South Minneapolis Infant Care

sarahqimi

Hi Mamas! 

I'm looking for suggestions for infant care in South Minneapolis.  We live at 22nd Ave & 40th Street near Lake Hiawatha.  We are open to centers or in-home care.  We aren't due until January 1st, so still in planning stages at this point.  I've heard that infant spots can be challenging to secure, so trying to do some research now!  Would also love to get a better handle on costs.  Most of what I've been able to find so far isin the $350/week for fulltime infant care.

Thank you!

 

JGY

Hi There,

Yes, $350/week is exactly what we pay at Jardin Magico Longfellow.  Crazy expensive, but I really love them there and feel it's the best place for my little guy.  The wait list is ridiculously long though, so if you choose them make sure that you have a good back-up plan for a number of months after you would ideally want care to start.  We ended up having to fly family around the country to help us patch through (thank goodness they were able and willing) until a spot opened up.

Good luck!

sarahqimi

Thanks JGY!  We are definitely considering J.M.  We have heard GREAT things about them...so they would be our dream center for sure!  Thanks for your feedback. 

JGY

Feel free to PM me if you have any specific questions, or want to chat more about them.

RedDDD

We tried to get in to Jardin and were on a waiting list and they never EVER called us back.  If you get on their waiting list make sure to follow up with them yourself and do it regularly.  I also loved that place but ended up moving and we were at a Montessori school in Burnsville which we loved.  I have a friend that has a child at Jardin and she literally just kept calling them.  GL!

JGY

Yup, that's exactly what I did.  I also offered to enroll him at a different location, one of their new ones, and then transfer him back when there was an open spot.  That's actually what allowed us to get in.  But even doing that, we still had to wait a number of months past when we started needing care.

The most important thing is that you find a place that you trust, and that sees eye to eye with you on your parenting style.  For us, this was Jardin.  But there are certainly other great options out there!

 

wombat 3

My son went to a place called We Love Kids on the corner of 54th and Chicago. It isn't fancy, but my son really liked it and seemed to get good care. He went there for 3 years and my daughter will be starting there in August.

eggmankate

wombat 3 said:

My son went to a place called We Love Kids on the corner of 54th and Chicago. It isn't fancy, but my son really liked it and seemed to get good care. He went there for 3 years and my daughter will be starting there in August.

Too funny! I was just going to suggest this one. Our DD goes there part-time right now. They are the cheapest center I have found. They rely on word of mouth and thus have no website. I agree--not fancy, but the inside is clean and presentable. They don't do wait-lists and I was able to get my DD in when calling on my maternity leave about 6 weeks before I needed care.

eggmankate

JGY said:

Yup, that's exactly what I did.  I also offered to enroll him at a different location, one of their new ones, and then transfer him back when there was an open spot.  That's actually what allowed us to get in.  But even doing that, we still had to wait a number of months past when we started needing care.

The most important thing is that you find a place that you trust, and that sees eye to eye with you on your parenting style.  For us, this was Jardin.  But there are certainly other great options out there!

 

That is good to know. DD is on the wait-list and I checked in with them the center about a month ago. I hope I'm not being naive to assume that we're still moving our way up the list....

JGY

eggmankate said:

JGY said:

Yup, that's exactly what I did.  I also offered to enroll him at a different location, one of their new ones, and then transfer him back when there was an open spot.  That's actually what allowed us to get in.  But even doing that, we still had to wait a number of months past when we started needing care.

The most important thing is that you find a place that you trust, and that sees eye to eye with you on your parenting style.  For us, this was Jardin.  But there are certainly other great options out there!

 

That is good to know. DD is on the wait-list and I checked in with them the center about a month ago. I hope I'm not being naive to assume that we're still moving our way up the list....

Yes definitely don't take it for granted.  Also, you could/should ask if there are any spots available in one of their other locations.  Once you're "In the system" you can apply to transfer.  Apparently the transfer list trumps the wait list (Wahhhhh????)!

Good luck!

 

mstaubin

Thanks for these great posts! I live in South Minneapolis as well right off of 42nd Ave S and a few blocks south of Lake Street. We are seeking childcare for our first baby come May 2015. I am going to call We Care Kids. I believe there is one on 25th and Chicago as well? I went into that one once for my job to do a diaper drop off and I didn't care for it that much but maybe the 54th one is better? I've been looking on craigslist like crazy too.

mstaubin

Wow called We Love Kids. Pretty expensive. $270 a week and that payment has to be paid 52 weeks of the year even if you don't use the time.  Time frame though is 4-5 days a week up to 9.5 hours each day.

MsMacual

$270 a week for an infant in a center actually is pretty low for a center.  I was quoted as high as $491/week for our older son (born in October of 2011) and found that $325-350 was the typical rate in a center for full time care.  Some centers will give you one or two vacation weeks per year where you pay 1/2 of your normal weekly rate so those definitely are out there.  Our current provider has two weeks of PTO in her contract so we pay our full rate for her days off (she typically does one week and then a few random days spread out during the year).  I end out either taking vacation or begging my parents to visit to watch our son during her time off.  I have friends who have up to 4 weeks of PTO in their contracts so be prepared that this is very likely to be part of your contract.  My suggestion would be to see if you can find a licensed in home provider as their rates usually are a little lower.  We are out in the suburbs so the in home rates might be a little lower, but the general range that I found was $185-225/week for an infant.  You should be able to do a google search for your county's licensed providers (i.e. hennepin county licensed day care) and get a searchable list.  Good luck!  This was one of the areas where I had the biggest sticker shock.

JGY

@mstaubin, I agree with @msmacual that $270/wk. is very reasonable for a center in Mpls.  We pay $350/wk.  She is also correct in that most centers require you to pay for your "Slot" whether you are there or not.  Some centers do offer a reduced "Vacation" rate, as she mentioned as well.  We get 1 week per year at 50% of the normal fee.