DayCare Costs??

Is it just me or is day care really high now a days?? Many of you know that Jason and I are thinking about trying for a baby...well today I am looking around to see how much day care costs around here....

I was shocked to see how much some places are....my company has their own private day care which located right next to our office (which is great), but the costs of an infant at 6 weeks is about $603.00 a month! That seems a little high to me...I am going to have to call most of the places around here since they don't list the costs on their websites.



How much does daycare cost where you are??

My Mom did daycare for 17 years, she just quit this past year. She was the cheapest one in town - and there were about 5 providers in our little town of 1,000 people.

Her rates were : $1.25 for a child per hour, and if you had 2 children, it would be 1.25, plus .25 cents for another child in the family. She was really cheap, but made a good living off of it. She had about 10 kids there a day, she loved it.

I know in bigger cities, its MUCH higher!

Its really expensive is all I know. Sorry I can't be of more help . I have a freind that works in a day care I will ask her what their rates are.

I am actually very lucky when it comes to daycare.

When it was just my son, it was about $80.00/wk, now I have him (6 yo) and a 14 month old daughter and it is $125.00/wk for both of them. It is also a home daycare which tend to be cheaper than a "daycare center". I would only feel comfortable doing this with a great referral from someone that you know.

Plus, I live in a town that has ~7000 people, so it's pretty small. It will more than likely run higher in a larger city.

Originally Posted by Phenomsmom

Its really expensive is all I know.

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I know that for the six weeks we used to have my ex's daughter for the summer, it ran us around $600 total for daycare, and that was only 4 days a week

I've worked for several day cares as well as a nanny in the past, and I'll tell you this, you get what you pay for. The first day care I worked at was one of the best in the area, the owner really took pride in what she did, making sure that all the kids were safe, and that everything ran really well. The second day care I worked for was horrible, the owner didn't tell me that there was a police investigation going on with one of the kids, and the whole place was a mess. The first one I worked for was around 750.00 a month, the other, 300.00.

As a nanny I charged about 11.50 an hour. I would make sure the kids were fed, bathed, homework was done, and they were in bed every night at 9pm no matter what. Depending on what you are looking for, a nanny may be a better option.

Edit: 11.50 was for two kids.

Day care is EXPENSIVE!! I am not real sure around here, exactly, but I heard the other day that somewhere around here they charge you like $5.00 every minute your late! I am watching a friend of mines 2 girls and I just charge her $3.00 an hour, which is CHEAP! She paid ALOT more when she had her kids in a different day care and they didnt get one on one, like they do with me

One last detail on the nanny part. The family did a background check and had a nanny cam on me at all times. If you decide to get a nanny I'd suggest you do the same.

For my 4 ½ yr old it is $135/week and for my 8½yr old it's $80week....

Wow..thanks for the responses...

I called around today just to see and we found a place that is only $120/week for an infant which is $480/month compared to $603/month is a great deal...but we have PLENTY of time to check out and tour all of the places.


Thanks again!!

Originally Posted by Alaynna

Wow..thanks for the responses...

I called around today just to see and we found a place that is only $120/week for an infant which is $480/month compared to $603/month is a great deal...but we have PLENTY of time to check out and tour all of the places.


Thanks again!!

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Also try home daycares. They do sliding scale alot more then centers

We have two daycares in our street - my Nana used to run one in a poorer area and it was really cheap - but some of the cases she said were horrible. I was so spoilt there!

Originally Posted by DixieDarlin256

Also try home daycares. They do sliding scale alot more then centers

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My mom did daycare out of her home, and as I posted above, she was MUCH cheaper than most centers.

I work at a daycare center. While daycare is certainly not cheap, there are tricks to finding a good daycare at a reasonable price. First off, look at church-owned daycare centers or ones that are affiliated with churches. They are usually less expensive, have better teachers and go through the same regulations as other day cares. Also, i can't emphasize this enough- but when you get references- actually call and check them out! Make a list of everything you want to know -even if it's a small detail, and see what the parents like and don't like about the daycare. Also , checkout daycare policies- they vary a bit from center to center...Make sure wherever you go though that they meet or exceede DCS guidelines. Good luck with your investigation and good luck trying to conciece

Yikes!

If I ever have kids, I'm staying here in Quebec. $6 a day for everyone! (government subsidized)... however, the waiting lists can be pretty long...

I know Ontario had subsidies for families with low income. I'm assuming that's not available in the US?

Last summer I paid $240/week for two kids full time at a home daycare. When ds was born, almost 7 years ago, the daycare centers were charging $200/week for a newborn!

When my now 17 y/o son was born, I quit work to stay home with him and my other child. I was able to earn more than I could have made working and paying for child care! And I knew my kids were in good hands.

Or if you have friends or family who are stay at home Mom's, they may be able to help you.

Originally Posted by marie-p

Yikes!

If I ever have kids, I'm staying here in Quebec. $6 a day for everyone!

(government subsidized)... however, the waiting lists can be pretty long...

I know Ontario had subsidies for families with low income. I'm assuming that's not available in the US?

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actually they do have it here.. and like you, there is a LOOOONG waiting list. There are ways to get around it but I'm not sure what they are now. I was on it myself for a while when I was a single mom. The highest I paid was $25/week for both my boys to go to full time care.. Now I'm married we don't qualify cuz we make too much money which is NOT true!

A friend worked for a daycare...

Infants 250 a week

toddlers 150 a week

school age 125 a week

OK, my son's been in the same daycare for 2 years (this sept) and it is amazing.

It is a early childhood learning centre and they really have well trained and knowledgable staff. They require a diploma in early childhood education just to clean or cook there.

The centre is equiped to work with all types of children inlcuding trouble children and those that have developmental issues. They have a specific person dedicated to the last thing mentioned, but other than that they have 4 to 5 staff working, including one cook and one support person who goes where needed.

The best thing about my daycare is that it's non-profit so that you are only paying for what you have to. I pay 475 dollars a month and my son is 3 1/2. When he was a 18 month (when he started daycare) I payed 230 dollars a month.


My suggestions is to look for a non-religious, non-profit daycare in a reasonable area. I definately would avoid home daycares. With centres there is more accountability with other staff. At my daycare, no one adult is ever alone in a room with any child, which I like, where as in a home, if there is only one adult, there is no other people that person has to be accountable to and could potentially do something you would not like.

There are very specific things to look for when you are looking for a good daycare. One major requirement is that you should be allowed to go anywhere in the daycare and show up unexpectedly whenever with out the daycare getting mad.

If the centre says they have "teachers" at the centre, I would ask for their credentials.

I'll have to pull out my notes on what to look for in a daycare, but these were just what came to mind...sorry about the long post...I'm very passionate about great daycares.