up choosing between a fixed weekly block, a set schedule with a few open afternoons, or an as-needed arrangement for the days that do not fit the pattern. Fixed blocks are easy to plan around and can feel expensive in a quiet month. As-needed coverage costs less in a quiet month and can cost more in a crunch week when the calls stack up. Build the month on paper in each shape before you choose, and then look at the worst week, not the average one.
Keep the job described as afternoon help with the kids and the household, not as anything that belongs to the care team, so the paperwork and the money match what actually happens in the house.