[kids are my business]

I have a licensed family daycare in a small town in Ct. It amazes me that parents expect to pay very little for the best care for their most valued possession, their children. I am opened 50 hours a week and the cost for Full time care is $200.00. That includes breakfast, 2 snacks, and lunch. I paid for liability insurance and must pay quarterly taxes to both the state and federal governments. I also pay for a Preschool program that is delivered every month to my door. I have the Children's Librarian come to read and do a craft every Friday. I have a goody bag that children pick out of every Friday for co operating. All this and more for $4.00 per hour. Would you work for that? And lets not forget.....no benefits at all. Please remember family daycare providers work very hard to accomodate every child they have in their care, regardless of age and mental capacity.

[Leilani Vasquez]

Originally Posted by kids are my business

I have a licensed family daycare in a small town in Ct. It amazes me that parents expect to pay very little for the best care for their most valued possession, their children. I am opened 50 hours a week and the cost for Full time care is $200.00. That includes breakfast, 2 snacks, and lunch. I paid for liability insurance and must pay quarterly taxes to both the state and federal governments. I also pay for a Preschool program that is delivered every month to my door. I have the Children's Librarian come to read and do a craft every Friday. I have a goody bag that children pick out of every Friday for co operating. All this and more for $4.00 per hour. Would you work for that? And lets not forget.....no benefits at all. Please remember family daycare providers work very hard to accomodate every child they have in their care, regardless of age and mental capacity.

When my children were younger, i had a difficult time finding a decent day care center for them that wasn't too expensive. I had an absolute nightmare experience with home daycare centers...especially when they were younger than school-age. Luckily the elementary school they went to had a before and after school program. I think back then I was paying about $160/week for the both of them. They'd go in around 8:30 until school started, breakfast was provided, and they'd go after school until i got out of work around 5:00.

Unfortunately there aren't as many dedicated people as yourself out there. Care, like the kind you provide, is extremely hard to find.

[JViello]

Originally Posted by kids are my business

I have a licensed family daycare in a small town in Ct. It amazes me that parents expect to pay very little for the best care for their most valued possession, their children. I am opened 50 hours a week and the cost for Full time care is $200.00. That includes breakfast, 2 snacks, and lunch. I paid for liability insurance and must pay quarterly taxes to both the state and federal governments. I also pay for a Preschool program that is delivered every month to my door. I have the Children's Librarian come to read and do a craft every Friday. I have a goody bag that children pick out of every Friday for co operating. All this and more for $4.00 per hour. Would you work for that? And lets not forget.....no benefits at all. Please remember family daycare providers work very hard to accomodate every child they have in their care, regardless of age and mental capacity.

If you own a private daycare and are starving I'm shocked.

The owner of my wife's old center - who also owns one other center, owns a home in Boston, a 450K condo in CT, LOTS of toys (45' boat), and her husband - a CPA "retired" early and is "on staff" for the centers financial stuff. They recently built a new building for my wife's old center as well.

Basically they have money coming out of their ears.

All the while my wife was fighting to try and get 38K as a director of a 98 child center.

She's doing much much better at a corporate center now.

P.S. I'm also a small business owner so don't think I'm picking on you - I know how hard it is to do business in this state and actually make a living!