I just read this and found the daycare costs cited to be a bit umm...

http://money.cnn.com/2012/04/18/pf/m...source=cnn_bin

Am I the only one who thinks they need to seriously reevaluate their rates now??

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it depends on where you live...guess what for two kids in my care that is just about what it will cost ya.....NY and SF super expensive places to live.....

average care here is about $1050 month for a preschooler

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No kidding! I didn't know that I could have made $2000 a month watching 1 child!!!! Even the couple from Virginia where the article said childcare rates are among the lowest still paid $5000 more than I would get for 1 child where I live per year (and that would be if I actually got paid for every day of every week of the year).

I was seriously undercharging.

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That was the one that got me. My thinking was WHY DID THIS WOMAN NOT FIND CHEAPER CHILDCARE?!

Gosh, I actually felt guilty raising my rates $5.00 a week before I read this!!

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the math in that article just doesn't add up. I don't live in Virginia, but one is saying daycare for ONE child would be $2,000/month, the other saying $12,000 a year - neither figure seems right to me. Since they were both teachers thats for maybe 10 months out of the year - so about $300/week or $60/day for the $12,000 year one and the other one is talking almost DOUBLE that. I find it hard to believe that is the going rate in VA but maybe it is?????

Also, the statement "It wasn't worth $18,000 for us to let somebody else raise our son"...... that is of course their choice but I don't see $18,000 as something to sneeze at either.

I understand 2 kids in daycare is really tough, its the reason I started my daycare, but both the figures in this article is supposed to be for one kid.

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I'm in VA. We get lowballed horribly by Social Services because so much of our clientele is state-paid...we basically have to take whatever they want to pay. The theory is that the parent is supposed to pay the difference between our actual rate and what DSS pays...psshh.

But anyway, the average center rate for, say, a four-year old is about $135/week. That's only $7,000 a year. The higher-end centers charge about $150, but the absolute ceiling for this area is probably $175. That still NOWHERE near $12,000 and certainly not $2000/mo.

I don't know where in Virginia these people are referring to...maybe up near Washington, DC. No one would ever pay that kind of money for childcare where I'm located.

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Those numbers are ridiculous. I don't think they add up.

I understand that childcare can be expensive... but if you couldn't afford to put one child in daycare and are complaining that you can barely make ends meet why have another child? Oh right, as usual... daycare is always to blame.

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It all goes along with your choice of lifestyle too and reasoning. The article says that they weren't making ends meet even after her husband took a second job, the wife said that it wasn't worth $18,000 to have her child in DC (what I am assuming was her take-home pay after deductions and paying for child care) ... who wouldn't want an extra $18,000 a year to help out financially???

I don't think it's money smart to quit your job to keep from paying for child care when you're having a hard time making ends meet ... that's an extra $1,500 a month to help out, at least. For someone that worked as a teacher ... well you know

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Oh yeah, and then there's that. It's always gotta be someone elses fault for your decision right?

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I don't think they are blaming anyone at all, just how things have to change when you have children. Basically, if you want children, lifestyles have to change. One of the most expensive aspects of having a young child is child care.

I think there is nothing wrong with the article or the women in it. If you can't find quality child care and still make a decent living, then the next plausible action is to find a way to not have to pay child care (which many women choose to be a SAHM). The only time I think it becomes a problem is when you rely on government to pay your bills.

This is not the reason I quit my job, but it does make total sense to me. I made $40,000 a year. After benefits, retirement, and taxes were removed, I made $27,000. I always wanted to be a mother to more than one child. Child care for 2 children would run $1000-$1500 a month (depending on where I chose), or around $12,000 a year at the least. That left $15,000 a year, which would most likely be used for eating out more (due to significantly less time at home), gas, and work attire. In the end, I would not really make much of anything at all. Would that be worthwhile to the added stress and less time with my kids? I make almost the same amount as I did after taxes doing child care right now, but without all of the added expenses.

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Nobody said that because someone is educated that they are really smart.

I work in a Center and our rates are very similar to Home Daycare - probably even less than local Home Daycares.

Now I agree that if you have a part time job at Walmart you shouldn't bother putting your child in Childcare to scrape out a few cents but someone earning $35,000.00 and up a year saying they cannot afford childcare is looking into some high scale places.

I've love to see that list!

Spud, $15,000.00 is a decent net but I applaud you for what you did. You are still working at home and earning money for your family. You just chose a different way to do it. Your heart and priorities are with your children. Kudos to you!

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I'm in NY close to the city and rates are pretty high here compared to most places, but so is the cost of living! Average preschooler per week is $250 and baby is $300 , in the city a Montessori school was about $20k per year or more!

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Virginia is a big state, I live outside of DC on the Maryland side and daycares in areas of Northern Virginia easily get that kind of money. A friend was checking preschools and one cost $26,000 per year. Geesh, thats more than most state colleges!

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Does this factor in ALL the other costs that may be associated with daycare....gas to get there, clothing and food and supplies for the child, extra fees....? Or maybe does this factor in with the average people that select nannies and other childcare arrangements?

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Isn't there government subsides for childcare? Can't you write it off on your taxes? If you can't afford or don't want to afford kids, then don't have kids. I really want kids but at this moment I can't afford them. So guess what I don't have kids.

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There is a point where parents just have to realize it not financially feasible to have both parents work after having kids. And the answer is not pay the childcares less to raise their children.

I worked full time with my first 2 children. I still made enough after paying for daycare for it to be "worth" working. By the time I had my 3rd though, I went part time and figured out that I was netting maybe $100 a pay ($200 a month) after factoring in my long drive, daycare, etc. And that was just paying for before and after school care for my 2 older kids and full time care for my baby. If I had stayed working, I would have been paying more than I was making for full time daycare for 3 children. It didn't take much math skills to figure out I should be a sahm (I did not want to go back to full time...this was my last baby and I wanted to actually get to see her). If I had stayed on full time, I may have made enough money, but, I would have ended up quitting anyways. In the month after I went back to work, I think I called in 3 times because of sickness...my children and then my sitters child. God was sending me the message that I was not supposed to be working outside my home....I was supposed to be a sahm.

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Don't you plan? If i new I was having kids I do the math and see what is cheaper working vs child care before the child was born!

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Really? Have you never heard of unplanned pregnancies? I got pregnant twice while on BC. The second time, I was on BC and breastfeeding. All of my dck's were unplanned. Sometimes life throws us a curve ball and then we have to do what we can to deal with the changes on the fly.

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I mean make a plan while you are pregant, before the child is born. All children are plan, if you plan on having sex plan on possable side effect being a child.

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Ok I have to start off by saying that New York is one of the most expensive places to live so we have to keep that in mind. It really does depend on where you live. In Nevada I charge 165.00 a week for one child ft. Pt for one child is 35 a day. Thats with me providing almost everything for these kids meals etc. I agree those numbers dont really add up to me either.
I had a mom about 2 years ago get a boob job, buy a new car, and go one a trip to disney land all in the same year. Plus she lives in a huge house and drives an expensive car. Towards the end of that school year she pulled the boy from my dc stating that financially they just couldnt afford dc for him and that grpa was gonna watch him until he started preschool. The olde rsister was starting kindergarden so no paying double tuition. To me its a matter of priorities and lifestyle choices.
My husband works at Home depot full time but retail does not pay real great, I ofcourse do dc in my home. We are living well (I think) but we are not rich. Two summers ago we had to skip our summer vacation b/c the money just wasnt there. I was down to 2 dc kids at the time and just couldnt make it happen.
Even in todays economy people do not want to give up the little luxuries. JMO!
Debbie

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I did an anonymous call this week to a center around the block from me.

They are charging $263 a week for an infant to age 1.

They are charging $238 a week for a 2 year old!

Some SAHM's are charging as little as $125 a week here although I'd say the average is about $150-$165 a week.

While my prices range from $130 to $175 a week, I'm quite comfortable keeping prices right within the majority of the competition.

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Wow!!! There is absolutely no way that would fly here. Unless they have a higher degree with specialized training, people are doing good to find jobs that are year round over $12/hour. And that's usually no more than 35 hours a week. So, if we have a 2 income family with 2 children, that would be more than half their take home!!! One teacher I know only went back to work after having her twins (one toddler already) just to keep her tenure. After paying for childcare for three under 3, she was not going to have any income at all. She earned too much to qualify for subsidy, but not enough to pay bills and have some left over.

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Oh I agree. But the best laid plans don't always work out. What looks good on paper isn't always the best answer. One mom saved a huge nest egg before her son was born with the goal to stay home. After the medical bills for her and her son burned through that money, she returned to the work force when he was only 2. Another one had the means to stay home when dad was around. He's not anymore. I saved my income while pregnant with my ds so I could quit my job. It was great for a couple of years. Then the economy turned.
Again...life throws curve balls. We can't always know what is going to happen in the future in order to plan accordingly.

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I charge $20 a day and thats within the average here for family daycare. I wish I lived in one of the better paying areas!!

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I've been in both situations....

When MY kids were growing up in the 80's I actually did a cost study. I was earning over 10.00 per hour back then, which was a really good wage (post office). I sat down and figured out how much I was actually bringing home considering gas, fast food/easy food, daycare and all other related expensed of working (clothing required, etc). I figured I was bringing home 3.00 per hour. Then I sat down and figured out how much I could SAVE by cooking from scratch, raising a bigger garden and canning our food, maybe even working part time eves. I figured I was a LOT better off financially NOT working - not to mention the time I would have to raise my own child!

Now, raising my gs, I did not want to quit work, but adequate daycare was hard to find and jobs became impossible to find. So I started daycare again - the best move I've made in a LONG time! But as a medium-high priced daycare provider in our area, I make not quite 113.00 per week, or 5,850.00 per year, not counting days off without pay, which amount to at least one day per month. Maybe a move isn't a bad idea!!!

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When our 2nd of 3 kids were born, we did our own 'cost study'.

I worked part time, had a great daycare provider, was making a pretty good wage (for the late 80's) and I really loved my job. The down side was that my dh traveled for his job ~ we decided that one full-time parent was better than two part time ones. When we ran the numbers, I think I brought home $100 a week after all expenses, so I stayed home. Not long after that the daycare was born, but that is another story

It comes down to choices and the difference between a 'want' and a 'need'. What one person considers a 'need' is a 'want' to another person.

The thing that irritated me about the article is how the only 'quality childcare' that is considered or quoted in these articles is center care. The most expensive of all options except for maybe a nanny.

I had to comment on this post, because I got this email from one of my dcmoms this morning regarding the same article:

"This article is ridiculous! Seems more like these women are looking for justification to stay home with their kids...which is fine, but own it and don't make up some thinly veiled excuse! Maybe we just have it so good and that this seems so far fetched. Then again, maybe these women feel for some reason that centers are superior to in-home options - which we know is not a proper assumption!"

I thought it was an interesting commentary coming from a working mom

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