INFANT DAY CARE IN SEATTLE! Help :/

Another mom said something similar - but look into local community colleges or vocational schools. I finished my final year of high school at Lake Washington Technical College, which had an early childhool education course. They had a day care on site, which provided VERY low cost child care while I attended classes, but it also helped train the others who were taking the ECE course. A win-win for everyone!

Call Child Care Resources! They provide free consultation and lists of child care family homes and centers in your area. They are a wonderful non-profit organization dedicated to helping parents find quality child care in King County. Call ###-###-#### (weekdays) or visit www.childcare.org.

Good luck!
C.

You didn't say whether you need daycare for while you're in class, or for working after school.

The rest of this please feel free to ignore...It's based off of 2 ideas; that you're looking for childcare for while you're in school, and two, that you're just starting to research. Neither of those may be the case.

Some highschools still have teen parent programs, if yours doesn't, but fewer and fewer have kept them over the past 10 years. Another option of course, is to finish your HS requirements at a community college...and then jump straight into college. While a little older then you (I was 22), I started school when my son was 2 months old. It actually "paid" more, & I literally couldn't afford to work. Between student loans, grants, & scholarships I "made" about 1200 a month...and I only had to arrange daycare for while I was in class. And, obviously, I could choose my class times & days. Of course, if you can get into the UW they subsidize childcare...which is how we put our son through preschool...but that's another story. In any event...if any of this is interesting to you shoot me a message. It's like leaping through hoops of fire, but the payoff is great any way you slice it. I won't go on about it here though, when my assumptions may be totally incorrect!!! :)

C. - It's very difficult to figure out how DSHS can help you and what they can help you with. They should be able to give you a list of daycares in your area that take DSHS vouchers. Also, don't just put her in one because they take the voucher, make sure you check it out! If you don't feel comfortable with their child-adult ratio, don't put her there. Just because you have DSHS does NOT mean that you should get less care than someone who can pay cash every month.
Are you on Food Stamps? WIC? Take Charge (free birth control, although if you are on Medical through the state you should still get medical for one year after the birth of your daughter. Take Charge is for AFTER that year is up. They will make sure you have yearly PAP's, Birth Control of your choice (iud's, deprovera, pill)?
It's very hard being a new mom, and I can only imagine that it is even tougher when you are a high school student. I applaud you for taking a very tough situation and trying to make it work. STAY IN SCHOOL!! Your education can make your life easier as you get older. You will get better jobs and be able to provide more for your daughter. Since you are young, a mother, and living on your own a lot of schools have scholorships. Take advantage of all of it! I would rather have my tax dollars going to a young mother trying to make a go of it then a crack using baby makin' machine on HWY 99.
L.
Been there, done that, it's HARD!! You may always email me if you have any questions, I got the inside scoop since I was on all of those programs in the beginning of my 1st child's life.

Hi C.,

Congrats on your baby! Have you spoken with the social worker at your high school? They have TONS of local/community support systems they can refer you to.

You can also contact www.childcare.org --they are a child care consortium for King County. If you call them, they can help you right over the phone, they will be able to tell you if a provider works with DSHS.

One thing to note, lots of day cares that accept infants may require the infant to be at least 6 or even 12 weeks old.

Blessings to you, your boyfriend and your baby!

Hey, best of luck to you.

I'm pretty sure the kindercare near northgate has openings. I don't know much about them except that i had my daughter on the waiting list and recently i've gotten some info from them about openings (which we don't need now) - so maybe go investigate that?

I don't know if Seattle has any programs that can help you out, but, if you are in highschool, perhaps your guidance counselor can help you find programs designed to help moms in your situation. Its probably worth asking. (I didn't grow up here, but where i grew up there was a highschool program that had on-site childcare.)

Oh, and congratulations!

C., you are AMAZING - and you have so much FUN ahead -- little girls ( and boys too) - are a blast. You will find a lot of help on this site- and others' will know the answers to your question - Blessings, dear heart- you and your family are in my prayers,
Old Mom
aka - J.