Daycare/Nanny Costs

lela821

Cuious about what's the average for child care. I've heard its 2k for the place where I work, which freaks me out as someone about to start trying. Is that normal? What about for a nanny or nannyshare?

naflmj

It depends on the area, we went the in home route because they are highly regulated in MA and we spend about 1k/month if we went with a center it would be at least 2k but MA has one of the highest costs for daycare in the nation. I thought about doing a nanny share and that would have been about the same as the in home we send DS to now but my schedule is too weird to work with another family.

lela821

good to know! i actually live in MA, so that's good to know about them being regulated in home. to clarify, do you mean in home daycare centers or nannies? since your familiar with MA, any websites or resources you've used?

 i know its premature, but im also saving links.

Cat-in-Boston

My costs are going up January 1 - I pay $1000 per month for daycare (traditional day care with 4-5 children per caregiver and it's government registered). An in home day care provider usually costs anywhere from $800-$1200/month where I live and they are limited to 3 children per adult where I am.  A nanny goes for $50K per year and if you share it then you're paying on average of $25K per child per year, which is just over $2K per month...

The costs shouldn't matter as much as what is going to fit your lifestyle and what you want for your child. I wanted a place that would be open reliably and have the staffing to handle it and that if someone gets sick or a family emergency that I still have childcare... so we went with the traditional day care. But you really need to look at what your needs are as a family and then figure out pricing for your region.

thatjessie

I would check with your local bump board. Here in MT I pay 485 a month for full time care for my 2 almost 3 year old. Infant at her center is 725 a month. So when we have another we get multikid discount on the 1200 of 10% so 1089 :-)

ZacksBride

i am in MA about an hour from boston - we paid aobut 1500 / month for infant care.  now that he is in a toddler room it is about 1300/month.  we will be moving childcare into boston next year and are looking at closer to 2K/month

ZacksBride

ZacksBride:

i am in MA about an hour from boston - we paid aobut 1500 / month for infant care.  now that he is in a toddler room it is about 1300/month.  we will be moving childcare into boston next year and are looking at closer to 2K/month

i should have said, this is for a childcare center.

naflmj

lela821:

good to know! i actually live in MA, so that's good to know about them being regulated in home. to clarify, do you mean in home daycare centers or nannies? since your familiar with MA, any websites or resources you've used?

 i know its premature, but im also saving links.

I mean that in home daycares are regulated (provided they are licensed). All licensed centers and in home daycares can be found here https://www.mass.gov/?pageID=edutopic&L=3&L0=Home&L1=Pre+K+-+Grade+12&L2=Early+Education+and+Care&sid=Eoedu

We first used someone who wasn't licensed based on references and that was a huge mistake...nothing ever happened to DS but she began taking more children than she should and her communication was terrible! 

celiabwatson

We live in an area where centers are about $1300/month for infants. We found an in home provider who had previously been licensed and then took some time off to have her own baby and move for her husband's work. She had great references and has offered to get licensed again if we want her to but we don't feel strongly about it. She is currently only watching my son and hers (who are 3 months apart, and we both plan to have another around the same time as well). We pay her $30/day, so with 4 days a week it's about $500/month. So, it is possible to have good care for cheap if you look around.

cookingdude

We live in CT and pay $2500/month for a nanny. The daycare costs $1700/month.

MammaBear81

Daycare costs greatly depend on the area.  Where I live they are about 1,500-2,000 per month.  We have an au pair which is much more affordable and convenient than daycare for our kids, (about 1,300 per month).