Daycare for a short time per day

FairyDuster003 · October 2012

This is totally hypothetical considering I haven't even got this job yet but I'm too much of a planner to not consider this...

SO works 6am to 12pm Monday to Saturday. If I get this job that I'm just dying to have, I'd be working 9am to 5pm Monday to Friday. That leaves a good 4 hour gap that I'll need childcare. I have worked at a daycare center and they were extremely pricy especially for infants and it would never be worth it to only send her there for 4 hours even if we could afford it.

So what are the other options? I don't think we have family available to watch her those hours so will we have to pay a ton for daycare?? What do you ladies do??

ridesbuttons · October 2012

If you are only looking at 4 hours per day, perhaps you could find a good neighbourhood sitter for $40ish dollars per day. Is there a single mom or a retired person in your neighbourhood who could come to your home and sit from 8am-noon?

jmjb2008 · October 2012

Are there any in-home daycares in your area? That's what is mostly in my town, and most of them offer part-time rates.

1026pumpkin · October 2012

I would check out the DC prices just in case- you might be pleasantly surprised. In my area, home DCs are cheapest, followed by DCs, then nannies.

If you're near a college, you might also consider a college student- those hours could work well around a class schedule

SharonB222 · October 2012

I found another mom in the area (on Craigs list of all places) and pay a rate similar to FT care for PT 4-5 days a week, 3-4 hours a day. It's worked well for us (starting at infant and now in toddler).

jeffsjayme · October 2012

This is a hard one.

You want someone fairly inexpensive because you only need them 1/2 day. Totally get that. Any babysitter who does this for a living will likely want you to pay a full day because she could get someone in there that needs a full day.

You could try another SAHM that wants to make a little cash on the side, but she's probably not going to want to make an every day commitment, especially since the hours you'll need are the busiest mom time - when getting kids up for school and taking them to school. Throwing a baby in the mix isn't easy or fun.

I work part-time - mornings mostly, but my sister (who is a SAHM) watches him. But she isn't doing it for a living, is happy to do it for an infant and I pay pretty darn well cause I'd rather have him with her than somewhere else.

fryrat · October 2012

My daycare does part time, either full days a couple days per week, or half days all week. The cost is less than full time, and they are totally flexible. There's a little boy that is there a half day only twice a week, and they pay accordingly. Just because a center doesn't advertise their flexibility, they may be very willing to work with you. It doesn't hurt to ask!

am1028 · October 2012

My daycare offer part-time rates for 6 or less hours a day, so you might be surprised if you called a few daycares. Otherwise, maybe you could look into a SAHM who might want some extra money on the side or a nanny share or something like that.

MKDee · October 2012

Some daycares have part-time options. Ours does. Our kids are in for three five-hour blocks each week. It works great for us, because my husband has a very flexible work-from-home job, and my mom and MIL both watch one kid each one day per week. Our center is a regular center, but they also offer drop-in care, so they have different full, part-time and hourly rates. Ask around- you may be surprised!

Angela814 · October 2012

There are centers in our area that allow you to do part time. Some of those allow half days (up to 4 hours). The rate per hour ends up being more than full time, but the total cost is still less.

You could also look into an in-home daycare or a nanny.

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Daycare for a short time per day

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