Day Care, Chicago?

celiabeth

Hi!  I'm visiting from the 1st tri board (almost in my 2nd tri).  I live in Chicago and I am starting to look at day care for when I have the baby.  We are looking for 2-3 days per week of day care for our infant and one price we received from a day care center was about $800/month for 2 days per week and $1200/month for 3 days per week.  Is anyone on this board from this area and what are you doing for day care?  Any tips on how to save money?  We thought about in-home care, but most people who are open to working part-time seem to ideally want full-time so I am concerned that they would jump ship.  Also, not really sure how to find a nanny share.  We live in the South Loop and have 3 day cares nearby, but worry that they will all be this expensive.

JDO

I've had good luck looking on Craigslist for in-home care. We found 4 people in our area (suburbs) that we interviewed that are all open to part time care and working with a flexible schedule. For 3 days care we found prices ranging from $120-$150 per week, for full time the going price seems to be right around $200 per week.

Also, you can contact DCFS and they will help you find a certified in-home daycare provider if you like. Their number for daycare information is 877-746-0829 and the website is https://www.inccrra.org/

 

celiabeth

JDO:

I've had good luck looking on Craigslist for in-home care. We found 4 people in our area (suburbs) that we interviewed that are all open to part time care and working with a flexible schedule. For 3 days care we found prices ranging from $120-$150 per week, for full time the going price seems to be right around $200 per week.

Also, you can contact DCFS and they will help you find a certified in-home daycare provider if you like. Their number for daycare information is 877-746-0829 and the website is https://www.inccrra.org/

 

 

This is helpful, thanks!  How far in advance did you have to find someone from Craigslist?  It seems odd to me that I already have to start looking at day cares now for September care.

JDO

We started looking a couple months ago, but the people we talked to then were looking for someone to fill current openings ASAP. We just interviewed people this week and last week for care starting on January 10, so a little over a month before you need care seems appropriate. Start looking now though, so you can have a good basis for comparison when the time comes to start interviewing people.

alduarte

You can also join npnparents.org.  It is a Chicago parents group.  You can find other families for nanny share on there and the nanny.  I found it helpful.  I found our nanny and lots of in home daycare info on there.  A lot of the in home daycares on there were looking for immediate occupancy.  

DDanny

If you are looking for day care I would recommend you follow the 7 steps at https://www.decideondaycare.com . They offer tons of great advice for parents looking for and working with day care.  Follow their steps to a fun and fulfilling day care experience.  There are just too many wild cards out there to risk your child's well being.