ChildcareFollow

We currently take our daughter to a childcare center (Kindercare) and the tuition, while high, is worth it we feel because the staff take such good care of her and she is learning so much while going there. You can tell that they really care about her and want to see her do well.

Now that we have Zoe, I got the quote for what the new tuition rate will be with both kids yesterday and basically monthly tuition will end up taking about %40 of what we take home each month. I'm not entirely sure we can afford that kind of hit, most likely I'm going to have to get a second job to pay for it and thus I won't be around my family as much as I like as I have school on top of everything else.

My wife's friend takes her kids to a home daycare who has 2 openings available and she would watch our kids for substantially less than what we're paying now for just Aedyn. However, home daycares scare the **** out of me, almost every horror story I've heard about child care is usually at a home daycare. What I'm wondering is, what would/do you do for your child care needs?

40% of your total income on childcare is a bit excessive, no matter the quality, IMO. Home daycare is kind of like buying a used car, but with even more disastrous consequences if something goes wrong. I personally would never do it unless I was a personal friend or relative of the caregiver. Even then, I would have my doubts.

It's hard to recommend against the more expensive daycare, because really, price is second to the care your child receives, but also, if you're going to be spending less time at home as a result of the cost, maybe that disadvantage will offset the advantages of your current care provider.

I'm going back and forth here, and it's not even my decision. I don't envy you, and wish you luck on making the right one.

Edit: Home daycare DOES require a state license (good point kakar), but only if you have a certain number of children (like 3 or more, I think). The law does vary from state to state, but I would check it and make sure that if you decide to give a home daycare a shot, the provider is fully licensed and compliant with child care and health regulations as they apply.

Edited, Feb 14th 2008 8:54am by BrownDuck

Wint, maybe neither of you are interested period, but have you run the numbers on one of you staying home with the kids? It may be less expensive, and you'd have no fear and complete control over the children's learning.

It's not for everyone (I'd go ******* crazy), but it may be an option that's more affordable and possibly more rewarding, depending on personality types.

Nexa

I've been blessed with a string of outstanding home daycare providers who very obviously grew attached to my son and treated him like one of their own children. Each time we had to switch it felt like a real loss. His current provider is a little less maternal towards him but he's also older now and she has a few more kids so it's probably a good thing.

That's just my experience though and I'll admit that there's probably a lot of sketchy people out there. But I'm not scared off by the notion -- it just means you interview and visit the home. Ask how many kids she watches, if she's licensed, etc.

Edited, Feb 14th 2008 9:08am by Jophiel

Home daycare, in my opinion, is the way to go. Both by financial and atmosphere standpoints. But as said:



The important thing is that you're comfortable, and most Home daycare providers are both understanding of unannounced visits, as well as thorough interviewing and the "comfort" factor. If they aren't, then you should immediately rule that daycare provider out. State laws (I think) dictate the licensing requirements based on the number of children attending (I think age plays a role as well, however I'm not 100% on that).

The pro's of Home-based daycare are really something that cannot be ignored, if you find the right person to care for your child. My daycare provider is a retired educational professional (was a teacher for 35 years), and simply enjoys caring for and teaching young children. You cannot compare the attention & devotion given to your child in a small home environment, and they certainly become "part of the family".

And most importantly, aside from the financial benefit, it's typically easier to impose your own routines into a daycare of this type. Public/Formal/Center Daycare can have rotating shifts, non-routine employee coverage, and turnover rates that can stress important routine factors. Routines are what make children comfortable, and having one person caring for them, as well as imitating routines passed from you to the daycare provider, can make things so much easier. And to top it all off, most home daycare providers want to do what they do because they enjoy it. It's not necessarily a job to them, it's something they enjoy. If you can find something that fits all this criteria, I would have to say that it is almost always the right way to go.

Edited, Feb 14th 2008 10:33am by Ryneguy

Never mind I read that wrong. Dont mind me =)

Edited, Feb 14th 2008 10:37am by DSD

Ray and I had the same issues when all 3 of our ids were pretty young. We could have bought a Hummer for the monthly payment we paid into that daycare center. But, like you, we thought it was well worth it because the care, communication and everything else was top of the line.

Some home daycares are very well run. It really depends. All you can do is investigate the home daycare thoroughly, check out the references, make sure the license is up and current. Make sure that you and your wife are more than welcome to drop in anytime.

Until I finish school, daycare would cost more than I could bring home, so it's not worth it. My mother-in-law will be watching Tristan when I have class.

Why, what do you think I had him strapped to?!

You thought I left him strapped in the car didn't you!

We are both still amazed that the hospital let us take him away. Dumbasses!

Can you split them, maybe one in home daycare since she'll mostly need only feeding, burping, changing etc and the other needs more of an education since she's pre-K? I say tell your wife to honestly consider where you are financially, and that change, if handled correctly and with optimism, can really help your daughter become a more resilient and ultimately happier and more successful human being.

Jr. goes to home care now, and, should I pop one out, I would want to put him/her in a Hispanic household, which means that they would possibly be in two different places. It's paramount to me that any child of mine grow up bilingual, and, absent my parents, this is the best way I can think of for them to experience a Spanish-speaking household.

I've been trying since the day we met. It's my fondest wish, better than any gift he could ever give me. Charlemagne said that to speak another language is to have a second soul, and I can't emphasize how much I want to share that with him, show what it's meant to me.

So far, no dice.

I know more Polish than he does!

40%? Yeah, I suppose that's about right. All said and done, I'm down about $2,000/month for what I pay for my kids between child support, insurance, and incidentals. That doesn't include what I spend on them when they are with me, though.

Without repeating what other's have already said, you can have **** childcare or fantastic childcare regardless of whether it's home care or a public facility.

For anyplace you are going to take your kid, check out the facilities. Most places have a place for kids to play in need to have it fenced in. Check the fencing to make sure it's in good shape. Make sure there aren't any hazards like sharp edged furniture or low hanging **** kids can grab. Stop by the place when they have kids there to check things out, what kind of environment your kid will be in during the day. Also good to check what kind of foods they give your kid. Any place that gives soda to kids is a bad idea.

Another thing to keep an eye on is what sort of kids are being watched at the place. I wouldn't bring my kid to a place that caters to dirtbags. Kids pick up bad behavior really quickly.