How much do you pay for daycare in Washington DC? (day cares, home)

[SandpaperTongue]

My husband and I are in very early stages of starting to think about the possibility of maybe starting a family. Today I did some very preliminary research on the costs of daycare, and it scared the bejezus out of me. Are we looking at $1000/month? That sounds crazy to me.

We currently live in Cleveland Park and there don't seem to be too many options around. A number of small, pricey and very exclusive daycares/ montessori schools, and very few home based day cares.

My sister and my SIL are both SAHMs, as are the few friends I have with children and I don't know many other people with babies in DC. Can you give me an idea of what you all pay for daycare? For DC, Fairfax, and Montgomery counties? For centers or home-based?

How do people manage to have babies?! I stand in terrified awe.

[mlv311]

The DC metro area is one of the highest cost for daycare. The worse part is the long waiting lists in many daycare centers. I hope you get some responses from moms with children in daycare. In the meantime, check out the average cost by state for 2008 at: Most Recent Child Care Data by State | NACCRRA - The National Association of Child Care Resource & Referral Agencies

[PenguinSix]

$1000 sounds low actually.

You might look at this site for some more practical mom advice

DCUM Weblog — DC Urban Moms & Dads

[fjennell]

infants are over 200 a week in MD and VA so DC is probably a little higher.

[SandpaperTongue]

It's good to know that childcare will run upwards of $12K/yr. And apparently, I need to get on a waitlist 2 years in advance. I knew that DC isn't the easiest place to raise a family, what with the public school situation and all.... I think we'll get a dog instead.

[njmom8]

I am a sahm, and part of the reason was the cost of daycare. In the NY metro area, 8yrs ago, the cost of a good daycare center was $1000 per month. It just didn't seem worth it to work to basically pay daycare, fancy car, and some xtras. I was lucky to be in the position to make a choice.

Many women need or choose to work, and I respect that. I too marvel at how much $ they must make to pay for 2 kids in daycare.

The only advice I can give: have a baby- it is the most wonderful thing you will ever do. Most are broke when they have their first child- in the sense that they are either losing one income- or paying daycare. You adjust! Your salary will rise- things will get better.

A great solution (I think) would be to try to work on a half-time basis (maybe a job share), and try to get involve in a nanny share. You may end up being able to have it all (great career, and time with your family).

Good luck!

[SandpaperTongue]

So, I did a little research over at dcurbanmoms.com (great resource, btw, thanks!) and it turns out infant care is more like $1500 to $1800/month. Sooooo crazy. I might need to move out to the boondocks instead, where I can have both dog and child.

[Moth]

Originally Posted by SandpaperTongue

So, I did a little research over at dcurbanmoms.com (great resource, btw, thanks!) and it turns out infant care is more like $1500 to $1800/month. Sooooo crazy. I might need to move out to the boondocks instead, where I can have both dog and child.

Welcome to reality. We shell out a huge chunk per month. But do you want quality people watching your child or those willing to accept minimum wage? The instructors have to make a living after all.

Anyway, get on the waiting lists now and stay in touch with the places. Once the baby arrives, make a (diplomatic) nuisance of yourself- you never know when spots just open up and others do not respond or change plans.

To be honest, both the daycare and the stay at home options come with pros and cons. Having kids is a great deal of work, as are most worthwhile things.

Good luck.

[slim04]

The 1500 to 1800 figure is an exaggeration. I looked at 15 day care centers, the most expensive one was $350 per week, with the average between $280 to $325. These were all professionally run day care centers (most were national chains) that catered to professional women. Those exclusive day cares in NW often use a 1:2 or 1:3 faculty to child ratio, instead of the standard 1:4, and cater to yuppies, so they are more expensive but are no means representative of what's available.

Also keep in mind that a lot of that is tax deductible or eligible for a tax savings account (so up to $5K of it will be tax free dollars).

Home day care providers are priced depending on their location and the education level of the provider. So a non-college educated lady caring for 4 children in Brookland or Petsworth might only be $150 to $250 per month.

I didn't find the cost to be the problem, rather the difficultly to get off the waitlists. You'll soon find out that the waitlists aren't first come first serve. Certain people get differing levels of priority, so it might be really easy to get off a waitlist or you'll never get off of one. I was on 7 waitlists and only got off two of them (one of which my wife had super priority).

[Moth]

We pay around $1350 per month but I would think there are cheaper and pricier. Ours is a private one.

Good tip re the tax savings account- forgot to mention that.