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Daycare Center and Family Home Forum>How!?!?
alyssyn 02:55 PM 08-11-2010
I was just looking in our local paper and saw child services offered at home for $30.00, yes, $30.00 weekly! How and what type of care can you offer for that type of weekly amount? Just curious.
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MyAngels 03:07 PM 08-11-2010
Originally Posted by alyssyn:
I was just looking in our local paper and saw child services offered at home for $30.00, yes, $30.00 weekly! How and what type of care can you offer for that type of weekly amount? Just curious.
That's just crazy, isn't it? I would imagine it's either someone who just doesn't have a clue about what's involved in the day-to-day operation of a quality program, or someone who's planning on offering a teaser rate only to jack it up once they get some families enrolled. Either way it won't last, and hopefully in the interim it won't hurt other, more realistic, programs in your community.
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momma2girls 03:07 PM 08-11-2010
OMG!! Where do you live? I see cheap daycare offered around here for $75 or $80 a week!!
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kidkair 03:10 PM 08-11-2010
Maybe it was a typo?
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MN Mom 03:12 PM 08-11-2010
It depends on the persons reasons for providing care, and if they are curriculum based. I have been charging $50.00 per week/child. I, however, am not doing care as a sole base of income. I am doing it as a favor to a family my husband works with...and now for their relatives who are just getting settled in at a new job. I get all my meat for the cost of processing (whole pig is about 100 dollars, half cow is aprox the same). My veggies are all home grown. I can them for the winter supply. I bake most of my snacks. Cereal, milk, and some snacks (crackers etc) are my only food cost. My electric hasn't gone up, nor has my heat in the winter. 3 kids = 150.00 / week = guaranteed grocery money or emergency money (and we've had a couple). Come tax time, with 4 children of my own, and deductions, I probably won't have to pay much in (if anything) .. so it will be mostly profit = extra income. I'm done end of August though, I've saved half of what I've made since January so will have bases covered if I do have to pay some taxes on my income.
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alyssyn 04:30 PM 08-11-2010
Originally Posted by Iowa daycare:
OMG!! Where do you live? I see cheap daycare offered around here for $75 or $80 a week!!
I'm in Northeast MS. The average center rate around here is $55.00, $65.00, a few maybe $75.00.
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AfterSchoolMom 06:14 PM 08-11-2010
Wow - for a 9 hour day, that would be 66 cents an hour!!!
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QualiTcare 08:56 PM 08-11-2010
i recently got out of the daycare business...

before i told the parents, i searched craigslist to see if i could help them find a new provider when i broke the news.

i had one parent who had two kids - but i only kept one of them cus she couldn't afford both.

i was keeping the ONE child for $250 a week - and this girl i found on facebook said she would keep TWO kids for $100 a week!!!

she was paying me 250 cus she had a few days where the hours were odd and we agreed on that price. but still - this other girl was willing to do the same job/hours for TWO kids for less than half than i kept the one.

it IS crazy that ppl will watch kids for nothing. i think ppl who will do that are desperate and uneducated - in fact, the are BROKE and can't or don't want to get a job.

that's JMO though.
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momofboys 04:49 AM 08-12-2010
Originally Posted by QualiTcare:
i recently got out of the daycare business...

before i told the parents, i searched craigslist to see if i could help them find a new provider when i broke the news.

i had one parent who had two kids - but i only kept one of them cus she couldn't afford both.

i was keeping the ONE child for $250 a week - and this girl i found on facebook said she would keep TWO kids for $100 a week!!!

she was paying me 250 cus she had a few days where the hours were odd and we agreed on that price. but still - this other girl was willing to do the same job/hours for TWO kids for less than half than i kept the one.

it IS crazy that ppl will watch kids for nothing. i think ppl who will do that are desperate and uneducated - in fact, the are BROKE and can't or don't want to get a job.

that's JMO though.
It is crazy! I recently saw an ad for someone to watch 3 for $130/week?!?!?! I can't imagine doing it for so cheap. But keep in mind it may not have anything to do with lack of education. It may plain & simple have to do with the need to survive. If you had no income, your husband lost his job or maybe you have no husband than this may be the only reasonable way to earn $$$ without sticking your kids in childcare & paying too much $$$ at a job that won't pay the bills after childcare is deducted. I don't think I could ever go that cheap & it is crazy but when you have nothing you are willing to go cheaper & cheaper. At least that's my opinion.
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legomom922 05:07 AM 08-12-2010
People can afford to do it cheap if they are not a business, and are not relying on the money to pay their bills. My Mom did the same thing only because she loved children, and it gave her something to do and a few bucks to buy some new lipstick...
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Momof2Boys 05:15 AM 08-12-2010
A lot of times you get what you pay for..

I found a lady offering childcare for only $15 a day, and I thought I would check her out since I had exhausted all my other options in finding care for my boys. I could see WHY she was only asking $15 a day! She wasn't licensed, her house was TINY, she took on too many kids, and she wasn't even observant of my three year old jumping alone on the trampoline while she stood there and talked my ear off about things completely unrelated to why I was there!

I am not saying that lower prices automatically mean lower quality childcare, I have just found it to be true in my experiences. Hopefully the lady you saw the ad for has a great reason for being able to offer care for so cheap and is able to still offer the children a lot at that rate!
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momofboys 05:21 AM 08-12-2010
Originally Posted by Momof2Boys:
A lot of times you get what you pay for..

I found a lady offering childcare for only $15 a day, and I thought I would check her out since I had exhausted all my other options in finding care for my boys. I could see WHY she was only asking $15 a day! She wasn't licensed, her house was TINY, she took on too many kids, and she wasn't even observant of my three year old jumping alone on the trampoline while she stood there and talked my ear off about things completely unrelated to why I was there!

I am not saying that lower prices automatically mean lower quality childcare, I have just found it to be true in my experiences. Hopefully the lady you saw the ad for has a great reason for being able to offer care for so cheap and is able to still offer the children a lot at that rate!
$15-20/day is still considered within normal range for some parts of the country. I am in Ohio & most providers around me & centers too charge between $15-30/day. I think it totally depends on where you live.
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Momof2Boys 05:28 AM 08-12-2010
Originally Posted by janarae:
$15-20/day is still considered within normal range for some parts of the country. I am in Ohio & most providers around me & centers too charge between $15-30/day. I think it totally depends on where you live.
That's very true!! Around here, the average daily rate is $30-$35 a day, and sometimes up to $80 for 2 kids (depending on what that provider charges per child)! So $30 a day for TWO kids sounded like a steal to me
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DCMom 05:44 AM 08-12-2010
Originally Posted by legomom922:
People can afford to do it cheap if they are not a business, and are not relying on the money to pay their bills. My Mom did the same thing only because she loved children, and it gave her something to do and a few bucks to buy some new lipstick...
Exactly. This is how I started~I was a sahm who wanted a little extra spending money and playmates for my kids. I watched two nieghbor kids, full time for $75/wk cash. It worked out well for both of us at the time.
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AfterSchoolMom 06:16 AM 08-12-2010
Do you think these people have contracts, or are they just at the mercy of the parents?

DCMom, when you started, did you have a contract? Just curious.
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MN Mom 06:47 AM 08-12-2010
Originally Posted by :
Originally Posted by QualiTcare
i recently got out of the daycare business...

before i told the parents, i searched craigslist to see if i could help them find a new provider when i broke the news.

i had one parent who had two kids - but i only kept one of them cus she couldn't afford both.

i was keeping the ONE child for $250 a week - and this girl i found on facebook said she would keep TWO kids for $100 a week!!!

she was paying me 250 cus she had a few days where the hours were odd and we agreed on that price. but still - this other girl was willing to do the same job/hours for TWO kids for less than half than i kept the one.

it IS crazy that ppl will watch kids for nothing. i think ppl who will do that are desperate and uneducated - in fact, the are BROKE and can't or don't want to get a job.

that's JMO though.

Doing day care for a cheap(er) rate does not = uneducated. Making blanket statements in regards to someones education (especially if you do not know said persons) is quite unbecoming.

I charge $50.00 per week per kid..does that make me uneducated? No. There are a plethora of reasons someone would do day care cheap. While some of them may be lazy with no education, it does not mean ALL people who charge significantly below the national average are uneducated.

Statements, such as the ones quoted, are one of the primary reasons so many of these threads turn into witch fests. It leaves a rather sour taste in my mouth, in all honesty.
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missnikki 07:14 AM 08-12-2010
In my experience, some of the respectably educated people can be lazy, too. I've seen some kids right out of high school that can run circles around them. The burn out factor is higher among those who have been around a long time.

This is not always the case- just pointing out that lazy does not correspond to uneducated.

As far as rates go, I expect that by paying more, my child would come home with artwork, be tired from playing hard, be fed well, and have needs met. By paying less, I expect a roof, a TV, and some cuts and bruises. If you want to know how these people can offer such cheap care, visit the program before judging education/ motivation level.

Which begs a question:
Would you allow another provider to visit for comparison reasons?
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momma2girls 07:43 AM 08-12-2010
I know the going rate where I live is around $100-$150.00/wk.per child. Now the daycare centers are normally $150.00-$210.00/wk. per child.
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MommyMuffin 08:24 AM 08-12-2010
I have seen some really low rates out there as well. It is making me nervous because there is no way I can afford to compete with that. I have seen quite a few that have lost there job from the recession and now are doing daycare. Great for them but for me who has dreamed of doing this for quite a while its depressing(I am willing to quit my good paying job, trade in my nice new car for an older van, give away my pitbull) to do something I love.) I guess in a few months when I open I hope my background as a nurse will help me get clients but I cant charge that cheap, no way no how.
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momma2girls 08:57 AM 08-12-2010
Originally Posted by MommyMuffin:
I have seen some really low rates out there as well. It is making me nervous because there is no way I can afford to compete with that. I have seen quite a few that have lost there job from the recession and now are doing daycare. Great for them but for me who has dreamed of doing this for quite a while its depressing(I am willing to quit my good paying job, trade in my nice new car for an older van, give away my pitbull) to do something I love.) I guess in a few months when I open I hope my background as a nurse will help me get clients but I cant charge that cheap, no way no how.
I am a nurse as well- I quit to stay at home over 6 yrs. ago now. Do you have any families yet? I will tell you there is so much competition all over- I don't know how the providers are doing it on $80/wk I really don't!!
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MommyMuffin 10:59 AM 08-12-2010
Originally Posted by Iowa daycare:
I am a nurse as well- I quit to stay at home over 6 yrs. ago now. Do you have any families yet? I will tell you there is so much competition all over- I don't know how the providers are doing it on $80/wk I really don't!!
I have one toddler signed up and I have an aggressive marketing plan, buisness cards, t-shirts, sign in yard, flyers, any and all online advertising I can afford. I am praying for everything to work because if it doesnt I will have let my family down and we could lose car/house ect. But I am not backing down I am going to do this with a positive attitude and be as ready as I can!! wish me luck!

I have a feeling as time goes on hopefully jobs will open and those providers that arent in child care as a career will find new jobs and those that have made child care their passion will be successful! I am very optimistic about this I know, but I have to be because I cant give up now!
I havent started advertising yet because I am still waiting for the inspection and I didnt want to put money into brochures and stuff because it would be wrong advertising myself as licensed when I am not yet.
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