Childcare over summer

[crisi]

SO TRUE!!!

people always talk of how kids get more expensive as they age up-when my kids went from daycare into private school the tuition DROPPED. what it cost dd to attend college was a drop in the bucket as compared to the same number of years of what we paid for daycare back in the mid 90's-mid 2000's. i wasn't a bit surprised when a number of people i knew who lost their jobs in the recession realized how much they were actually ahead not working and having to pay for daycare such that they opted to become sahp's.

We saved enough for private school college educations by moving our daycare dollars into 529s.

 

[smallsy]

SO TRUE!!!

people always talk of how kids get more expensive as they age up-when my kids went from daycare into private school the tuition DROPPED. what it cost dd to attend college was a drop in the bucket as compared to the same number of years of what we paid for daycare back in the mid 90's-mid 2000's. i wasn't a bit surprised when a number of people i knew who lost their jobs in the recession realized how much they were actually ahead not working and having to pay for daycare such that they opted to become sahp's.

So much yes! Our daycare/preschool costs are more than double our mortgage, and we’ve estimated that we’ll spend over 100K in childcare by the time they’re all out. Ooof! That’s a lot of missed retirement. I love that we get a whopping $1200-1400 back in taxes, as if that even scratches the surface . We already got a small relief when DS started school though and are pumped about our “raise” we’ll get when the twins are finally in school.

 

[kymom99]

So much yes! Our daycare/preschool costs are more than double our mortgage, and we’ve estimated that we’ll spend over 100K in childcare by the time they’re all out. Ooof! That’s a lot of missed retirement. I love that we get a whopping $1200-1400 back in taxes, as if that even scratches the surface . We already got a small relief when DS started school though and are pumped about our “raise” we’ll get when the twins are finally in school.

I paid 120 a week to a licensed daycare in 1999-2003 for an infant. Then I paid a private lady $15 a day for half days and free preschool through the public school system. So it varies greatly by state.

 

[wishuponastar1984]

There is a big difference between group care (bringing to someone else's house or to a day camp) versus having a nanny/caregiver for just your kids in your home. I used to watch two kids each summer for a family when I was a teenager in high school. It was a good job and many people wanted to poach me but I loved the family and they were super chill. I did have a car and drove the kids to activities. Part of the reason that parents wanted someone was so the kids weren't over-scheduled. Don't discount how long it will take out of your day to get kids up and out ready for camp or to someone else's house. Camps are also notorious for having additional fees (snack carts, field trips, etc) that can add to the costs. The family I worked for loved our arrangement. The parents left around 7am so the kids were usually still asleep before they left. We had our own little mini camp/schedule of activities. Making breakfast and lunch was always part of the fun and we would usually do some sort of baking activity at the beginning of the week which would be our treats for the week. Other times we would go to the park and play, storytime at the library, movies occasionally and sometimes it was just playing in the backyard with water toys. It was a lot of work but the parents got their moneys worth out of me. The kids had fun but it was also very flexible. She gave me a weekly budget for activities but she also gave me lots of freedom and trusted my judgement. I had the kids cleaned up and ready if the parent's wanted them dressed for an evening activity they were taking them to such as soccer practice, etc. Think about the price of your own sanity when comparing costs.

 

[angierae]

Do you have a Boys and Girls Club in your area? Their summer programs were a life saver for us and DD got to play coed baseball and soccer and all kinds of stuff all summer, since the games would be during the day.

 

[ClapYourHands]

On a similar note, a nanny is, by IRS rules - your employee. You will be responsible for filing employment taxes, paying the employers half of social security and all the rest. Legally, it isn't "slip someone $200 under the table every week and call it good" It isn't even "I'll just file a 1099." This can account for a lot of the disparity in pay as well - if someone is paying their nanny as an employee they might give you the take home pay number ($250 a week), but be paying another $100+ in taxes. Or they might give you the total out of pocket number to them every week.

This is a big part of the reason I don't have a nanny. I believe some sites like care.com will help set this up for you and you can pay through the website. But it's always seemed like too much of a hassle (and too expensive) to have a nanny, plus I like the socialization of daycare. We use a center for daycare, camps for the older ones in summer, and babysitters to fill in gaps here and there.

I have a great date sitter, and another who will do sick child care so I don't have to miss work when my toddler technically can't be at daycare but doesn't need parental TLC. Both of those are more sporadic than nannying, but I'm willing to pay more hourly for reliable adults with their own transportation.

 

[Patches Lee]

My first thought is HOLY COW that's alot but mine doesn't have a babysitter. DD10 goes to Girls Inc. summer camp, all June and July is $250 total. 6am-5:30pm opening times. Every day has a class/activity schedule. P.E., Art, computer, reading, ect. Optional swim day once a week is $2. They have two optional field trips during the summer is $35 each usually to a local art place or water park. They walk to the school across the sidewalk for lunch which school corp provides for free. For us it's extremely cheap compared to the local daycares @110/child in Indiana.

 

[mjkacmom]

My first thought is HOLY COW that's alot but mine doesn't have a babysitter. DD10 goes to Girls Inc. summer camp, all June and July is $250 total. 6am-5:30pm opening times. Every day has a class/activity schedule. P.E., Art, computer, reading, ect. Optional swim day once a week is $2. They have two optional field trips during the summer is $35 each usually to a local art place or water park. They walk to the school across the sidewalk for lunch which school corp provides for free. For us it's extremely cheap compared to the local daycares @110/child in Indiana.

Wow! My SIL lives in Indiana, so I’m aware how much cheaper things are compared to here, but our town’s summer camp program is $150 a week and is considered a bargain! The Y is $289 a week.

 

[EveDallas]

I will never, EVER understand people who want to cheap out on finding care for their kids. Sacrifice somewhere else - being able to leave your kids knowing that they are safe and cared for is priceless!

 

[Patches Lee]

I will never, EVER understand people who want to cheap out on finding care for their kids. Sacrifice somewhere else - being able to leave your kids knowing that they are safe and cared for is priceless!

The price you pay doesn't always mean safe or well cared for.

 

[Jen and Ashwin]

The price you pay doesn't always mean safe or well cared for.

@EveDallas

I will second this. We live in a higher cost area. The university childcare center (where I work) costs $1800 a month for infant care. We use a daycare center closer to our home that costs $1100 per month. It has the same national accreditation as the university center. The care and programming is definitely on par. From what I can tell, the people using the university center are paying more for a location convenient to work as well as the association to the university, which may be perceived by some as being better. My daughter is developmentally advanced for her age, happy and well adjusted. She also received amazing care when she had eating problems early on and needed more attention than some of the other babies in her class. I don't believe that $700 more per month would change her outcome or provide better care given my observation of both arrangements. We put that extra $700 to good use, which includes putting some of it towards her college fund each month.

 

[sk8jdgca]

Why not have the 12 year old do the babysitting course? You could hire a swim instructor to do lessons in your pool.