Daycare questions-please help! (x-posted)

MarinaAndCharlie'sMommy · #1 July 18th, 2010, 06:12 PM

Hey ladies, for childcare me and a friend have been watching each other's children and the arrangement has worked okay so far. However, my friend's job is very unstable right now and it looks like she will be losing her job soon. If that happens we will probably not be watching each other's children. I need a sitter or daycare for 2 days typically and rarely 3 days a week. Some weeks it would only be one day. How much would you be willing to pay for part time childcare? My SIL is asking around for us since she knows more people than we do, but I'm not sure how much we should offer to pay. Any help/advice would be greatly appreciated!

MommaLee · #2 July 18th, 2010, 06:35 PM

at the daycare we are enrolled, it is $410/mo for 2 days and $510/mo for 3 days a week. There is a girl here that I talked with about watching Julie out of her home and she charged $20/day but I really didn't feel comfortable w/her. Depending on the age of the person and the number of times you need them...I personally would pay up to $50/day.

I will be looking into different parttime options come the new year...dh's mom decided she could watch Julie 2 of the 4 days we need care for but I have to pay for fulltime care or lose my spot ($630/mo) since it's short notice.

DeepSouthMommy · #3 July 18th, 2010, 07:23 PM

Wanted to pop in and say that the area you are in makes a BIG difference in this. For instance back home in south Louisiana a good daycare will run you roughly $150-200 a week. However, here in the Dallas/Ft. Worth area if you want a good daycare, you are looking at $500 a week. $250 a week here and you are taking chances with your child's safety, I'm not kidding. You can find in home sitters here but even then you are paying roughly $200 a week for them and from all of my friends that I've talked to here you WANT to pay this much. While there may be a decent few who charge less, most who charge less are generally shady about their care of children. So you can see the cost varies greatly just between two cities/states.

I hope that you are able to find a good daycare in your area. Btw, something to keep in mind is that you can check with CPS for information about complaints against different daycares/sitters in your area.

jensma · #4 July 18th, 2010, 07:41 PM

We charge 265/wk for full time infant care.

Jodi0804 · #5 July 19th, 2010, 06:07 AM

Definitely depends on the area and if its a daycare or in home place. See if they would do hourly for you or a part time status. My sitter is $175 a week for an infant so it breaks down to $35 a day. This was the best place we found and the best price so we really lucked out. Most places give you a rate. Be sure to clarify when talking with places that it would be part time and could vary. Some places are ok with this and others may try to charge you a set rate a week regardless of when she is there.

ca_dawson · #6 July 19th, 2010, 10:41 AM

We have Lexi at La Petite Academy (I'm pretty sure they are all over) and our parttime rate is $110/ week for 2 days a week, so $55 a day for us (but I think the daily rate drops a little if you have them in more often. This is actually on the expensive side for our area, but it's more of an education based program rather than just day care. Lexi has already done her first art project! Lol! They do need to know a week in advance, but we do our schedules a month in advance so that's not an issue for us. All their instructors are CPR certified and certified in early childhood education. And best of all, my sister works there! (she's going to school to be a teacher) Depending on the setting, I would think $40-50 a day is reasonable.!

Cheryl_W · #7 July 19th, 2010, 11:58 AM

In this area, $500/week for full-time infant care is an absolute bargain (which is pathetic, because most people working the jobs that they need daycare for don't make $500/week around here... UGH)

Just be aware that it may be harder to find spots for her, being so young.

If you want infant daycare around here, you have to get on every waitlist you can find - 80% of daycares in my area refuse to take children under 2, and probably 70% refuse to take even kids over 2 if they aren't potty trained. It leaves a very small margin of spots available for infants...

Daycare in this town is so pathetic. I hope you find something better!

MommaLee · #8 July 19th, 2010, 12:53 PM

I wanted to ask but didn't get to cause I was trying to rock someone when I responded, but the lady that watches Marina....could you pay her until she finds another job?

Cheryl_W · #9 July 19th, 2010, 12:55 PM

^^ Great idea, if she's up for it! Plus it will help her with income a bit while she's down and out, and you know she's good with your little girl. I'd say, no harm in asking!

Why didn't I think of that? You're awesome, Lee Ann!

MarinaAndCharlie'sMommy · #10 July 19th, 2010, 01:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MommaLee

I wanted to ask but didn't get to cause I was trying to rock someone when I responded, but the lady that watches Marina....could you pay her until she finds another job?

She's trying to save her job right now and they are wanting her to change her schedule to weekend nights (she's a nurse working 12 hour shifts too), but she isn't able to work every weekend night because she is super busy with family stuff. Because of that she is going to try to see if she can work Sunday nights and a weekday night. If that happens she will be too tired to watch Marina and her little boy. Plus if she is working nights during the week she will need to sleep during the day and she wouldn't be able to watch Marina anyway. It was a great thought though.

Carla-thanks for the info on La Petit, it was one that I looked at online and I really liked the looks of.

I guess for now I will just wait and see what happens with my SIL's friends. My SIL said she could watch Marina short term if my friend isn't able to anymore. This is all so stressful!!

ca_dawson · #11 July 19th, 2010, 06:40 PM

That is stressful! I love La Petite if you're considering going there. They send home a daily sheet everyday with every feeding, nap, activity and diaper change and whether it was wet, dirty or dry (they check every hour at least, usually sooner if baby is fussing) They also provide the formula if that is used and food when she starts eating solids. I'm pumping and sending bottles of breastmilk and they are really good with that as well. Also every month I fill out a sheet of what she's doing developmentally, her likes and dislikes, what she's eating, etc. and they base what they do off of what you send them. It makes me way more comfortable this way because I can let them know exactly what I want done with my daughter which is very important to me! We love it. Having my sis is an extra bonusm but now I'd feel comfortable having her there in the long run. They keep her routine the same as I do on my days off with her, so there's no confusion there either.