Daycare costs in Bismarck (Fargo, Grand Forks: daycares, how much, house)

[Minneapolis Guy]

How much should you expect to pay for an infant at a respectable in home daycare for all day daycare M-F?

[DaninEGF]

Now...this is for Grand Forks...and would think Bismarck being similar in size (just a bit bigger) would be similar with rates.

We have two 3 1/2 mo. old twins and a 4 yr old in full time daycare in a privately run daycare center at a local church. It is also a pre-school and all meals and formula (for the babies) are included in the price. It does go up each year a bit....but for infants we pay 690/mo. For breastfeed babies it is 630/mo. For our 4 yr old in pre-school it is 530/mo. So yes...our total daycare bill is around 1800/mo....ouch.

For in-home daycare....most would charge 25-30/day....from my experience for infants. This may vary down to as low as 20/day.

Dan

[Minneapolis Guy]

Anyone else have any info? Seems rather high. You can find daycare in Minneapolis for that price.

[DaninEGF]

Our daycare costs will go up another 8 percent this year....with infants to over 700.00/mo. Wonder Years daycare in town I think charges closer to 900/mo for infants. Costs have been going up quite a bit in the last few years since our 4 yr old was an infant.

I did some searching on the web and in 2008 there was a study nationwide....Average price a month for an infant in a daycare center in Minnesota was 12,300 (1025/mo) and in North Dakota it was 6,559 (547/mo). In most ND cities such as GF, Fargo and Bismarck you will pay more than the state average....while centers in the smaller towns will be the lower costs ones.

Hopefully someone in Bismarck with kids in daycare can shed more light out there. But costs keep going up 5-10 pct a year. The best teacher at our daycare is leaving and we decided to hire her as a nanny for our twins so we can keep them at home instead of all the rush to take them and then bring them home in the evenings. We will pay her 250-300 a week for her to come to our house from 730-530.


Dan

[Minneapolis Guy]

Thanks for the info! Yes, I know the average may be that high in Minnesota but I think it is due to all of the daycare centers we have, they charge a fortune! I know of 3 couples that have infants in daycare right now in the Minneapolis area they are all paying less than $700 hundred a month at in-home day-cares. Granted two of the couples daycare is 45 minutes outside of Minneapolis where they live.

I called the YMCA in Bismarck and they charge $677($615 if you are a member). The price drops to $564 once they turn 2. ($513 for members) . I'm not sure how that compares to the in-home daycare prices in Bismarck. If in home is a little cheaper than I will be happy with that.

[DaninEGF]

Originally Posted by Minneapolis Guy

Thanks for the info! Yes, I know the average may be that high in Minnesota but I think it is due to all of the daycare centers we have, they charge a fortune! I know of 3 couples that have infants in daycare right now in the Minneapolis area they are all paying less than $700 hundred a month at in-home day-cares. Granted two of the couples daycare is 45 minutes outside of Minneapolis where they live.

I called the YMCA in Bismarck and they charge $677($615 if you are a member). The price drops to $564 once they turn 2. ($513 for members) . I'm not sure how that compares to the in-home daycare prices in Bismarck. If in home is a little cheaper than I will be happy with that.

The YMCA numbers seem about right....we pay 690 for infant. I know people who use YMCA here and they like it. I do think most at home daycares will be a bit less because they likely have less overhead.

Dan

[snowblind9]

its been about 3 years since we had kids at a home daycare, it ran about 2.50 an hour. Around 800 a month.

[soundman]

I'm wondering why you would want your kids in a private home daycare as opposed to a center? Both of my kids are/were going to a center and I feel that being around more kids your own age helps you become more socialized. Also, my oldest who is now in school but goes to daycare afterwards is way ahead in his kindergarten class because of the pre-school curriculum taught at his daycare.

Also, what do you do if you childcare provider becomes sick or injured? You then have to stay home with your child until your provider is well enough to continue. In a center type atmosphere, they usually have enough staff to cover for those instances.

[Minneapolis Guy]

Originally Posted by soundman

I'm wondering why you would want your kids in a private home daycare as opposed to a center? Both of my kids are/were going to a center and I feel that being around more kids your own age helps you become more socialized. Also, my oldest who is now in school but goes to daycare afterwards is way ahead in his kindergarten class because of the pre-school curriculum taught at his daycare.

Also, what do you do if you childcare provider becomes sick or injured? You then have to stay home with your child until your provider is well enough to continue. In a center type atmosphere, they usually have enough staff to cover for those instances.

Yea, I guess I dont know enough to know what I would prefer at this point. I think from what I know now their are advantages and disadvantages to both.