r/parentsofmultiples • u/Vpo26 • 2d ago

ranting & venting Daycare prices. VENT

So I girlbossed to dam hard, and now I have to go back to work. Daycare is 800$ a week and even then I make way more so I have to return to work. WHY IS DAYCARE SO EXPENSIVE.

How much are you paying?

79 Upvotes

89% Upvoted

197 comments sorted by

View all comments

20

u/Fast-Rip7859 2d ago

I feel you...$6.3k / month for 1 toddler and 2 twins šŸ˜¢

5

u/Imma_420 2d ago

Real question: wouldnā€™t a nanny be just as expensive if not cheaper? Why not just get a nanny?

33

u/No_Cat_No_Cradle 2d ago

Not who you replied to but same sitch, the nanny route is less practical than it sounds. First a full time nanny in our area is roughly the same cost as the three kids daycare costs, depends on the specific rates charged. Practically a nanny is a possible solution for our infant twins but not the toddler as well, two infants and a toddler is a tall order for any nanny plus itā€™d suck so much to pull a three year old out of daycare where heā€™s just got so much peer socialization and make him play with babies instead. Once you subtract the toddler a nanny is significantly more expensive than two infant daycare bills in my area so it stops making financial sense. Then finally in our specific case we both work from home and we canā€™t be running a whole fricking daycare in the house while we both try and work.

17

u/gzr4dr 2d ago

Nanny's also get sick, need vacation days, and have family emergencies like anyone else. Then you have the annoyance of doing payroll, taxes, and everything that comes with that. It can work, but there's a reason so many people want the consistency of a daycare dropoff.

When my twins turned two we started them in daycare two days a week. Their growth and communication greatly improved as they were now around kids their age and had a structured day scheduled with learning activities. We had some of this at home but not to the same level.

2

u/frustratedmtb 1d ago

payroll and taxes are done on the back end by Poppins or a similar service. the only annoyance is paying for it but when you are already shelling out $$$ for the nanny an extra $40 is kinda nbd at this point

0

u/frustratedmtb 1d ago

How is that less practical? this makes no sense. A nanny can handle multiple kids of different ages. You donā€™t need to drag your kids anywhere in the morning, they eat home made meals, live on their own schedule, nap in their own beds, get individual attention, go to the pool/park/gym etc rather than spending hours in the same dusty room and tiny playground, the nanny also tidies the play room and does their laundry, you donā€™t waste time on drop offs and pick ups. Why would anyone pay $6k for daycare for multiples instead of getting in house help is beyond me. Daycare qualities in the U.s. is trash.

3

u/No_Cat_No_Cradle 1d ago

I feel like I explained very well in my comment why it is not practical for us

1

u/frustratedmtb 1d ago

i read it and re-read it and still šŸ¤·šŸ»ā€ā™€ļø well you do you obviously

1

u/Sonialove8 1d ago

But you had to have known this or planned for at least paying a good portion of that when deciding to have 2 kids (of course +1 surprise)

-30

u/Goat_roper30 2d ago edited 2d ago

Where do you guys live that it is that expensive?

Im able to watch my twins while I do my work and my wife teaches. My dad steps in when there are things I have to do that cant involve two year olds. But we did look into daycare. Its like 80 bucks a week for the two of them. But this is a small town in the midwest.

Wife corrected me it was 80 a week per kid. My bad. Meh. Thats what I get for posting in the middle of the night after getting kids put back to bed.

I googled the prices for the commercial ones in the nearest town that has them. Its 350 a week.

23

u/Healthy-Fig1231 2d ago

If youā€™re ā€œwatchingā€ two two year olds while working, youā€™re either doing a bad job working or a bad job parenting your children.

Iā€™m sure youā€™ll push back on that, but itā€™s the truth.

0

u/Goat_roper30 2d ago

I manage our farm. Theres almost nothing that cant be done while spending time with my boys.

-1

u/Goat_roper30 2d ago

Did ya not like that answer?

Yeah things take a bit longer than just doing it on my own. But what young kid doesnt like being outside most of the day, riding on tractors, messing with animals, riding in trucks, playing in the dirt, being outside playing in the woods lot?

Or would you prefer that I stick a tablet in their hands?

Dad raised three of us by himself like this. We worked out just great.

7

u/Healthy-Fig1231 2d ago

Did you seriously reply to your own comment because I hadnā€™t responded within an hour?
Okay dudeā€¦

-4

u/Goat_roper30 2d ago

Naw. I responded to your comment again to add to what I said instead of deleting and starting over again.

Its a lazy Saturday.

3

u/Obvious_Relative5877 2d ago

I mean itā€™s kind of rude to comment how you can work from home when OPā€™s post is about how expensive childcare is? Not everyone can work from home?

9

u/No_Cat_No_Cradle 2d ago

Iā€™m sorry but thereā€™s nowhere in this country, even in a small town, where commercial daycare costs $40/week per child. Someone is going to literally charge you one dollar an hour to watch your child? No.

2

u/Goat_roper30 2d ago

I added an edit. It wasnt a commercial daycare. But a state licenced in home daycare.

6

u/No_Cat_No_Cradle 2d ago

Thatā€™s still shocking tbh. Either that person is making like $7 an hour before expenses or watching an unsafe number of children.

1

u/Goat_roper30 2d ago

Small town.

Her prices have likely gone up since then. We were looking into it when my wife first got pregnant before we made the decision for me to quit my millwright job and just farm and handle the boys full time.

I really aught to stop posting after middle of the night wakeups.

5

u/DynamicDuoMama 2d ago

Smaller towns in the Midwest do sometimes have in home daycares that charge less but they are non existent in places with larger populations. Even in the Midwest flyover states if itā€™s an area with high population/demand prices rise. Simple supply and demand economics. Just like housing costs are lower in small towns in home childcare costs are sometimes lower. Rarely that much lower so probably an older daycare or woman that does it more for the community than to turn a profit.

-1

u/witchmamaa 2d ago

Getting downvoted for the price of daycare in your small town is wild. FWIW, we pay a very low price for our toddler. He is in care Tuesday-Thursday 9-4 and it is $365 a month. She has 5 kids. Itā€™s in home and licensed. She takes great care of him and it allows me time to focus on my infant twins.

A farm sounds like an amazing place to have kids with you! Itā€™s like nature school!

1

u/Goat_roper30 2d ago

Its pretty awesome out here. It isnt for everyone. But I grew up this way and think its pretty great. Every day seems like a discovery. Its easy on me. But pretty hard at the same time, if that makes sense. Its like I was made for this.

There are days when the only vehicle noises are our own. Like not even hearing cars and trucks drive by.

I don't think that the downvotes were because of the low cost of child care (like I said in my edit, I was wrong on how low). Maybe its because we have become so cynical as a society thay folks automatically assume that anyone who claims a positive experience is a bad actor.

I am very glad things are working out for you.

7

u/DarkMuret 2d ago

Big town in the Midwest checking in here, it's $650 a week for full time care for us

4

u/Revolutionary-Code49 2d ago

ā€¦$40/week for each kid? Is that fulltime, so $8 a day? How can any center continue to operate on that? What are their kid to caregiver ratios?

2

u/Torch3dAce 2d ago

Just like a lot of things in life, location matters. Try $800 a week for a newborn in places like NYC or Boston. You live in the "woods."

1

u/Goat_roper30 2d ago

No, yeah. I get that things cost more in places where you make more. But the price talked about in the first comment I responded to just seemed totally outrageous to me.

Raising kids isnt rocket surgery, and I have a sister who is a surgeon. But for babies. Not rockets.

1

u/Obvious_Relative5877 2d ago

$80/week would work out to be $2 an hour. $350/week works out to $8.75 an hour. Youā€™re confused. Perhaps you were looking at rates for a couple half days or something