Cost of Daycare (Rochester: credit, day cares, how much)

[arkeuler]

Baby on the way...
Debating whether I should stay home and work part-time at night or continue working full-time. I'm having a problem accepting the fact that our household income would be cut almost in half if I only work part-time.
If you can enlighten me and let me know what kind of numbers to expect for daycare, I'd really appreciate it. I understand there's a difference between infant care vs. toddler care. If anyone has numbers for both to compare, even better! Thanks!

[golfgal]

As you know it can be all over the board with daycare costs. I know that my brother-in-law was paying around $20,000/year for their daughter, double that when #2 came along. I have heard that $6/hour is pretty common for day care centers. Along with the costs of daycare, make sure you factor in gas, wear/tear on your car, clothing, and other expenses for working, look at how much you pay for taxes, etc. and figure out the real money you get from your job. I know some of our friends finally sat down one day and did that and figured out it was costing them $50/month for their wife to go to work.

[Hoosier]

Infant care is much more expensive than toddler as you said. I worked at home for 3 1/2 years for many reasons, one of which was childcare costs. I just began working full time again just over a month ago. We have our four year old in New Horizon. It is more expensive than in-home daycares but we personally feel he gets better care there. Others will say better care in an in-home. It's really about what you feel comfortable with. My main reason for not doing in-home is because I don't trust my son...he's very active and while he would more than likely be safe, I just don't feel comfortable with it. I've heard too many instances of child neglect by childcare workers or the spouse who molests kids. Now these instances are few and far between, and I'm not trying to scare you...it's just things that we've heard and come across in our search for daycare.

Another thing to really consider is even though you may only bring home a small amount of money after paying for childcare, think about you and what you need emotionally after the baby is born. It is not wrong to want to have your professional life. I knew a mom who worked part time and told me that she is a better mom because she has time for herself at work, and then when she is at home with her daughter she is much more even-keeled emotionally.

There are many things you can do from home like medical transcription, check out the google for ideas. Nothing says you have to stay at home permanently. The nice thing is that when they're babies you will get a lot more work done than when they become mobile, or stop taking naps. That is the main reason I had to go back to work...I wasn't able to focus on my work when I needed to because my son needed way more attention...which I gave him. I hope this helps and again, my beginning comments were not meant to be negative or to scare you.

[arvid1985]

In-Home daycares the only way to go if you don't want to pay too much
200-250 weekly for infant 100-150 toddler. For centers upto 300-400 weekly for infants & 200-300 weekly for toddlers. Stay home if you can, if you can't and are worried that in-home daycares are better or worse than centers. GET CURRENT REFERANCES!!! & CHECK THEM!!! CALL EVER PARENT! You can also check with the state to see if any complaints have been filed with the potential Daycare provider.

[Kamsack]

Up here in the Greater Grand Forks area (northeast ND, northwest MN)....

we started at the childcare center with the most praise....and now we are at a church non-demonational day care. He received excellent care at both, but the latter was smaller and he has food allergies which they are so wonderful working with us about. Cost for the infant was 580/month....
At one year old....went down to 530/month.... The rate will go down about 20-30 dollars when he turns 2 years old.

We never checked home daycare, due to issues with his allergies and felt he would get better care at a center with more adults around. But no matter what you must visit each center or home daycare and ask for references. Past or current parents know best. I would not be lulled into a center because they have the newest toys, but rather on how the adults there interact with the kids and the number of kids per adult. At the center with the most praise, once they turn one they put them in a room with many kids and the adults do not have time for one on one care. We are at now, there are 6 kids for 2 adults and we are really pleased.

Dan

[Marla Nesbett]

Yes, infant care is usually more than toddler care because of the higher staff/child ratio. If you are considering child care centers be sure to look for an accredited program (you can use the second link below to search for one). Check out information on these websites and some of the great links to local organizations on them.

http://www.mnchildcare.org/imm_map.p...6ff3ta8rsc2bjd

http://www.naeyc.org/academy/web_ready/search/ (broken link)

http://www.mlfcca.org/parents.htm (broken link)

http://www.resourcesforchildcare.org/

Please be sure to look for the highest quality of care you can afford and if cost is a major factor - perhaps there are some subsidy programs you can utilize if you do decide to go back to work.

[minipinwheel]

I have no idea what daycare will cost you in the cities but I would recommend staying home and starting your own small daycare. Not only will you save on your own daycare, you will still have an income.
There is the Federal Food Program that you can enroll in and get paid for the nutritious meals that you provide. There are many grants (monies you don't have to pay back) to start your own daycare.You can limit the number of ill children that your child will be exposed to. Plus, most important of all, YOU are the one who is providing nurturing to your child and not the daycare provider. You will not be under the thumb of your employer as far as how many sick days you can have to care for your own ill child. YOU are your own employer. What an opportunity!
I quit my job back in 1983 to care for my own children and also ran my own daycare. Back then, I did not have a gaurenteed wage for daycare like now.
If you are low enough income, you can claim your own child on the food program and get paid for it. What an opportunity. It's a win-win situation.
I no longer do daycare but did find it rewarding. Good Luck!

[johanfahed]

Probably the price depends the city you live at . for example I was searching child day care center for my toddler in Rochester MN , i was planning to move by august . The prices can go from $840 monthly thru 1,045 for child day care centers . They are very expensive , but i prefer a child day care center vs home based child day care. Infant care is more expensive . I think it is a great idea if you will like to stay home and run your own child day care . What i did was work nights until my son was around 16 months , my husband was working evenings , we took care of him . But since he stop napping as he grew up during the day , i was not able to sleep ,so i had to send him to child day care center and i move to a day shift. It was a though decision , you will have to do a lot of research , walk in to the child day cares , check with the state about license status , ask friends and coworkers to found the right place . However there is no better care and attention for your son as their parents .

Good Luck

[Jaxx99]

Running your own day care would be a full-time job. Other parents are suddenly relying on you to keep their lives running smoothly. Only do it if it is the job you want to do.

Another option would be to figure out ways with your current line of work to do it either on weekends, evenings, or if you can be so lucky, from home.

[lisajewela]

Childcare for my 1 year old at an accredited center in NW suburbs is 300.00 per week full time M-F. This is the average that I found for day care centers give or take 20.00 per week. I also looked at in-home lisenced daycares and the range was right around 150.00 per week full time for an infant. The rates go down at about 18 mos by about 30.00 per week. This is after doing my research for the last year while my baby was fortunate enough to be watched by various family while I was at work. Seems to me that if you have the option to stay at home then go for it. I don't have that option so it is either daycare or don't work. Good luck