May Be Needing Sitter/daycare in About 3 Weeks to a Month

S., be prepared for sticker shock. I live on the SW side of St. Paul, and anything remotely near us (center & in-home) was $800-$1200/month for an infant. Your son is older, so it will be slightly less, but if you are looking at full-time care, I don't see you paying less than $500-$600/month. And part-time care isn't much cheaper. Since licensed daycares can only have so many kids in each age range, your kid is still taking up a spot, even if they are there part-time. The price quote we got for part-time care for our son as an infant was $600/month.

Is quality childcare worth every penny? You bet. In fact, I think daycare workers are underpaid. However, for what I was making at my job, daycare would have taken around 40% of my take-home pay! To put this in the perspective of an entire year, from January to May, my ENTIRE salary would have gone towards daycare costs. Doesn't make much sense to me.

The price quotes I've given above are for *licensed* daycares, and you definitely get what you pay for. For about 3 weeks, my son went to what we thought was a licensed daycare. She charged on the lower end of the pay scale. We pulled our son once it became clear that she was breaking the law in regards to adult/child ratios. We reported her to the county, and here she wasn't even licensed, althought she said she was. You can verify licensure with your county, but like a dummy, I took her word for it.

Then we had a SAHM come into our home. She brought her daughter with her. At that point in time, we only needed daycare two afternoons/week. We paid her $5/hour, with a minimum of $25/day.

Now, my husband and I both work unconventional hours at part-time jobs. One of us is always home with our son, and our take-home pay is the same as if we were both working FT and paying for FT daycare. And we get to be with our son.

Personal finances are a private, complex matter, but I would say that if you already have a gig that keeps your son out of daycare, stick with it. Or explore part-time hours, job sharing, working second shift--any "alternative" arrangements. I *do* realize that daycare is necessity for some--especially for single parents--but the whole concept is worth questioning. A great book that deals heavily with this topic is "The Two-Income Trap: Why Middle-Class Mothers & Fathers Are Going Broke". It is written by two working women, and rest assured, the central message is NOT "a woman's place is in the home", but it does question how things are today. Good luck.

Daycares are outrageous like pushing 200 a week and up probaly. Unless your a rocket scientist put it this way most or half of your paycheck usually.

If you are doing ok financially with being at home, then stay at home. I hated having a daycare raise my daughter I never saw her, my house was a mess, and I was to exhausted to enjoy her after work. I became a SAHM when she was 4 and now have another baby and love staying home I get to enjoy my kids, and they don't get as sick being in a center etc. I have horror stories about daycare centers especially the New Horizon in Eagan.

I currently pay 150 a week, but it is only for 4 days...this is for day care
for preschool I pay close to 1000.00 a month...

decide what your best option really is, when it is crunch time to find that day care it can actually be very hard especially when you are trying to get a good day care with a good payment...

I am having a baby in a few days and starting accepting kids into my own daycare in about a month. I am charging around $160/week. Just wanted to pass that on! Good luck!