Home daycares in Alexandria?

Perfect Sonnet · December 2011

I am sixteen weeks pregnant and my husband and I are starting to seriously start thinking about daycare options. We live in Arlington right now, but tentatively plan to move to Alexandria (probably in the Del Ray vicinity) by late January when our lease is up. We would really like to go with a home daycare while our baby is young. I am assuming this would be cheaper than a center. We don't really want to go above $1000 a month, but would prefer to stay closer to $800. Does anyone know how realistic this is for Northern VA? If so, any recommendations?

Thanks for any feedback!

shellindcwife · December 2011

You're probably looking at at least $1200 for an in-home, even more for a center in the Alexandria area. $800-$1000 isn't very likely, you'd be really lucky to get that...and even if you did, I'd wonder about the quality of care/certifications/location.

Mrs.Handy · December 2011

We pay $225/week for our in-home daycare in Alexandria. So that works out to approximately $975. Our rates are definitely on the lower end so I doubt you will find a reputable DCP for $800/month. Our DCP provider came recommended by a neighbor.

She is not registered with the state, but is registered with the City of Alexandria. Here is a list of Child Care Providers registered with the city of Alexandria. I think you'll find that they are probably cheaper than ones registered with the state. Although, I did call a few registered with the state and one listed her rates as around $200/week. This was two years ago, so I'm sure they have gone up by now.

https://alexandriava.gov/dchs/childrenfamily/default.aspx?id=50226

Good luck!

Perfect Sonnet · December 2011

Mrs.Handy:

We pay $225/week for our in-home daycare in Alexandria. So that works out to approximately $975. Our rates are definitely on the lower end so I doubt you will find a reputable DCP for $800/month. Our DCP provider came recommended by a neighbor.

She is not registered with the state, but is registered with the City of Alexandria. Here is a list of Child Care Providers registered with the city of Alexandria. I think you'll find that they are probably cheaper than ones registered with the state. Although, I did call a few registered with the state and one listed her rates as around $200/week. This was two years ago, so I'm sure they have gone up by now.

https://alexandriava.gov/dchs/childrenfamily/default.aspx?id=50226

Good luck!

Thanks for the info and the link! That will definitely come in handy.

Artslvr · December 2011

Well, we pay $800 a month for in-home, but it's not in Del Ray - we're in the "boondocks" of Springfield. So it can be done, but maybe not in Alexandria. Our DCP is certified, has taken care of all three of our kids, and I would consider her more than reputable and very high quality. Stick out tongue

You can look at the state of VA website too to look up in-home providers: https://www.dss.virginia.gov/facility/search/cc.cgi Just keep in mind that not everyone is certified by the state, some folks are certified by their county/city.

Perfect Sonnet · December 2011

Artslvr:

Well, we pay $800 a month for in-home, but it's not in Del Ray - we're in the "boondocks" of Springfield. So it can be done, but maybe not in Alexandria. Our DCP has taken care of all three of our kids, and I would consider her more than reputable and very high quality.

You can look at the state of VA website too to look up in-home providers: https://www.dss.virginia.gov/facility/search/cc.cgi Just keep in mind that not everyone is certified by the state, some folks are certified by their county/city.

We have thought of moving out to somewhere like Springfield - I know the rent is cheaper. However, we both work and metro in DC everyday. We are unsure if the price we would save on rent (and I guess daycare) would outweigh the price of an extended commute. I guess I will have to do some research Smile Thanks for the link!

Artslvr · December 2011

Totally - if I was renting, and only had one kid and didn't need space for three kids, I'd live closer to DC. My commute's a pain in the arse.

RomeRomance06 · December 2011

We pay $900 for an in-home provider. She's in the Rose Hill area - between the Huntington and Van Dorn Metro stops. She says she hasn't raised her rates in years and she was the least expensive of all the in-homes and we love her. We live near the Huntington Metro stop and she's a 5 minute drive from our house. That area of Alexandria is nice and the commute on the Metro is easy. Driving is a pain though.

kbalb · December 2011

We pay $210/week for in home near Bailey's crossroads. Right now it's just DD and her sons (there was another sibling set, but they moved on to pre-K), so I am not sure if she will be raising her rates to accommodate for the difference in pay. PM me if you want details. She's state licensed.

victoria1212 · December 2011

you might want to page LindseyJW- she lives in Del Ray and I think she uses an in-home close by.

beano · December 2011

We live in Del Ray and have only looked at daycare centers (not in-home) because I really don't know if there are any around here! Most of the daycares we looked at are $350 a week in Old Town.

There are however a lot of potential nanny shares (check out St. Elmo's coffee shop's and MOM's organic market boards). I don't know how much they cost though. My one issue with a nanny or maybe even home daycare is the hours-- i think it's 9-5pm (else you pay overtime), where as the daycares were 7am-6 or 7pm.

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