In-Home Child Care Costs

cetrump1123 · July 2014

I am beginning the daunting process of looking into child care. We will need full-time care and as first time parents, don't have a lot of experience with what to expect with costs. I can definitely see the pros and cons of sending our little girl to a daycare facility as opposed to someone coming to our home each day. I called a few facilities today and they range from $225-$263 per week. Are there any second time moms, or first-time moms who have done more research, who have had someone come to their home to care for your child/children? If so, what have you paid, or are expecting to pay, someone to come to your home? I am just trying to get a ballpark number if having someone come to the house will be more or less cost effective. I did sign up on care.com and put an ad on there, I just haven't contacted anyone back at this point or set up any interviews. My plan was to get more serious about this once I get back from vacation next week. Any insight would be greatly appreciated!

tucker1384 · July 2014

It really depends on where you live... we live in southern PA and I know day care for 6 weeks-1yr is 220 or over/week

femail · July 2014

We signed up at the YMCA back in February and they want $221 a week for infants. We recently started looking for in home options & an old friend recommended the place her new baby will go. This lady wants just $110 a week. Her home is very clean, set up for kids (she has two), she's very hands on, she'll be outside with them lots, very little tv time + she's willing to take on cloth diapering which I plan on doing! Sold!! My husband said it was like we hit the lottery when we got into our car after our interview! The Y was okay, but had no real outdoor play area and the kids and teachers just sat there while we toured. Seemed stuffy... We feel so much better about our new daycare provider!

I live in a smaller town in the midwest, so daycare in my area wouldn't be nearly as bad as a big city.

noellemari · July 2014

I think this is really going to depend on where you live. We have a part time sitter that comes in for 3-4 hours on the days I work (I'm part time, evenings).

Care.com is def a good place to start. Even if you don't go that route, you can get a good grasp on what it will cost vs a daycare.

cetrump1123 · July 2014

I live in Lancaster, PA so it isn't a really big city by any means. Definitely more on the country side with average costs for most other things

BreandMikewedding · July 2014

In Arizona most centers are at least $220/week for infants. I don't know how much a nanny (someone who comes to you) costs, but there are lots of people who do childcare out of their home and watch a small number of children. Most of those in home childcares charge about $150/week. Some are less in the downtown areas, but any less than $130 here makes me nervous. I've toured a lot of in home daycares and there can be a huge range in quality.

I like that in home daycare usually have less children and it's a variety of ages which helps kids learn from others. It is also nice to know who will be watching your child all day.

Centers have their pros such as longer hours and they don't close if a staff member is sick. They also don't close for vacations. My dd did great in a center, but it was overwhelming for my ds. He also got really sick there. The larger number of children=more germs and viruses.

IrishHoney123 · July 2014

I just found an in home sitter on care.com. They have a tool that allows you to enter your zip and see what the going rate is in you area.

I sent DS1 to a day care facility for his first year, and I had to miss a lot of work because he was frequently sick. They were also expensive and the hours were inflexible-one day I had to work late and had to pay $5/minute-so check into that.

DS2 came along and we had them go to a woman with an in home day care. This is the cheapest route, with typically more flexibility in hours. Drawbacks are that there are often too many children and they are still sick quite a bit.

For the past 2 months we have a college student who is home for the summer coming to the house to care for the boys. Heaven! The rate is in between day care and someone's in home day care. You don't have to pack their things, load them in the car, drop them off, etc. Did I say Heaven? So we joined care.com and found a what I hope will be an excellent sitter long term! I have friends who have had great results with care.com as well.

Good luck to you!

Justabean3 · July 2014

Mine go to a home care

2 boys, 45 a day

But there isn't education there like school daycare type. They just play all day. My oldest son has severe allergies and bad asthma. I would pay whatever she asked because she is a clean freak and pays close attention to whatever I ask. That is priceless.

pnwlover12 · July 2014

I worked ft for about a year from the time DD was 7 months old on. I had friends who were looking for extra work come to our house. We paid $20 for 4 hours or less, $30 for 4-6 hours, or $40 for anything over 6 hours. Most days we needed someone over 6 hours (depending on H's work sched.) So it ended up being about $200 week which I felt was high, but couldn't get it cheaper at any daycare. The reason I don't work now is based on childcare costs.

BKLiz · July 2014

Daycare here in Brooklyn is about $1500-$2000 per month while a nanny/in-home care is generally $15-$20 per hour, so about $2500-$3000 per month.

noellemari · July 2014

@cetrump1123‌ We are in the Lehigh valley, so not far from you! We were just in Lancaster on Friday at Dutch wonderland.

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We pay our sitter $8/hr. She does nothing else but watch the kids. Since I work evenings, I make sure there is dinner ready. She does not go above and beyond by any means. No dishes, no laundry or light cleaning, and not much cooking. Maybe she might through some frozen veggies in the microwave to go with dinner. That's why we pay so little. When I looked into someone doing more, like cooking or cleaning it was closer to $15. Hope that helps!

Amaher01 · July 2014

I think I should move! We live in NJ, just across from Manhattan. We're on a wait list for a daycare right now, which is $2322/month. Haven't fully looked into the nanny option yet, but friends in our area have told me it will be about $2600/month.

Liss1481 · July 2014

@noellemari‌ we're in the Lehigh valley too!

ladybug0088 · July 2014

We signed up for a small daycare that is actually for hearing and speech impaired kids, but takes kids without these impairments if there is room. They are highly recommended in our area and have a huge wait list. I also love the small ratio of adult to kids because they are also providing services to the other kids. It is $185 a week as an infant but gets better as they get older. As an infant they only take 9 babies at a time.

noellemari · July 2014

@Liss1481‌ ::waves hello:: Small world!

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Saragoeswest · July 2014

Several years ago I charged $12 an hour for live-out nannying. I got much less when I lived with the family but it of course included room and board. If I hired someone now I would probably pay $15-$20.

Aurora1181 · July 2014

I'm in the South- the going rate seems to be about $200 a week for a daycare center (for one baby.. and I'm having twins.. eek!! Most places said they would give ma 10% discount on the second baby but still). Ladies who keep kids in their homes seem to cost about $160-200 a week (again for one baby) so that route is a little cheaper. Some provide lunch and snack when they are older, others do not. We found one lady who will come to our house and watch the twins for $15 an hour- so we are setting up an appointment with her, since that seems to be the best deal so far.

golfingdarwinfish · July 2014

I'm in a NYC suburb and a nanny will be upwards of $3k/month for FT care. Daycare is ~$2500/month.

MrMrsandBaby · July 2014

also remember that an in home nanny is an employee so you have to pay taxes on her salary.

pnwlover12 · July 2014

golfingdarwinfish said:
I'm in a NYC suburb and a nanny will be upwards of $3k/month for FT care. Daycare is ~$2500/month.

Holy shit. I would cry.

Waterlilly11 · July 2014

Is am in North NJ. I worked in a daycare for a few years and am now a PT nanny. I base rates off of age (the younger the child the more you will pay) number of kids, what the parent wants (cleaning, cooking, travel) and hours. I would say $10-15 is about average unless you can work something out weekly.

MrMrsandBaby · July 2014

golfingdarwinfish said:

I'm in a NYC suburb and a nanny will be upwards of $3k/month for FT care. Daycare is ~$2500/month.

That is literally my take home pay monthly...holy hell

cshade07 · July 2014

golfingdarwinfish said:
I'm in a NYC suburb and a nanny will be upwards of $3k/month for FT care. Daycare is ~$2500/month.

That just made me slightly nauseous. Holy crap!

cshade07 · July 2014

cetrump1123 said:
I live in Lancaster, PA so it isn't a really big city by any means. Definitely more on the country side with average costs for most other things

Hiii @cetrump1123‌! I live north of Hbg so I'm not all that far from you! This is our first baby, but our neighbor has an in home day care and she charges $160 a week, plus parents have to send lunches and snacks along for their kiddos! She's been doing it for years. But that's average cost around my area after research! :-)

DaniGrace89 · July 2014

I was a nanny for a while, and charged $15/hr in Chicago. In the suburbs, I charged $12/hr.

I don't know where you live, but these are some Illinois rates, although another suburb 20 miles away pays significantly cheaper.

In general, a nanny is one of the most expensive routes for child care.

There are pluses, I.e they may clean your house and do you laundry, take your dog out if you have one, become a part of your family, child won't be exposed to daycare germs, etc

I would consider a nanny share with a neighbor to cut costs.

Good luck.

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