I live in Chicago and have been looking for a home-based daycare for my baby for when I return to work. He will be 3 months old at that time. So far, I have visited 3 places. One place was only $175 a week but it was dirty and rundown. The other two were nice and clean but charged $250-$300 per week.
Is it really going to cost me $1000-$1200 per month to go back to work? It seems like so much! I will pay it of course, because I want him to be with someone I trust, but still...that is more than I pay in rent for my two-bedroom apartment!
2007-07-23 08:29:18 · 19 answers · asked by KM 2 in Pregnancy & Parenting ➔ Newborn & Baby
in a large city ..sounds about right...i have a friend who pays about that for an at home nanny ( in a med size city), a 2 friends who pays 200/wk for an infant daycare (same city). maybe consider hiring a nanny for your house.
all and all i personally would hire the best help/provider i could possible afford..in the long run health of your chil..it will be worth it!
2007-07-23 08:41:44 · answer #1 · answered by tara t 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
If that's more then you pay for a two bedroom apt then that does sound like too much, but you don't want him in one that is dirty and rundown. I live in Memphis and for a home-based daycare I pay $100 a week (there are some cheaper but I had one bad experience and took my son out after a couple days), I priced regular daycares and for an infant in my area it was around $150 - that's half of what you mention but everything is cheaper in the south.
Have you looked into daycare's on the outskirts of Chicago? I'm not sure how big the area is but maybe if you could find a nice one not in Chicago you could save some money. Good luck, daycare is so hard to deal with; it's costly and you definately want the best for your baby. As he gets older it should go down in price.
2007-07-23 09:41:42 · answer #2 · answered by tracey 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
That really is how much it costs for infants. The price decreases as the child gets older. I've seen a lot of places for under 200 a week, but they were dirty and rundown like you described. I am a stay at home mom for now until I get through with college next year because of child care prices. It would cost me more than I made to send my son to daycare. A friend of my just worked opposite shifts as her husband, but then that would be hard because you would rarely see each other. I don't understand why the government pays for older children to have public schools, but not younger children. I'm sorry that prices are so high, and I know how you feel it is hard. If you make under a certain amount of money per month the Division of Family Services may be able to help you pay for part of your bill. Good luck, and Congrats on the baby!
2007-07-23 08:43:55 · answer #3 · answered by Pregnant with Baby #2 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I'm guessing in a big city like that it will be higher than most places, but that still sounds alittle high for home based daycare. Home based is normal cheaper than other daycares but this sounds about the same amount you'd pay for any other daycares. I'd say look around alittle more and if there is nothing for a better price that you can trust then you have to do what's best for your baby even if it's alittle high.
2007-07-23 08:52:30 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
The cost of living must be A LOT higher in Chicago than in Washington state. Infant care in a place my step-daughter applied to work at was $800 a month. I would look into a nanny. You can get one for about $700 a month, if you pay cash so they don't have to pay taxes on it. A lot of stay at home moms would gladly do this for that amount of money.
2007-07-23 08:51:39 · answer #5 · answered by Ryan's mom 7 · 0⤊ 1⤋
It is alot, but my understanding is that is about normal for Chicago, I live in a suburb of Chicago, it is sometimes worth it to go to a home facility. but they have to have excelnt references. My mother is a stay at home daycare mom and she usually 160 a week. For professional day care that is about right. If you do need to go back to work and do not have a choice there are goverment organizations that can help although I dont know what they are but you can go to the health department and they will help you. I also now that some local park districts have day care facilities at are very good and somewhat decent in price.
2007-07-23 08:55:19 · answer #6 · answered by mjoy2685 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
To me, that seems a little high. I have taken my daughter to a wonderful lady that only watches her and charges 150.00 a week. Before I came back to work, I really checked around and the prices went from about 100.00 a week to 200.00.
Of course, I was willing to pay the 200.00 if that was the best choice for my daughter. (We live in Arizona)
I would definitely rather stay home with my gorgeous baby girl, but there was just no way we would've made it work.
I would keep looking around and see what other figures you may or may not come up with.
2007-07-23 08:42:29 · answer #7 · answered by ladybug 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It's kinda like that out here in Cali so I'm not surprised at all if it's like that somewhere else.
Try and see if you qualify for gov't childcare vouchers. I know, from a friend in the business, that the state'll pay for your child to be in daycare while you work.
(I wouldn't pay $175 for a dirty place either. That's nasty!)
2007-07-23 08:45:01 · answer #8 · answered by ♥☺ bratiskim∞! ☺♥ 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Most of the daycare's in my area (Gainesville, FL) run about $180 a week (including the extra nice ones).
From my understanding, home daycares are supposed to be even cheaper.
I don't think $300 is reasonable in my area.
2007-07-23 08:33:34 · answer #9 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 0⤋
I guess it depends. If that's what the cleaner, nicer places are charging, that's probably just what it is in your area. For here, that is ridiculous though. At the local daycare, they charge $34 a day for my toddler, it is only a couple more dollars a day for infants. (for a whole day - they have separate hourly rates) I personally only pay $20 a day for my regular sitter, who watches my daughter in her home.
2007-07-23 08:44:48 · answer #10 · answered by angelbaby 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋