Childcare

Kathryn0903

Saw this on the May board and figured it could be helpful to some of us.


What type of childcare are you planning?

Any previous experiences?

Cost/location (if you choose to share) and if you are using a Dependent Care FSA?

Anything else you want to share?

mercury94

What type of childcare are you planning? We use a daycare center with a Montessori style curriculum. 

Any previous experiences? DS has been going there for about a year. We got a spot for baby at the same place. The first one we used with DS was disappointing. They had cameras we could watch from our phones, which was why we picked them, but other than that, it wasn’t very good. We did like his teachers in the baby room, but once he moved up to the toddler room, things got bad. It felt like the teachers in that room did as little as possible and just complied with the minimum legal standards. DS ended up fracturing his leg and they couldn’t tell me how it happened (despite the cameras). They wouldn’t let me watch enough of the video, but what I did see showed that he was screaming for over a minute before someone checked on him. It also took an hour before they called me. They were rude to me when I got there to pick him up and swore it must have happened at home before one of the teachers finally said that he fell. I still think someone stepped on him or something, but I can’t prove it. They showed me a video of him falling and then crying. That’s when we left and found the place we use now. We got a few recommendations from people who use our current daycare and went by several times to see it before committing. I miss being able to watch him on cameras during the day, but I trust this place. They call immediately if anything happens, even a small scrape, and they’ve taught him so much. 

Cost/location (if you choose to share) and if you are using a Dependent Care FSA? We did the math last year and figured out that the deduction saved us money, so we aren’t using the FSA. We’ll probably need to check again before my next open enrollment. We are in South Texas. I’m a bit wary of sharing my cost, because I know it is low compared to people in large metro areas. But, we go to one of the more expensive places in town. It’s a bit above the average cost for Texas, but worth it. 

Anything else you want to share? I highly recommend asking around if you know people in your area with young kids. We didn’t do enough research the first time, because we were in such a hurry to get a spot, knowing that they frequently fill up quick. The second time, we asked everyone we knew and learned which places in town were the best. I also recommend seeing if your state has a registry of the facilities online. Texas lets you look at previous inspection information to see what violations were found. But, know it won’t show you everything. The state cleared my old daycare without finding any violations related to the incident with DS. Said they just did some training on how to tell when a child is in pain. FWIW, I’ve heard from parents there now that’s it’s gotten better, but my experience was awful.  

KFrob

What type of childcare are you planning?  We send the kids to a daycare/preschool now and will send the baby to the same one.

Any previous experiences?  DD1 spent almost 3 years in an at home daycare.  I feel like we got really lucky and the lady we used was amazing.  Most of her time there she was the only child.  For a little while there were two other little girls there around the same age and the only reason they left was our provider needed three weeks off and the other families couldn't swing that.  She taught DD1 so much and she was ahead of the other kids at preschool, as well as taught her to be a little lady with table manners, please and thank yous etc.  We moved to a new area and it was time for DD1 to start preschool so we switched to a daycare center near our employer.  We've been pretty happy with them but I still have worries in the back of my mind about the quailty of care, which I think I would worry about no matter where we send them.

Cost/location (if you choose to share) and if you are using a Dependent Care FSA?  We don't use FSA.  We pay $440 a week for a potty trained 3 year old and a toddler, which is fairly reasonable for our area in the Northeast.    

Anything else you want to share? I agree with asking around!  Also, start early.  We found child care easily with DD1, but with DD2 we were down to the wire when we got super lucky with our current place.  Also, don't be afraid to negotiate your rate!  It never hurts to ask.  

literatureandink

What type of childcare are you planning? My husband is a chef who owns his own catering company so we’re extremely lucky that when I’m done with maternity leave the baby will be home with him. He only does night/weekend private events and chooses his schedule so it’s perfect. When she gets a bit older we’ll put her in a Co-op style preschool. 

Any previous experiences? Nope, FTM here.

Cost/location (if you choose to share) and if you are using a Dependent Care FSA? I’m in the Northeast and everything is expensive so I expect private Co-op preschool to be the same.

Anything else you want to share?

ejoseph16

What type of childcare are you planning? A lady from church who lives a few houses down from us is starting a babysitting service at home, just her, for teachers. 

Any previous experiences? No. FTM. But I worked in a daycare and don’t trust them, so this was a relief! 

Cost/location (if you choose to share) and if you are using a Dependent Care FSA? Not sure if cost yet (she’s getting everything figured out yet), but she’s literally 4 houses away from us. 

Anything else you want to share? 

smallbutmighty77

What type of childcare are you planning? DD is at a Kindercare near us we love. She was at an in home when we were in the city that was amazing but the ones near where we live now just aren't the same caliber. We have an app and get photos during the day and they love our daughter. We use her former infant room teacher as a babysitter sometimes too. 

Any previous experiences? Nanny share- that was a mess bc the other family was crazy. Like they knew we had a dog, had met the dog, nanny etc were all fine with it and the night before we started the mom called to ask where we would be boarding the dog during the day. Um- nowhere. We have a walker but otherwise, she is home. She wanted our dog locked in a bedroom all day when her kid was there. Which if it had been a request a the start, we wouldn't have nanny-shared.
Then we did in home which was amazing- loved her, and DD learned a lot from the older kids.
Now- at a franchise but we like it for the older ages bc she has more curriculum and goes into preschool and can do before/after care if we need once in school.

Cost/location (if you choose to share) and if you are using a Dependent Care FSA? My company doesn't really do FSA. Currently- just for DD we pay around $300/wk. In the city we were closer to $450. 

Anything else you want to share? I love getting updates via the app and it allows me to track things like bathroom, food etc which is less issue now but was a bigger thing when she was younger. 

babyrummom

What type of childcare are you planning?
We are on a few wait lists for both at home daycares and a more center type place. The place we are leaning toward is the daycare center. It was initially an indoor play space with gymnastics type equipment, a ball pit and indoor playground. They created the daycare later on. It’s a unique space, but seems really great and the teachers we met there were really nice! The place doesn’t close when school is closed or during school vacations, which a lot of in home day cares in my area do close for snow storms and vacation. This wouldn’t be ideal with my job in a hospital, where I always have to be at work. 

Any previous experiences?
No previous experiences- FTM 

Cost/location (if you choose to share) and if you are using a Dependent Care FSA?
We have up to $4000 a year available for dependent care FSA, so we do plan on using that. I live in Maine and the cost for the place we are looking at is one of the more expensive in the area at $190/week for an infant. 
The in home daycare costs $150/week. Our area is fairly inexpensive. We used to live outside of DC, so we are aware how expensive it can be and feel pretty fortunate that daycare is so
much cheaper here in Maine! 

Anything else you want to share?
A lot of the places we have talked to were not sure what they would have for availability and wanted us to wait until after the baby was born or later. This stressed me out! We are on a wait list for the place we want and they seem to think there should be a spot available, which helps ease my mind.

Kathryn0903

What type of childcare are you planning?
We're using the daycare center DS goes to

Any previous experiences?
DS has been going to this daycare center since he was 6 weeks old. I really like it. They have flexible hours(open 6am-10pm), offer 3 meals and a snack daily, and have both full and part time rates. I do think not all teachers are great, but for the most part they're all pretty good. I can tell how much DS is learning, too. He's 2 now and he's started telling us stuff that we definitely didn't teach. We're like "where did he learn that?". I also love thst they do preschool here as well.

Cost/location (if you choose to share) and if you are using a Dependent Care FSA?
We're in northeast Ohio. For the toddler room, we pay $135/wk for parttime(under 25 hours/wk). I think infant was $145/wk for part time. We've never used full time, but I think it's about $50 more per week. Don't use a Dependent Care FSA. I don't think it was an option for us.


Anything else you want to share?
Definitely get a tour of places you are interested in. Also know that you may see the facility differently once your kid is there and you start noticing things. Speak up if you see something that bothers you!