Please tell me about your daycare/nanny situation (Howe: day care, how much)

[unknown00]

For those with kids...

1. What service do you have?
2. How much do you pay?
3. How did you find it?
4. How did you end up selecting it?
5. Any misc other benefits it includes?
6. Is it worth it?
7. Anything else worth mentioning?

[stephwin]

[*]What service do you have? Daycare (non-franchised)
[*]How much do you pay? About $2200/month for a 4.5 and 1.5 year old. We are charged weekly so some months it's a little more and some a little less
[*]How did you find it? We looked at daycares that were within a few miles of our house
[*]How did you end up selecting it? We narrowed it down from a list of 10ish by comparing prices and licensing information from the state, and finally we toured 2 centers.
[*]Any misc other benefits it includes? They provide all food once they start eating solids, which not all daycares do. They get breakfast, 2-3 snacks depending on when they are picked up, and lunch. Once my older daughter is in pre-k (in August) they will take them on a few field trips that are included with the price. ETA: our daycare has cameras that I can access on my phone. Cameras were a deal breaker for me. If they didn't have one and I couldn't access it on a computer or phone, they weren't even considered. Our daycare also uses the Tadpole app. They can send pictures and videos to the app throughout the day. They also let me know when their naps started/ended, what they ate, and what time their naps were.
[*]Is it worth it? In terms of...? Daycare prices are soul-sucking. While we didn't want a 3rd kid, we definitely couldn't afford to have 3 kids in daycare. However, I've been pleasantly surprised at what my kids have learned and they honestly enjoy going. If I was a SAHM I'm not sure I would've taught them half of what daycare has.
[*]Anything else worth mentioning? Go with your gut. If a place doesn't seem right for you, no matter how many kids they are watching and no matter how many people love the place, then choose a different place.

[Sunshine92150]

Originally Posted by unknown00

For those with kids...

1. What service do you have?
2. How much do you pay?
3. How did you find it?
4. How did you end up selecting it?
5. Any misc other benefits it includes?
6. Is it worth it?
7. Anything else worth mentioning?

Call Dr. Laura Schlessinger. (Dr. Laura Show)

I'm certain she'll definitely have an opinion on this one! Good luck.

[justsomeguy]

Originally Posted by stephwin

[*]What service do you have? Daycare (non-franchised)
[*]How much do you pay? About $2200/month for a 4.5 and 1.5 year old. We are charged weekly so some months it's a little more and some a little less
[*]Is it worth it? In terms of...? Daycare prices are soul-sucking. While we didn't want a 3rd kid, we definitely couldn't afford to have 3 kids in daycare. However, I've been pleasantly surprised at what my kids have learned and they honestly enjoy going. If I was a SAHM I'm not sure I would've taught them half of what daycare has.

You say it is $2200/mo for 4.5 and 1.5 year old....what about for say, just 1 child? Like, do you get a discount for 2 kids, or is it around $1100/mo per child?

[Koshka2]

This may not apply to your situation, but I'll throw it out there. My kids are adult now. But, I had 3 kids and we found that what worked well was to have an au pair (and by that I mean legal au pairs with the proper visa). We used au pairs for several years and it was a wonderful experience for our kids and us. Once you get above 2 kids the cost of day care is quite a bit and the au pair was a reasonable alternative. Anyway, we loved having au pairs and it worked out well for our kids.

[stephwin]

Originally Posted by justsomeguy

You say it is $2200/mo for 4.5 and 1.5 year old....what about for say, just 1 child? Like, do you get a discount for 2 kids, or is it around $1100/mo per child?

We do get a 5% discount. If you have 3 kids it's a 10% discount, etc. The price per child depends on their age. Infants are typically the most expensive. I think there is a tuition drop at 2 years but then it goes back up in Pre-K, I think.

[mSooner]

This is what I did for my 3 before staying home

What service do you have?: Private nanny--she was a grad student and she worked for me part time outside of her classes. I had to fill in occasional gaps with my mom and another part time sitter, but it wasn't too bad.
How much do you pay? By the time my 3rd child was born, we paid her a flat $140 day. A day was usually 9-10 hours, but if I got home early, she still got the full pay. Very rarely, I would get home a little later. It was easier than counting hours. She also received 2 weeks of paid vacation--1 week her choice, 1 week ours (usually while we were vacationing). She was also provided gas money to cover any tolls/gas for outings with the kids.
How did you find it?: She was a friend of a friend of the family.
How did you end up selecting it?: We had done in home care before, but the drop off and pick up was killing me and my husband's schedule was unforgiving at that point. I tried to find someone on Care.com but either felt they were too inexperienced or they just weren't going to work with our budget/schedule (someone with a lot of experience is going to cost $17-18 hour). Many also balked on not being paid under the table and I wasn't going to compromise on that. I felt best about the girl we used because of her family situation and we were willing to work with her schedule.
Any misc other benefits it includes? Most daycares required full time commitment and we did not need that. Having a nanny allowed us to reduce our expenses a little bit. No drop off and pick up was huge. It also allowed my kids to have a more relaxed schedule than daycare and I felt better leaving an infant with a nanny vs daycare.
Is it worth it? We felt it was, until I wanted to stay home myself
Anything else worth mentioning? If you hire a nanny, you are required to pay nanny taxes. Obviously, this "adds" to the cost, but it is what any responsible employer does. We used Care.com's Homepay system to help manage this. If you do not do this, your nanny cannot properly file her taxes. If she claims that income, the IRS can come back to you. If she doesn't, she is shorting herself out of future unemployment/SS benefits, so it really does hurt her even if she doesn't realize it. By law a nanny is never an independent contractor. Many employers (including my husband's) offer dependent care FSAs that can be used for most childcare situations, including a nanny, provided the nanny is properly documented. Being able to use this actually paid for a nice chunk of the nanny taxes.

[TexanByMarriage]

Really appreciate this thread! Just a comment for encouragement of those thinking about responding

[san11]

What service do you have? Daycare ( Franchise)( full time 6.30 am to 6.30 Pm , Drop off and pick up anytime). We drop off and pick up according to our convenience .. Usually from 9 am to 5 pm.

How much do you pay? 975$ a month for approx 3 year old

How did you find it? We looked with in 1-2 miles radius of where we live. I work from home 90 % of time, so I want daycare to be close to home. My opinion is , daycare should be with in 20 minute or less drive from either your/spouse work if you both go to work daily.

How did you end up selecting it? Looked at option near by 1-2 mile radius near work /home. Its second daycare for our child and i found it with in 1 mile from office / home both times.

Any misc other benefits it includes? Tadpoles app . We get few photos / videos a day. They serve food ( breakfast / Lunch / 2 snack time)

Is it worth it? Yes they Interact more with kids of their age and are more happier.

Anything else worth mentioning? I would say keep kid at home till 1 year by yourself / Nanny ( if thats an option). After 1 -1.5 year send them to daycare.

Once they start daycare they will be sick for sure because of all the new env/ other kids/ bacteria/ viruses.
Best is to start daycare after 1 year and during may be April time frame. During May / June / July months they don't get much of runny nose / other issues. Winter is worst time for kids to start daycare. In my experience, most of kids get sick for at least couple times with in first few month of joining the daycare. So, its better if you don not pick the winter months to start daycare. ( opinion )

[jennifw]

Unknown00 -what are you gathering information for? I see that you posted this same poll in several forums. Seems odd to me.