Holy day care costs!

iahlgren · May 2011

I've started to realize that even though I can work from home, I'll get almost no work done if I am taking care of a baby. I decided that it might make sense to go with a daycare or babysitter a few mornings a week, so I did a little investigating in to the infant daycare center in my neighborhood that has a low infant-to-adult ratio.

Horrifyingly expensive! For three mornings a week (8 to 1) they charge $1,320 a month! If I wanted full-day care for five days a week, it would be $1,875 per month. I think I barely made that much after taxes when I was working full-time. Granted, I live in NYC, so things are expensive here, but how do people afford this?

mabma80 · May 2011

Centers tend to be more expensive. Most people do home daycares cause it's cheaper. But I would never put my child in home daycare, only cause of the horror stories my DH tells me about them. He works in insurance and they insure 90% of home and center daycares. You for what you get. I think if you wait 'til the little one gets here, and get a routine, you'll find that it's pretty easy. : )

GdAsAu · May 2011

Ouch! Not only is that cost crazy but so is that ratio...8:1? Really? Thats high! I think NJ has a state law that prohibits anything over a 4:1 ratio....at least everywhere I look is 4:1.

kleu9 · May 2011

GdAsAu:
Ouch! Not only is that cost crazy but so is that ratio...8:1? Really? Thats high! I think NJ has a state law that prohibits anything over a 4:1 ratio....at least everywhere I look is 4:1.

I'm pretty sure the 8-1 was teh timeframe that she wants to send her baby to daycare...not the ratio.

BabyBLove · May 2011

GdAsAu:
Ouch! Not only is that cost crazy but so is that ratio...8:1? Really? Thats high! I think NJ has a state law that prohibits anything over a 4:1 ratio....at least everywhere I look is 4:1.

I'm pretty sure she meant 8 to 1, as in 8am to 1pm - not the ratio of babies to adults! But yes, that seems like a lot for part-time daycare! I don't know the going rates for NY though.

iahlgren · May 2011

Sorry... should have been clearer. 8-1 is the time frame. The child:adult ratio is actually 3:1.

bre86ann · May 2011

It's more cost effective for me to quit my job than to put my child in daycare. I would lose money every month by going to work.

When my youngest sister was little (like 3-5 years old) we lived in a very rural area where there were no play groups for kids so my mom started working 3 days a week from 8-12 so my sister could get some interaction with other kids. Her entire paycheck every 2 weeks went to the pre-school costs.

julygal · May 2011

Are there any church programs (if you are open to that) near you. The churches are much less expensive than the centers around here. The people I know in NYC nanny share. I have never really inquired into what they pay as that is none of my business, but that is something else to consider along with an in-home person.

JaninneAlvarado · May 2011

I know what you mean. Luckily we are in the "low income" region and I can put my 3 yr old in pre pre-k and my stepson and oldest will be in kindergarten. I will be at home with my 18 month old and the new baby in September. I am looking forward to that little bit of time in the mornings only dealing with 2 kiddos vs 5. I did childcare for a few close friends after I had my 18 month old and I literally had 8 boys in my house (under 4) at one time. It is manageable to me since it's easy to keep all the boys interested in boy stuff. Now with a girl coming along there is no way that would be do able later on. Also, we live in a small community and the childcare options here literally suck!! They are far over priced and badly rated. I wouldn't take my dog to the childcare center here. A lot of my friends now have become SAHM's as well.

BlueEyedBoyMeetsABrownEyedGirl · May 2011

OMG, why don't they just ask you to open up a vein...that's ridiculous. It's sad that the lesser-earning spouse in a household needs to make a boatload these days just to make enough to cover infant daycare.

iahlgren · May 2011

Yeah...I'm probably going to look into the nanny share thing. I have no idea how much that might cost, but it could be cheaper than the daycare center. I found out that there's a decent preschool that is a lot more affordable (although still expensive), but they don't take kids until they are two years old.

My husband's grandmother lives in the neighborhood. I'm fine with having her babysit some of the time, but I wouldn't want to ask her to do too much because she's 85.

rachael898 · May 2011

Most states have a registry of licensed daycares that you can search. I know in NH you can pull them up by town and see if they have had any issues from their inspections. It's nice if you are considering a home daycare because there are good ones out there that are license.

Nanny shares can be slightly more expensive than some home daycares but it also will depend on the number of kids, etc. It kills me too because where I live in NH, Boston prices jack everything up. I don't work in Boston and I shouldn't have to pay so much because so many people commute into Boston and can afford it. Where I used to live in VT I knew of at least 3 great daycares I would have loved and the most expensive was about 650 a month!

Good luck

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