I was perusing Craigslist this morning and came across an ad for childcare for the next county over from me - they were offering full days for $50 per week.

That's 83 cents an hour.

Does anyone else see the problem with this?! Ugh.

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Yes and unfortunately it's happening all over. Moms get laid off of work or can't afford their daycare so they stop working or looking for employment and offer child care. Last year this time people were charging $140 - $170 per week. Now this year $85 - $100.

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Yep. We have a bunch of people offering $100-120/wk around here, as well as giving 1-3wk free as a bonus to signing up. I don't understand how they make any money after meals, supplies, etc.

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OH yes, there are quite a few providers in my area that offer childcare for $10/day. Some of them even provide meals/snacks at that price. I can't imagine that the care is very good--and given the writing level of some of those ads...yikes. Not someone I would want teaching my child--EVER.

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Lol I know! I hate to sound like a snob but I wonder about some of the grammar on those ads! What kind of parent would actually answer an ad like that!?

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Also not to sound like a snob, but...the kind that doesn't know there's anything wrong with the grammar/spelling/punctuation/capitalization?

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So, I couldn't help myself and I emailed this person. She told me that she "people are having a hard time, she stays home with her kids anyway and the extra money is nice". And no, that isn't her original spelling, grammar, or punctuation.

These people don't realize that if they don't NEED the money, they're doing more harm than good by offering these low rates. It just burns me up.

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I agree! lol. The kind of people who are just as illiterate as the one placing the ad. May they wallow in their ignorance.

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The ones who want cheap day care.

We all look down on these low cost providers but the truth is is that they ARE the day care providers of today. They are the most valuable child care providers in the US right now. Anyone who is willing to watch kids and not even break even much less make a living wage is going to be the most highly sought after provider for the masses.

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I just dropped my rates $10 per week trying to fill spots, if I don't get a hit in a couple weeks I'll have to drop them more. I can't afford to do it, but some money is better than no money at all, it really, really sucks.

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They also aren't childcare providers, they are babysitters. And if someone questions my rate I tell them that. They will say something like,... Well your rate seems high, I saw in the paper an ad for $?.$$ per week. I simply say, yes I'm sure you saw an ad from a babysitter for that much. I was uder the impression you were looking for a childcare provider. There are many types of care in our area. I am an early childcare educator. Here children are given opportunities for learning and exploring their world in a child centered environment by someone who has taken steps to learn as much as they can about how children grow and develop. I strive to provide a variety of things to enrich thelives of the children enrolled in my program including healthy meals, fun experiments in arts and music we explore science and language while taking time to get to know each child. If you are looking for a living room with a tv and a diet of processed foods, this is not the place for your child.

They usually agree at that point or move on to the cheaper care. I don't give it a second thought.

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Sub-par Daycare is sooo NOT valuable to me. I would go into major debt before I'd use a low-class Provider.

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