What does it cost you for child care?

ldrosophila

I'm curious how much you have to spend for child care while you are working?

Here locally I've heard $500 a month!

Momf3boys

Oh, I could tell you horror stories. Right now I am paying $290 a week for an infant and a 10 year old before and after care...I was paying $400 a week until my oldest stopped going last June.

jaxbeck

Nothing now that they are all in school but before that, it was about $480 a month. I've heard of MUCH worse

cwolfman13

My two boys cost us about $1400 per month. The older they get, the cheaper it gets but I don't think ours gets down to $500/month. There are some daycares around here that would be that cheap, but we really like the quality of this place and they do a lot more than just "babysit"...they're really big on pre-education. My 3 y.o. already knows his ABCs and can identify those letters and counts to 50 among other things.

patrickblo13

This has been a common discussion recently in my house with a little one on the way...HOW THE HELL AM I GOING TO AFFORD THIS?!?!?

We have been looking at daycares and for the most part it is about $250/week for full time. This is our only option. We have explored having my wife stay home but when we bought our house we bought it based on us both working full time. I wouldn't be able to take on all of the expenses.

The only upside is my mother-in law and my mother are both retiring next year so we will be able to cut down from full time to a few days a week. I do believe the social interaction is important even at a very young age.

djeffreys10

My kids ride the bus to my parents house after school, and I pick them up when I get off work. So for me, it's free.

1PatientBear

3 yr old son, 1 yr old daughter = $1900+ monthly. That doesn't count additional fees at the beginning of each semester.

duckiec

We pay around 2k/month- that's for 3 kids in a home care place- 2 full day, one after school, plus transport from school by another provider. We live just outside a major metro area (Washington DC), and that's actually fairly cheap for 3 kids- many friends I know pay that for 2.

absmith_

There is a stay at home mom in the area who watches my 15 month old daughter for $200/ week!

Mcgrawhaha

i charge my husband his weekly paycheck... i figure hes getting a really good deal...

jasonp_ritzert

We go to a home licensed daycare for $30/day since she only goes 3x/week. But the weekly rate for her (under 1) is $120/week.

NoMoreJellyRolls

For my 3yr old I pay $340.00 a month... Pretty good deal at a Great daycare. Of course the way I had to get it started up was EXPENSIVE! I got her in on a waiting list, once you have been called, you have to enroll that day or they go to the next person. I was in an agreement with her other daycare. So I was paying for 2 daycares in Feb/March even though she only went to 1! Glad that's over!

ewarlow

Where I live its anywhere from 700-1000/month per child

I hate my life! lol

Jess830409

Here in Florida I pay $90 a week for 3 full days for my 4 year old
it is $110 for a full 5 day week

Shan790

going rate in my city (I'm a daycare teacher) is about $1200 a month full time for an infant, it goes down as they get older so preschool is about $950 a month.

Thats why most of us stay home after we have kids, it costs more for daycare than what we make here. I stayed home with my son, opened a home daycare and only took in kids before and after school for a few hours and made more than if I was working full time and paying for care.

HealthWoke0ish

I pay about $1k a month.

ETA: I think it's a great deal considering the 2-year old is there eight hours a day and the four year old is there for about 4.5 hours a day (the rest of the time in pre-school).

kaysmom13

$294/wk for my 6mo so about $1200/mo

frankiep73

We pay $150/week for our 2 year old, full time. That is average here, and we are in the south suburbs of Chicago, on the Indiana side. If we were to cross the border to IL, it would be double! This is what we paid a licensed daycare home, and now what we pay a SAHM to watch her. We don't send any food and she eats well there.

nikki2001

My daughter $85 week =$340 month
My son $81 week =$324 month so $664 monthly...basically another rent/mortgage payment! :sad:

LoraF83

We have always had our daughter in a home-based daycare, never paying more than $85/week ($340/month). We were fortunate enough to find providers who focused on learning and activities. And the fees included breakfast, at least 1 snack (maybe 2) and lunch.

At age 2, we also enrolled her in preschool, for an additional $72/month. She attended 3 years of preschool.

Now, she's in kindergarten and I'm glad to have that money back!

larsensue

I am extremely lucky. My mom puts my daughter on the bus and I can be home 5 minutes before the bus drops her off. next year she will be able to put herself on the bus. when she was not in school it cost me $32/day at a licenced day care and I know it has gone up since then....

Needachange84

I have a 5 yr old and before he was in school it was costing me $300 a month (which is not bad at all compared to some places). Then when he started pre-school, we got into an income based daycare and he was only there for 2 hrs a day so that was about $160 a month. Now we pay $200 a month and I still won't complain

djeffreys10

i charge my husband his weekly paycheck... i figure hes getting a really good deal...

Funny, my EX wife used the think that every dime I made was acceptable payment for her being a stay at home mom. I got a much better deal through divorce court.

BaackOnIt

$120/week or $480 a month for a toddler.

sevsmom

It's over $200 for infants around here. Thankfully I had my sister for my oldest and a friend from church for my 2nd....they were both under $100 a week!!! I pay $20 a week for my son to go to before school care now. I would have seriously considered quitting if I had to pay $200+ a week!!!

iamanadult

$700 per month for one child.

ItsCasey

I don't have kids, but my brother and his wife have a 3-year-old and a 5-month-old, and they pay $1200/month, but they live in a small town. I'm sure it's worse in bigger cities.

TheSlorax

$500/mo is cheap for infant care in my area of CA. My mom was a daycare provider for a very long time and before the economy tanked she charged $35/day per child (although she did give sibling discounts). After that she was lucky to get $25 with so many parents out of work.\


eta: one of the countless reasons I don't want kids..... childcare is a huge consideration.

DrunkenFaeGirl

I homeschool and work nights so thankfully I don't pay for childcare. I was an daycare/preschool teacher up until 6 years ago, however, and the centers I worked for all charged approx $250 per child over age 2, until they started K, per week. Younger than 2 was higher and over 5 was cheaper. Some offered sibling discounts but not all.

Holly_Roman_Empire

It costs me $172 a week for my 5-month old here in Austin, TX. I'm lucky I found my place because other places are upward of $220.

Mia_RagazzaTosta

Over the summer it was $310 a week for two school age kids. Less now because they're back in school

The younger they are, the more expensive they are.