daycare woes

daycare costs are supposed to decrease as children get older but all of the daycare facilities in our area keep raising their rates so we're actually going to be spending more this year than we did last year. i did a quick calculation and added up what we spent this year total and wanted to bang my head against the desk.

these places have absolutely no sympathy about having two children at the same age, which puts them into the most expensive rooms at the same time. all we get is the standard 10% off of the second child. which is like a drop in the bucket.

everyone keeps going on about the economy, the economy, the economy. well what about the parents who aren't seeing an increase in salary to keep pace with the increase in tuition? i fail to see how they're justifying the rate increases when their classes are full and their fixed costs should be no different than last year. what i've heard is that facilities call around on each other and check prices and adjust comparatively to each other. so if one raises prices, they all think they can get away with the same thing.

i'm so frustrated and i just needed to vent. we may be revisiting the idea of a nanny at this point, although i'm really nervous about that option. i worry about what a single unsupervised person may feel justified in doing when there's no one watching.

bleh. <_<

 

:hug: I feel your pain!! :hug:

I don't get it either! I signed up my two for preschool in April. (It was 52/week per child) That seemed reasonable and it was much lower (MUCH) then all the other schools I had visited. I went back in August to hand in the paperwork and was told that prices went up, so I thought okay, it can't be too much, right? It went up to $89 (I think? Or $94) /week per child. :woah: :faint: That was a very big increase!! I told them I was taking them out because that was not what I signed up for and they lowered the price. <_< I don't know how they could go up so much, but they can and will.

:hug:

 

We actually had a conversation with our daycare and they lowered the rates for us. But they were starting up and trying to get families in.

In their defense, I don't think these centers are running with crazy high profit margins, and as food costs go up, their costs go up. So, there is some justification for higher costs. And, our two infants still cost them more because of ratios, so I do see both sides. I mean, it's a private daycare right, not a charity organization. But, still frustrating. I know we spend tens of thousands a year. :shok:

 

Daycare is one of our biggest frustrations! Right there with you on the no increase in salary but added costs of daycare. We currently are driving 20 miles to our daycare – mostly because she is great with them, but also since away from the city it is cheaper, a lot cheaper, even when you factor in the additional gas. We are still hoping to find something closer to home, but due to a very large employer in our area they can get away with charging higher rates because people who make a lot more than I do will pay it. DH is constantly saying just quit your job and stay home – but that doesn’t pencil out either – SO wish that it did. We looked into a nanny and just couldn’t find one we could afford after you add in all the taxes, again people in my area will pay $20 per hour + taxes + bonus + vacation +++
Right there with you – never knew finding good, reasonably priced daycare would be SO hard!

 

I have onsite daycare, but that doesn't mean it's cheap...you get a discount with 3 kids (two isn't enough), and it's expensive! Most of my salary goes to daycare, but I still have to work (and honestly, enjoy coming to work). It does get a bit cheaper as the girls move on to the other classes. For the quality of care (food included, lots of activities), I don't mind it, though it's a strain. I have found the prices to be fair compared to other local daycares, and our center offers lots of flexibility in terms of hours and things like that.

I always remind myself that this high expense is somewhat temporary (though I'm sure I'll be shelling it out in the future for all sorts of activities). I feel your concern.

 

I completely understand your frustration. We had one in daycare and were fine. Planned to have another child and were ok with the extra expense that we knew we would have and then WHOA we were having twins. It took along time of going over our finances and decided that with 3 in daycare I would not be bring home enough to really see a benefit of having someone else take care of the kids during the day. So we decided that I should stay home. What I really don't understand is why some daycare charge as much or more as others but offer less ie. no lunches provided or snacks. The daycare we used provided these but I have friends who pay more and still have to bring a lunch and snacks for their child. Good luck with working out the finances.

 

i know. we've spent more in the last year than i made in annual salary before taxes at my first job out of college. :cry:

 

I know that the last time they raised minimum wage our daycare rates went up because they needed to keep the same number of staff but had spend more paying them. (Which is kinda sad to know that many of the people at daycares only make min. wage...). I agree with others, it's not necessarily fair to us, but as food costs and other things go up, we have to pay more. We get a $5/week discount for having a second child enrolled. Yeah...

 

hey, with that kind of cash you can go to a movie!

....almost.


....by yourself.

 

We do in-home care and get no discounts for having 2 kids. We also pay when I'm not working, like Spring Break, Thanksgiving break, Christmas break. I hate it but I also like the lady too much and she's just down the street from us. Too good of a gig to give up right now. And yeah, I could buy another house with what I pay in childcare! But my DH reminds me that I make too much money to not have my paycheck. Really he should remind himself that he doesn't make enough to cover my income. LOL!

 

Would you be willing to do a home day care? I find there is a little more supervision, because there are probably multiple parents stopping in during the day, and it should be cheaper than a nanny or a daycare. My day care provider gives me a 50% discount on the second child. Even if she didn't, it would be a lot cheaper than a day care center, and I know that she loves my girls. During the day (except for one day a week, on Wednesday's she also watches one infant all day) she has 3 children (2 are mine), and in the late afternoon's she has 5. She also provides breakfast, lunch and afternoon snack. I provide diapers and wipes. The other great thing is she is willing to do other things for me as well. When DS went to her she took him to gymnastics class, etc. She also had to dig through one of my girls diapers this week to look for a plum pit, and she did it without batting an eye. I love her.

 

We are having the same problems. Next year when my new twins will be born and its time for me to return to work I will have to spend 75% of my salary a month on daycare. I have decided it would be better not to return to work.

 

We just switched our 2 out of a daycare and into an in-home care situation & it's been great! We do get a small discount for two, but the best part is that we don't have to pay for the days we're not there!!! We do have to give them a month's notice when we'll be doing that, but it works out really well.

 

i've always been hesitant about in-home care because like with a nanny there's no extra adult supervision. i had a really horrible experience with an in-home caregiver when i was too little to tell my parents what was going on and it's made me really scared of the idea. i realize i can't dismiss an entire industry because of my one anecdotal experience but it's really hard not to be afraid that i'll be exposing my children to a similar situation.

for those of you who use in-home care, how did you find your provider? are there services or did you look online or get a referral, etc?

 

I found my in-home care provider by word of mouth. I have also searched for in-home facilities through our state website. They have all the registered providers and any infractions they have had. My lady is registered but that is not how I found her.

 

Here's a place to start for Georgia.
http://decal.ga.gov/ProviderSearch/SiteSearch.aspx?prekonly=y&newsearch=y

 

I have the same worries. And I know that they might be silly, but I like having lots of adults and video cameras watching just in case.

 

I would try to talk to friends/neighbors/etc to see if anyone knows anybody. The lady who watches my kids I knew for years before I even had kids, and I totally trust her. I understand hesitation when you don't actually know the person, but the lady who watches my kids is like a second mom to me, in fact, we call her "Grandma".

 

I had to find someone that was based on a referral - at least until my boys can talk. I found the lady we are using now through another MoM. Not sure if you are a member of your local MoM group, but I posted a request on the boards looking for referrals.

 

I second the idea of finding a nanny/babysitter through referrals. My kids have been with a nanny since they were 3 months and she got 3 glowing recommendations from the families she had been previously with (I found her through a local twin group). I had the luxury to be home when she was just starting with us and saw her interact with the kids. I trust her completely. Ironically, it's also quite a bit cheaper than having two in daycare and so much easier logistically.