Daycare Prices in Ashburn VA too expensive (Alexandria, Woodbridge: 2014, day cares)

[20147resident]

My husband and I live in Ashburn Village, located in Loudoun county. Our son attends one of the private daycares located in Ashburn Village (Kindercare, Minnie Land, Chesterbrook etc). While I like that there are several options to choose from we are still in sticker schock that we haven't seen the price drop below $300 a week and our son is 2 years old. I personally have met with and spoke with home daycares in the area, however they do not open until 7am or 7:30am which is not an option for us. We both have an hour commute or slightly longer to get to work. The earliest that the private daycares open are 6:30am.

I'm just wondering if other families have the same thoughts we have. Prices seem to vary across locations but it seems to be almost a $100 a week difference just because we live in Ashburn. We are not in a position to move. But I'm just wondering because the prices seem out of hand in addition to the yearly $4 - $10 increase per year.

[spencgr]

Originally Posted by 20147resident

My husband and I live in Ashburn Village, located in Loudoun county. Our son attends one of the private daycares located in Ashburn Village (Kindercare, Minnie Land, Chesterbrook etc). While I like that there are several options to choose from we are still in sticker schock that we haven't seen the price drop below $300 a week and our son is 2 years old. I personally have met with and spoke with home daycares in the area, however they do not open until 7am or 7:30am which is not an option for us. We both have an hour commute or slightly longer to get to work. The earliest that the private daycares open are 6:30am.

I'm just wondering if other families have the same thoughts we have. Prices seem to vary across locations but it seems to be almost a $100 a week difference just because we live in Ashburn. We are not in a position to move. But I'm just wondering because the prices seem out of hand in addition to the yearly $4 - $10 increase per year.

They aren't providing you pricing based on your home address, they are priced based on being in Ashburn. (why Ashburn would be higher than other areas is something I can't answer, as I don't have children.) But why must you put your child in daycare in Ashburn? As both you and your husband both have long commutes, you can choose to place your son in any day care along those commutes. And, if the selected location is closer to your work, then you don't need to be concerned about the early start time. It opens up more options for private and home day cares that open up later.

[CaliTerp07]

$300 a week for a center sounds cheap to me in Fairfax. I'm being quoted $275/week for home day cares. Centers are significantly higher--after the first couple price quotes, I stopped even inquiring.

[johnsonkk]

That is cheap. $500/week in crystal city. $300 in Woodbridge.

[slduvall]

I agree, sounds pretty good to me. I paid more than that for similar chain daycare in Alexandria.

[acgood]

We use a home daycare in Ashburn that is only slightly less than $300/week. I understand the sticker shock though

[FCNova]

I wouldn't say $1200/month is cheap but it's reasonable for this area. Especially for Kindercare. Are there any church based preschools out there? We got our son in one & it was a little cheaper.

[apexgds]

Chesterbrook outside of Raleigh, NC costs more than $1200/mo for a 2 y/o ... considering your general geographic location, I would say you're probably getting a good deal (or the people around here are getting scr3wed. LOL)

[Middlin]

10 years ago, we paid $250 a week and it dropped to $200 when our child turned 2. THis was a Kindercare in Fairfax County. That's a $10 increase a year.

[jillybean720]

It's not just Ashburn. I paid $225/week for a home daycare in Sterling. When I checked centers, I couldn't find anything for less than $315/week.

Personally, I do NOT recommend using a daycare that is not near your home. I considered it; it seemed logical that the daycare being near my office would be just as convenient as it being near my home. However, on days when I would work from home or if I were to stay home sick, I would still have to drive my kid all the way out to the daycare even if I wasn't going to work. There were also times (and this depends on the kids, but, again, my personal experience) when my son would get cranky being in the car for too long. Listening to a kid whine/cry certainly doesn't make a 45+ minute commute more pleasant. Just some food for thought.