Childcare workers quitting (Boston, Weymouth: day care, loan, school) - Massachusetts (MA) - City-Data Forum

msRB311 · 09-20-2021, 12:17 PM

this article popped up on Yahoo for me, it highlights a childcare facility in Weymouth:

https://www.yahoo.com/news/child-car...140539951.html

I think childcare work has been associated with low pay for years. In the MA area I don't know how anyone could survive on this pay. It does seem like it could be a crisis in years to come. I'm glad the days of needing daycare are behind me and that I never had to use it. It made little sense to me that in the Boston area daycare could cost up to $2500 a month for people yet the day care workers were paid so little. All to basically have your kids get sick while (germs are rampant in these places) while you yourself go to work.

I don't have a solution for it...i do think daycare workers should be paid more though.

msRB311 · 09-20-2021, 12:26 PM

We also seem to be living in interesting times where people are able to leave these jobs (bus drivers, restaurant workers)...apparently they're not desperate to stay...my question is where are they going? Also who will now be the types of people hired for these jobs? The article mentions some are moving on to admin asst type jobs, bank tellers etc. I didn't think there were many of those types of jobs left these days.

simplexsimon · 09-20-2021, 01:47 PM

Wow $12/hour?

Based on the PPP loan amount the daycare I pay for received, I'm confident that the teachers at my child's daycare get at least $40k/year plus benefits. Most teachers have stayed for many years so I assume that's competitive.

In my circle of friends where both spouses work, the pandemic's made them realize even more how valuable childcare is.

msRB311 · 09-20-2021, 01:57 PM

I'm not sure if the weymouth place paid $12 an hour...but it wouldn't surprised me.

I've heard the same that people value childcare more now and are paying more for it. I think the problem is the daycare facilities that hire the workers arent paying them more. It's the people at the top who want to keep the money in every industry.

OutdoorLover · 09-20-2021, 06:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by msRB311

I'm not sure if the weymouth place paid $12 an hour...but it wouldn't surprised me.

I've heard the same that people value childcare more now and are paying more for it. I think the problem is the daycare facilities that hire the workers arent paying them more. It's the people at the top who want to keep the money in every industry.

Sadly, it's like that in a lot of businesses that charge a hefty fee for their services - they don't pay their employees, who actually provide the service, squat, and that is true across a broad sector of job categories and pay grades, from what I have seen.

msRB311 · 09-20-2021, 06:48 PM

Maybe childcare workers will start expecting tips from parents.

jayrandom · 09-20-2021, 08:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by msRB311

I'm not sure if the weymouth place paid $12 an hour...but it wouldn't surprised me.

I've heard the same that people value childcare more now and are paying more for it. I think the problem is the daycare facilities that hire the workers arent paying them more. It's the people at the top who want to keep the money in every industry.

That’s what I liked about the small in-home daycare we brought our kids to. Since they didn’t have any employees, I knew that all the money was going directly to the people looking after our kids.

robr2 · 09-21-2021, 06:11 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by msRB311

I'm not sure if the weymouth place paid $12 an hour...but it wouldn't surprised me.

I've heard the same that people value childcare more now and are paying more for it. I think the problem is the daycare facilities that hire the workers arent paying them more. It's the people at the top who want to keep the money in every industry.

The $12/hour is a national average. In MA, they are paid at least $13.50/hour and average is $13.

I'm guessing that the national daycare chains are top heavy in compensation just like any other for profit business. Just like many other businesses today, they are finding that they now have to compete for the people who do the work. I know someone who works for a national chain as a manager and she stays because discounted care for her 3 kids is worth it. If paying out of pocket, she'd leave.

The Weymouth center mentioned in the article is not a for profit daycare business. They are funded by 3 cities and towns as well as the United Way to provide services for those towns including before and after-school care. My town offers a similar program and slots are highly coveted.

robr2 · 09-21-2021, 06:13 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jayrandom

That’s what I liked about the small in-home daycare we brought our kids to. Since they didn’t have any employees, I knew that all the money was going directly to the people looking after our kids.

In-home daycares have low overhead and many, especially unlicensed ones, are pretty much baby-sitting services.

jayrandom · 09-21-2021, 06:52 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by robr2

In-home daycares have low overhead and many, especially unlicensed ones, are pretty much baby-sitting services.

I mean, there are plenty of fully-licensed in-home daycares. Ours was definitely a few steps above a 'baby-sitting service'. We found ours by looking through the licensing board's website: https://eeclead.force.com/EEC_ChildCareSearch