DayCare Prices in MD

Toni79

Hello!  I don't normally post here, but I thought you ladies could help me out.

I work in Baltimore County, and DH works in Howard County.  However right now we live 1+ hours away (in PA).  We are looking to relocate to Howard County area, posisbly Anne Arundel or Carroll County.  But I think we'd really like to be in Howard County so we are close to both of our jobs!

I know the cost of child care varies by location and by center.  I hate that centers don't post their rates online!  I know daycare is going to be alot more in MD then what we are currently spending in PA.

What center do you use and how much do they charge?

DD is 9 months old now, and will likely be a year when we move. 

The "fancy" center by me charges less than $200/week ($800/month) for infants (and that includes diapers and meals - not inclusding formula or breast milk).

I currently pay a family member $150/week ($600/month) and I provide everything.

A friend of mine sends her DS to Goddard and she told me (per month) :

Up until the age of 2, the cost was $1488

Once he turned 2 it dropped to $1075

Then once he turns (or is fully potty trained) it drops to $945

 

So that is twice as much as I am paying now!  Yikes!  Although I know Goddard is the more expensive center.

 

Also, do you know of any centers that do part time?

 

DH currently has off Mondays, so I'd only need a center 4 days a week.  I know centers usually charge you the full week even if you only use 3-4 days.

 

TIA for any info you can provide!

SarahKate31

I live in Carroll County and work in Howard County and we looked at daycares (centers and in-homes) in both counties so I'll give you an overview of what I learned.

First, we thought Carroll County would be less expensive but that wasn't really the case. Range for centers (we looked at Goddard, Celebree and La Petite) approx. $315-350/week for infant (under age 2). Range for in-homes $160-250/week for infant (under age 2).

We went with an in-home in Carroll County that we love, but it's on the upper end at $250/week. All meals are provided though which is not normally the case, especially with centers.

Re: part time care...You won't find part time care for infants at a center due to MD's no crib sharing law. You would have to pay for a full week.

I know daycare costs in this area cause a lot of sticker shock! So do real estate costs so be ready for that too That said, I grew up in Howard County and love it there. We *hope* to move back there in a couple years if we can afford it.

Cooper81

We live in AACO and at our center we pay $515 a week for our infant (7 months) and 3 year old and that is with a 10% discount for having more than one child at the center.  Our center, and most are like this, do not do part time until 2 years old, then they have a p/t program.  All meals are provided once they start eating actual meals.  I know in homes do not cost as much, we interviewed with two and just didn't like them as much a center for a few reasons.

jcsntms06

I've done some research in the last few weeks on daycare centers in my area (Harford County). I have two children in daycare and I found most of the centers to be outrageously high. We are thinking about changing them to a center when my youngest turns two, so I got the prices for a 2 year old and a 4 year old. We currently pay $395 a week or $1580 a month. Most of the centers in my area are running between $299 for 2 plus (Goddard), $218-$238 (for all other daycare centers). Obviously when they hit 3-5 it comes down too.

I also only found a few daycare centers that did part time (2-3 days a week). Most of the centers don't do 4 days a week. Good luck with your search. 

weezie825

TN ate my earlier post!

The teacher to child ratios are very different from PA to MD.  In PA it is 6/1 for infants and in MD it is 3/1.  (It stays 3/1 until the children turn 2, then it goes to 5/1) 

I have family in Gettysburg and in State College and both are blown away but the cost of our daycare, but I have to remind them that we essentially have 2x the number of teachers in the room.

Also, Maryland has a law that forbids daycare centers from "crib sharing" that means that every child must be assigned a crib or a cot and no one else may use it as long as the child is enrolled at the center.  It is really hard to find a daycare center that will take infants part time, because even if your child is not there, they cannot let another child use your child's crib.

It is much easier to find part time spots for children 18 months and up, becuase by then they can sleep on the toddler cots, which are stored away during the day, as oppossed to the full sized cribs used in the baby rooms.

We use Goddard (Sparks location) and they do tend to be towards to higher end.  However, they have an age appropriate academic cirriculum AND they have a lot of extras.  They have a weekly music class, a rock-n-tots dance class, gymnastics, yoga, sign language & spanish.  Once the kids get to pre-school they add Drama classes.  The Baltmore County Public Library's Read Rover (book mobile) comes and does story time 2x a month.  They also provide snacks 2x a day and they provide lunch 2x a week. 

I work in a federal agency too.  The price is lower at the in-house daycare center, because they don't have to pay for rent or electricity. (When I was looking it was about $75 a week / $300 a month cheaper.) However, that makes it extremely difficult to get in.  When I had my daughter was born we were #42 on the waiting list for one of 6 infant spots.  Needless to say, we didn't get a spot.

wilhelka

I have a little insight as we have been looking in the howard/carroll county areas recently.  I looked at the Celebrees in Mt Airy and Ellicott City.  The first for an infant under 2 was 289 per week, and did offer part time though I don't remember the rates.  4 days was the same as full time though.  The latter was 369 per week, just because of the location.  We also checked out ChildTime in Ellicott City which is 400 per week.  To me the Howard county centers have outrageous pricing, but that's what you get because of the location.  We have also been looking at home day cares and found them to be around 50-60 per day in Carroll and 60-70 per day in Howard.  Been having a super hard time finding infant spots available in home daycares though, because of the regulations limiting to 2 under 2 per adult, and most home daycares only having 1 adult.  Best of luck!

pantsarella

We looked at Celebree in Western Howard County and it was around $385 a week I think. We ended up going with an in-home daycare in Columbia for $250 a week, but we do have to provide diapers, wipes and food. It is definitely harder to find an in-home infant spot though because of the restrictions. Our provider is holding a spot for us because we were referred to her by a current client.