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Daycare costs

erdietzerdietz member
in Boston Babies
Hi everyone. I will be TTC in the next few months and was just wondering what you all have paid for childcare? Ideally I would like to keep my fulltime job on Needham/Newton line. We currently live in Brookline and my husband works downtown. I am just trying to get an idea of what it costs. My husband loves to plan finances out before we do any life changes. He even made me price out what a dog would cost us before we got one! ha! We know having a child is a huge commitment but just want to have an idea of what the first few years cost for childcare would be on average if I keep my job.  I know it gets a little easier in cost when they are old enough to start school. I have done some research and see that some people pay $1600 or more a month. I cant believe how some people afford to send their kids to daycare around here! I grew up in upstate NY where the cost is much cheaper so I was in shock a bit. Does that price seem right? Id be willing to go to any of the surrounding areas of Brookline - Allston, Brighton, Watertown, Waltham, Belmont, Newton, Needham, Wellesley, etc. I am wondering if it makes sense for us to move out to the suburbs more even though my husband loves the city and would need to be proven it is soo much cheaper for him to ever consider it right now. We had lived right on the waterfront downtown for years and when we moved to Brookline he even went into withdrawl a bit until he realized how much living in Brookline was better for our dog. He will eventually come to terms with the fact that it makes sense to move out of the city more (our dog would love a backyard also!) but right now we are happy being so close to everything that we want to figure out how much childcare around here would really be.
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Re: Daycare costs

  • mamom0103mamom0103 member
    Daycare is very expensive in MA! We live about 30 miles west of the city and pay $1600 per month for our infant to be in a daycare center full-time. Home-based daycares are generally a less expensive option I've been told (we only looked at centers). You can probably call the centers in your area and ask for infant prices. Good luck!
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  • HollyelyseHollyelyse member
    We live right downtown so $1600 sounds like a real bargain to me. I suspect that the further you go from the city the more reasonable the cost will be.
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  • Soxchick1Soxchick1 member
    I looked into a daycare centers around Brookline and Brighton and it was $400/week full time for infant... so $1600 a month is about right. At home day cares are a little less.. the one I've looked at was $1200/day.
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  • bar1123bar1123 member
    I also live in Brookline and found a wonderful at-home daycare provider in West Roxbury.  She charges $65/day or $325/week which we found to be quite reasonable compared to the Daycare Centers in our area.  I cannot recommend her enough....she's wonderful!
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  • bdwood62bdwood62 member
    Hi everyone,
    I'm also looking for childcare in the Brookline/West Roxbury/JP area (I live in Roslindale). Bar1123 and Wedding06, could you PM the details of the two home daycares you mentioned? Thanks so much!
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  • Soxchick1Soxchick1 member
    How did you guys find the at home daycares? I've been looking around online on some sites but just curious how others are going about it.
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  • AcbabiesAcbabies
    Im using a daycare in JP, is 1200/month and have heard great things. I had to get on the list as soon as I found out I was pregnant as the list is very long. 

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  • bar1123bar1123 member
    When I was researching daycares (and how I found my current at home daycare) I used the ECC site for the state of MA.  You can search for licensed daycare providers w/in a certain radius of your home.  Once I found a few I called them and set up interviews and chose the 1 that we felt the most comfortable with.  Use your gut during these interviews....that worked for us!  Finding a licensed provider was very important to my husband and I, not only b/c we knew they would be followed state issued rules and regulations for safety, but so that we could also use our Flex Care Spending account.  Hope this helps for all of you!
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  • tbmadeamistaketbmadeamistake member
    I go to a non-corporate center daycare, about 40 minutes outside the city, and we paid $275 a week for C when she was an infant.  She's $255 now in the toddler room. 

    Married DH 7/30/11

    CSC arrived 5/7/12 

    CHC arrived 6/2/14

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  • MargaretC5MargaretC5 member
    bar1123 said:
    When I was researching daycares (and how I found my current at home daycare) I used the ECC site for the state of MA.  You can search for licensed daycare providers w/in a certain radius of your home.  Once I found a few I called them and set up interviews and chose the 1 that we felt the most comfortable with.  Use your gut during these interviews....that worked for us!  Finding a licensed provider was very important to my husband and I, not only b/c we knew they would be followed state issued rules and regulations for safety, but so that we could also use our Flex Care Spending account.  Hope this helps for all of you!
    This is exactly what we did.  I had the website bookmarked still if anyone needs it https://www.eec.state.ma.us/ChildCareSearch/EarlyEduMap.aspx

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