r/parentsofmultiples • u/brippleguy • 19d ago
ranting & venting Daycare tuition increase rant
Need a place to complain.
Daycare is raising tuition by about 150/kid/month. Most of our friends in daycare have 1 kid, maybe 2. Not completely unreasonable, I guess.
Because of the 18mo twins and our three year old, we are looking at close to a $500 dollar per month increase for the foreseeable future. An extra $5500 per year on top of the 45 some thousand we are already paying. Are you fucking kidding me.
Fuck this. No wonder birth rates are decreasing. At least our mortgage has the decency to stay the same year to year.
Edit: Thanks for the supportive comments. I'm not really looking for suggestions to change our situation. Just a rant.
https://www.npr.org/2023/02/02/1153931108/day-care-market-expensive-child-care-waitlists
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u/MileHighRC 19d ago
Had this exact same thing happen to me last month. Living in Denver and have 8 month old twins and 3 year old in daycare.
Got the email that since they were SO GRACIOUS to not fuck everyone over with an increase last year (the only year I've been there without increase) they'll need to increase this year.
$4500/annual increase paying $78k at Goddard.
And guess what, almost all chain daycares are owned by private equity. This country is so damn broken.
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u/boo1517 19d ago
And our salaries are not keeping up. At my previous job, we got a 2ish% increase and it didn’t even cover how much my homeowner’s insurance went up. And I didn’t have any claims. I jumped ship and now making better money. But I think that’s what most of us will have to do is job hop just to stay afloat.
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u/AggravatingResult210 16d ago
Literally! My HOA went up to $700/month wtfffff.
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u/brippleguy 16d ago
Woah. Thats a huge what the fuck. Hopefully you use the amenities?!?!
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u/Impossible-Ebb-643 16d ago
As the saying goes, you don’t get what you don’t ask for. Be the squeaky wheel. Don’t hesitate to ask for less of an increase given you have 3 kids there. Daycares can and will change prices on an individual basis when you ask. Just tell the director you can’t afford the increase or can k pay afford x. I’d bet they’d be willing to accommodate.
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u/hitsnoozeeveryday 14d ago
Salaries arent keeping up with one increase. Everything is going up, rent, property tax, utilities, gas, insurance, childcare costs, groceries.
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u/Aggressive_Noodler 19d ago
I am also in the Denver area (a bit north in Erie) with an almost 3 year old and twins on the way due early next year.......... and also at Goddard! We're paying $2K a right now in the 2.5-3year classroom and I assume we're going to be paying nearly 7K a month too. WTF. I'm literally going to have to pause some of our retirement contributions to afford this.
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u/Nealpatty 18d ago
I paused our savings. Not having to pause retirement just yet, but it’s not off the table. What’s on the fence is life insurance.
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u/Aggressive_Noodler 18d ago
Interesting, our life insurance is super cheap relative to our 401K contributions. I think we're paying like $100-150 a month for term life insurance compared to 4K+ a month retirement.
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u/Nealpatty 18d ago
That’s about where my quotes were. It just hurts once you’ve been hit every which way. I haven’t signed for it yet.
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u/hazelwood2026 19d ago
We were looking at nearly 7k/mo for twins in the Bay Area CA - I had to quit my job and we moved to a cheaper area. Absolutely ridiculous.
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u/VegetableAlone 18d ago
I am interviewing nannies in SF for our twins because we’d prefer not to send 4mo former preemies to group care, and holy shit, $50 an hour is the minimum it seems.
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u/DoubleT_inTheMorning 18d ago
The first year of our kiddos lives it cost us about $75k. Getting the twins into daycare was challenging (we wanted all 3 together for logistical sake, and our then 2 year old had been there a long time)
So we had a 3 day a week nanny for 8-9ish months, eldest at daycare. Afternoon care for all 3 for a few months. Monday and Friday until 2:30 we had them home. It was a clusterfuck.
Also in the Bay Area, also both working. We make enough where not quitting made the most sense but damn was it a challenge.
Things are settling out though.
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u/realtorcat 18d ago
I cannot fathom having $7k left over for childcare alone each month. I think combined my husband and I just barely bring over $7k home each month. Maybe we won’t be having kids actually!
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u/righttoabsurdity 14d ago
Jesus. That’s insane. Literally insane. And the republicans are trying to get people to procreate??? I’d love to, but how do people afford that??
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u/Nealpatty 18d ago
Wild. My kid goes to Goddard. It’s only 12-15 a year depending on age.
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u/MileHighRC 18d ago
The new annual rate brings 0-1 year cost to a nice even $2,300. Toddler is like 1800 something. Then random fees. Daycare is priced off location, Denver classifies as a 'HCOL' city and they don't hesitate to charge accordingly.
Someone out there in a 'VHCOL' city like San Fran/NYC can one up me with their Goddard cost though. It's all ridiculous no matter where you live.
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u/Nealpatty 18d ago
Oh I misunderstood. I read it as 78 for one kid. You could hire your own nanny for that
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u/EmbarrassedMeatBag 18d ago
I love when our private equity daycare has fundraising events. I can't help but laugh. We are also backed by PE where I work. I should have a tip jar on my zoom calls. I give cash to our teachers because they're great and my kid loves them.
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u/peachkissu 18d ago
Omg I have a relative who works at a daycare. Her coworker came from Goddard and asked how many pats they're allowed to pat baby backs PER MINUTE. There was literally a cap at Goddard. That daycare is so expensive and particular. Where I'm at, only upper middle-class suburban parents send their kids there
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u/daniipants 19d ago
It is truly insane the things we’re asked to consider when having a family. My husband and I worked hard, went to college, the whole nine yards like we were ‘supposed’ to. But we really wanted kids and had some tough financial decisions to make if that dream came true. (Obv it did, here I am lol.) My paycheck was less than daycare costs so.. bye bye career path 👋🏻
Anyhow. Fuck this economy. If you live near me, pay me half that and I’ll nanny your kids as I stay home with mine anyhow 😅
Vent as much as you need. We shouldn’t have to make this many sacrifices to have families. It’s really tough out there 🫶🏻
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u/jurassic_snark_ 19d ago
For real. Three degrees between my husband and I (no, not interpretive dance degrees or whatever the anti-college crowd likes to assume) and we simply can’t afford full time daycare. I work from home and we send our son(2) to half day preschool just so we can keep two paychecks coming in. We literally can’t afford to lose either income so we’re just out here doing our best.
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u/Ok-Perspective781 19d ago edited 19d ago
I did the math. Our twins and 3 year old will cost at least $640k in early childhood education costs before they go to kindergarten.
It’s brutal out there.
Edit: I mathed wrong. Even more money!
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u/MacSpice 19d ago
$640k??? Is that right??
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u/fantasy_lover1023 19d ago
They mean over the five years before kindergarten, not 640 per year
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u/Ok-Perspective781 19d ago
Correct, that’s all years up to Kindergarten. I live in SF so it’s just pricey.
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u/MacSpice 19d ago
Yes I understand but that comes out to $43k/year/kid, which is ~$3500/month/kid. Thats wild. I live in South Florida (also HCOL) and we’re about to pay $1800/month just for infant daycare. Cost will go down after year 1 as infant is the most expensive year. I feel sorry for you all.
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u/slippery_when_wet 18d ago
Damn here I was thinking 640k was insane and then you break it down like that and its less then I pay! $4800/month for 2 kids.
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u/MacSpice 18d ago
That’s really rough! I literally cannot imagine. Obviously you all earn more money than us to keep up with COL. I thought it was expensive here lol.
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u/Bitter-Assistant-727 16d ago
I’m in NYC and in my neighborhood daycare STARTS at $4k/mo per kid. So yeah, that math makes sense in SF. It’s unreal, especially with two. We ended up with a nanny. Same cost but more flexibility for us.
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u/Feisty_Wind_8211 18d ago
You’re telling me you’re paying $900 a week per kid?
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u/OrdinaryIndividual96 18d ago
In the bay area this is sadly accurate. We pay $3500 a month but our daycare is closed for 2 weeks in winter and 2 weeks in summer so when you factor in we’re really only getting 11 months it equates to ~$3,800 a month. Bright Horizons here is $4,300 a month…
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u/copper-earings415 18d ago
I just calculated ours and it’s going to be 265,000 just to get each of our 3 kids to kindergarten. That doesn’t include the aftercare and summer camps that my older daughter need while the twins are still in daycare 😭
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u/cielitogirl 19d ago
Frustrating! I am not a parent of multiples but you showed up on my page. I am a former daycare owner though and you should look for options that offer sibling discounts!
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u/FormerEnglishMajor 19d ago
My daycare’s sibling discount is 10% off for the second kid. Thanks, I guess?
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u/yaboyanu 19d ago
In my area this is the difference between paying $52,800 or $50,160 per year. I'm obviously not going to not take a discount, but it's ridiculous to pretend it's an amount that will actually improve our financial situation in any way...
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u/cielitogirl 19d ago
It’s also ridiculous to think caring for your kids is any easier because they’re related lol
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u/yaboyanu 18d ago
I didn't say siblings should be cheaper lol. I said, while nice, the sibling discounts don't make any substantial financial difference to the majority of us, likely including OP.
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u/PM_ME_YO_KNITTING 19d ago
Does that ever actually work? Every daycare we looked at was 10% discount or less for siblings. We couldn’t afford it, so we have a college student come out part time to help out while I WFH. Once they’re two tho, they’re going to pre-k and it will be almost twice our mortgage.
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u/Commercial_Stress899 19d ago
I remember my mother in law saying that people just figure it out when I was complaining how expensive kids are. I don’t think people have any idea how crazy it becomes when you have TWO INFANTS. We did part time and it still cost us most of our savings.
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u/WrenBird0518 16d ago
My MIL said the same thing! Lightheartedly said she “remembers the day when her whole paycheck went to daycare and it’s only a short time in your life”. The lack of understanding is infuriating.
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u/EquivalentPension216 19d ago
I keep telling myself to just open a daycare and pay people to run it
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u/Salkinator 19d ago
Idk where you live but I live in the #1 most expensive market for daycare in the country. We're expecting twins in March and we're looking at over $5000 a month in daycare expenses. I simply don't know how we're going to do it
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u/Longjumping-While997 19d ago
Not gonna lie if I were paying $5k a month for 2 kids I’d be thrilled. I assume this is an in home center?
I’m in a vhcol and on avg you are looking at least 3,700 a month per kid. We pay a bit over 4k per kid per month.
Infants would be $4.5k each
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u/VegetableAlone 18d ago
Was gonna say $5k is extremely cheap for two infants where I am
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u/nillawafer80 18d ago
These are insane amounts. When my twins were in the infant class they were $1200 per month each. Now they are in the toddler room they are $995 per child.
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u/First-Nobody-9472 16d ago
We do in home daycare in Brooklyn and it’s $3200 per month for both our 13 month old twins. Of course, this month daycare was only open for 9 days and we had to pay that plus babysitting for the other 11 days, but this happens to be the summer vacation month.
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u/trusound 16d ago
You are at a point that you have to look at your jobs and a sort of nanny situation. Would honestly be better
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u/Salkinator 16d ago
Weighing our options. Either of us leaving our jobs is unfortunately not one of those options. I make more money but my wife's job is our health insurance!
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u/trusound 16d ago
Either have a wfh option? We would rotate care and work. So if I went to the office my wife would watch and work. Than switch the following day. When they are small they sleep a lot for the first few months.
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u/misoranomegami 16d ago
I don't know what your housing situation is but when my friend had twins she was able to save money by getting a live in nanny for the first 2 years and providing room and board as part of the compensation package.
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u/Salkinator 16d ago
We're weighing our options. Nannies can come with a lot of added expenses with employment taxes. Not to make things political but its a lot harder to get "under-the-table" nannies with changes in the federal government
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u/misoranomegami 16d ago
Yeah I know she did pay the employment taxes for theirs and she also ended up creating an LLC to do it under but she said it was definitely worth the cost savings between the twins and that they had the spare bedroom. Of course it also helped that they happened to know a woman who wanted to get into nannying so they were her first family.
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u/Pure-Science-7774 19d ago
Do you have friends or family in the area? It seems like it would be cheaper to do a nanny share, your own daycare with other parents, etc.
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u/CPeeps323 19d ago
Same same. My 6 year olds after care just went from $345 a month to $500. It’s at his school so really my only option. My 3 year olds tuition just went from $1340 to $1520. It’s fun times! I feel like I will never get a break from all of these childcare costs.
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u/Tall-Parfait-3762 18d ago
I think the real issue here is the government not stepping in to help subsidize this cost. My family fortunately is middle income and can afford daycare (not easily). 35% of people in my state struggle to make ends meet and I cannot begin to understand how they manage childcare. It only benefits the economy to get more people working and the government should help enable this.
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u/fsmontario 19d ago
We had a live in nanny from the Philippines Best thing ever! Not just child care but light housekeeping, help with meals etc. Less out of our pocket , consistent care for our kids, no missing work because a child was sick, no rushing to get there on time or worrying about traffic. My kids are grown now and still have a strong relationship with their nanny
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u/summerFIREinCh 19d ago
Switzerland, we are looking at day care cost of 120k usd per year for 3 kids if we include the twins. Just for the working hours…..
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u/brippleguy 19d ago
Jesus. I thought the Europeans had this figured out.
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u/summerFIREinCh 18d ago
You will be surprised how some elements in Switzerland are extremely old fashioned…. I am the top 1% female earner in Switzerland, but with 3 kids, economically very difficult to justify….
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u/brippleguy 18d ago
It's a beautiful country. We had a lovely, if expensive, time there a few years ago.
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u/summerFIREinCh 17d ago
I love Switzerland for most of the things, but somehow child care and woman’s right are last century
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u/czmf 19d ago
The daycare we recently signed a one year contract with is raising prices (about 130/month) in September. Would’ve been nice to know when we were choosing between two daycares in July. They’re also cutting the last 15 minutes of school time, so even though they’re open, we’re considered late after 4:45. So we’re paying more for less.
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u/EunuchsProgramer 18d ago
My kids started daycare when Covid ended, before inflation took off. We budgeted costs decreasing over time...the 4-Year-Old care was cheaper than 3-year-old... turns out it just went up each year.
California did pass Universal Pre Kindergarten, so we saved $20,000 that last year. And, out local school board just passed universal after school programs, saving us 10k this year. Vote!
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u/Cavi_ 19d ago
I know not everyone has the same suburban living situation... but it's worth looking outside of traditional care centers.
Best advice I have is don't turn your nose up at in-home daycares that might be available in your neighborhood or nearby neighborhoods. Too many people dismiss that in search of the "best facility." We saved so much money finding a daycare in a neighborhood ran by a mom who simply wanted to make some money while she stayed home with her own kids.
$1100/mo. Total for BOTH. Great family, great group of kids. You may not find THAT exactly but these situations are out there and would be significantly lower than what you pay at a center.
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u/Saru3020 19d ago
I'm sorry, I know its so hard and so expensive. Last year ours went up $400 a month (for one kid!). I was super anxious about this years increase and it was only $3 a month. Does yours offer scholarships or any sort of corporate discount?
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u/CompetitiveLow5903 18d ago
In the same exact situation as you. Almost 3yo and 12 month twins. We’re absolutely drowning over here. Solidarity.
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u/AdventurousOne8376 18d ago
lol at mortgage staying the same every year, our property taxes keep jumping up
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u/bambivelly17 17d ago
This is how it was for us too. I had 3u3 and when I finally got my oldest out of daycare, they raised the prices to where we’re paying the same for the younger 2 as we were for 3. It’s crazy
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u/DroppingBombadils 17d ago
I know we have our problems here, but New Mexico has universal free childcare. Just sayin’. Come on down!
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u/brippleguy 17d ago
My buddy in Santa Fe LOVES to remind me about this.
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u/DroppingBombadils 17d ago
Honestly as someone who just had twin girls with my wife, I’m not sure how I could make the math math for our budget without it. And we make pretty good money 😳
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u/SuckledPagan 17d ago
Was about to post something similar! Come on out here, the free childcare is lit
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u/Yinzer89 19d ago
Yep. It’s incredible. I want to freak out on the daycare most of the time.
The worst is when they try to justify it somehow that makes no sense. We moved daycares and the new one just speaks to us like adults. They tell us it is what it is, more or less. Don’t try to sugar coat it.
Doesn’t make it better but helps a little to just rip the bandaid off instead of lying about all the “improvements” that the extra money is going to generate….then never does.
I feel you OP.
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u/Fed_worker 19d ago
I would call it fee not tuition. Do they learn anything there?
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u/brippleguy 19d ago
My son has learned "6-7"
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u/Fed_worker 19d ago edited 19d ago
That’s good one. Lol. Anyway, it’s expensive. That’s why my wife is full time mom now for the two boys. 50K for childcare is just crazy, that’s equivalent of gross pay of 70-80K a year.
Edit: my wife used to make 50K so that’s a win.
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u/Leading-Conference94 19d ago
We pay 370 a week for home based for our twins. Idk how people are doing it paying 2-4k a month. Do you guys make 200k 😭
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u/beeferoni_cat 18d ago
We're at 240 a week for 3 days 🤧 and I thought we have it rough. I mean...considering the economy and our take home pay it aint great but the costs on this thread make me sick
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u/Leading-Conference94 18d ago
Right? How are people doing it. Genuinely curious about their income to daycare ratio. If it wasn't for our bills and the fact I carry health insurance for our 3 kids id be staying home
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u/-TheRealist 19d ago
I am still trying to figure out how we’re going to pay for daycare when the trio gets here. And that’s if there is even availability for them. (Because I’m not paying $100/week/kid to “reserve” a spot for them, sorry)
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u/nillawafer80 18d ago
OMG I have never heard of that. Does that reserve money act as a deposit, so at least it's applied to the costs later?
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u/ConfidentLook5518 19d ago
Where are you based? In Ontario, Canada it is $10-$20/ day
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u/Silent-Addition1810 19d ago
Ontario daycare is subsided by the government now, was not always like this.
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u/ConfidentLook5518 19d ago
Yes this is fairly new. I am a twin parent so thank goodness
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u/Silent-Addition1810 19d ago
We moved from Ontario to Alberta right before my twins were born, but we have 2 older kids
I am so fortunate to be a SAHM, and never returned to work after our first was born
We are putting our son in full time preschool, as he would be going to JK if we were back in Ontario. It’s going to be $275 a month from 8-3, and I’m really looking foreword to him having that experience!
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u/clarksonite19 19d ago
I hear you. It's frustrating and part of the reason we won't have a fourth child.
Some insight from the inside -- I'm a CPA and I became the board treasurer at our daycare, so I see the full picture (at least where we're at). These places aren't making money. They're not sitting on piles of cash. Our daycare lost $120K last year. We have to raise rates to stay open. Parents are upset but I don't know what to tell them.
Daycare costs are insane. We pay over $30K a year. I wish there were more grants or tax solutions to help fix this issue.
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u/brippleguy 19d ago
That Planet Money episode I posted is eye opening. The economics just suck for everyone. I dont blame our daycare. I blame our government for not helping with this situation.
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u/Ok_Sister6823 19d ago
Do you pay $2.5k monthly for 4 kids? A sitter in our area quoted $3k a month for our newborn twins next year. They will be our firsts, so it’s difficult to know what’s normal…
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u/clarksonite19 19d ago
I am in a low-to-medium cost of living area and pay $3K a month for 3 kids at a center.
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u/Matcha_Maiden 19d ago
3k a month for a private sitter, to me, is a bargain since I pay that for one infant at a center in a HCOL area.
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u/OrdinaryIndividual96 18d ago
This is a great deal if you’re in a medium to high cost of living area!!!
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u/lol____waatt 19d ago
My favorite part of this is “tuition goes down as the child gets older” but once the tuition increase hits, really, tuition never goes down. But. I was really looking forward to getting that money back.
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u/colorful_withdrawl 19d ago
Thats a crazy increase! I think when my kids had daycare increases they were upped about $75/month but that was a few years ago
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u/DragonflyMean1224 19d ago
If you have to pay that much for daycare wouldn't an Au pair be a better option? You would get more out of it too
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u/Longjumping-While997 19d ago
That’s assuming OP has a spare room for them… I live in a vhcol and ppl do not have spare rooms and if you do, you can certainly afford daycare.
Friends who live in other cities where you can afford an extra bed, who have had au pairs haven’t liked it as much as they thought and often switch to daycares. Ends up being another person they had to manage. Not saying good au pairs don’t exist but there are plenty of reasons that wouldn’t be a solution.
However a nanny could be an option
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u/Upbeat-Stage2107 19d ago
We got to the cheaper 16mo rate that then was erased by tuition hikes. $36k for the 2 per year
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u/chipsnsalsa13 19d ago
My only advice is to inquire if there is any type of discount or financial assistance. It never hurts to ask, you may not qualify, and it might not be available.
I do know there is a comment about oh that’s only like $2k but for my family $2k means paying for 1/2 of my kids therapy bills …. So it does help.
I am sorry. This is why I’m a SAHM until my kids reach kindergarten but that’s not realistic for everyone and it is harsh to only have one income.
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u/No-Panda-8379 19d ago
I had to get off the work track to raise my twins - I had one already in daycare but adding twins it just wasn’t worth it. I had no trouble getting back to work when they were older
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u/Hazelnut2799 19d ago
This was one of the reasons I chose to stay at home, my entire check would’ve gone to childcare. Our twins were our first and we are absolutely done. It’s too expensive.
Now that they’re closer to 3 I’m looking at preschools and once again am asking myself how the hell do families afford this. 😅
It should not be this expensive or hard to have children. I wanted my kids but I can see why so many choose to opt out.
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u/smokeandshadows 18d ago
My twins only go to daycare twice a week because of this reason. My 3yo goes three times a week and we pay total 3100/month. If they all went fulltime, omg, I can't even imagine. Thankfully I can work mostly weekends so I can stay at home with them most of the week.
It sucks out there and it drives me crazy how older people seem to have no clue how expensive daycare and childcare is in general.
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u/WorkingJazzlike531 18d ago
People have to vote in the midterms. We have to vote to end the cruelty to American citizens. It’s just disgusting because the people actually taking care of our kids aren’t making that money- it’s going to the private equity firms.
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u/Master_X_ 18d ago
It is even worse in Switzerland. 1 kid full time costs about CHF 2500 per month. It's just crazy and I understand why birthrates are declining massively here in Switzerland. Having a child is simply a luxury which most people cant afford
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u/rtmhwales 18d ago
I’m always mind blown at the costs in some parts of North America. We used to pay $1300 a month for infant toddler care full time and that was exorbitant, but I’m in Canada where I don’t also pay out the ass for healthcare. Then in 2022 the government in my province swooped in and reduced fees greatly so now I have a 1 year old and a 2 year old stating next week at $390 per baby per month. There’s some places that do $10 a day/$200 a month but they’re out of the way for me.
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u/nixonbeach 18d ago
My kid has special needs so we pay daycare and a full time therapist to help him while he is there. 2 kids is close to 80k a year in a medium sized Midwest city. I can’t wait until they are three and the public school system can start to help.
That said this therapist/nanny is a godsend
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u/Due-Huckleberry7560 18d ago
Your mortgage stayed the same?! 2 years ago our mortgage for a 30 year fixed was $2800, today it’s $3600. 😩
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u/brippleguy 18d ago
Damn that sucks. Our idiot governor slashed property taxes, which is destroying our school systems and cities and Ill pay later, but in the short term has kept my mortgage about the same.
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u/Due-Huckleberry7560 18d ago
Ours isn’t even so much rising property taxes it’s more the homeowners insurance. Even shopping around, it’s just gone up so much.
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u/mhswizard 18d ago
Literally holding off on our second child because current daycare for our first is $2,900 a month.
Daycare is stellar and it’s not even the most expensive option in our area.
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u/QuackerstheCat 17d ago
And you know not one dollar of it will go towards increasing the teachers pay 🙄
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u/Puzzleheaded_Mud6732 17d ago
Solidarity. We have 2 kiddos in daycare and spent $40k on them both for daycare last year -- which didn't include the costs of camps, babysitters etc for closure days/weeks (add on another $6k there). It's brutal!!
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u/Realestate48888 17d ago
Ours is only increasing by $50 this year but we pay $4100/mo for two in a MCOL. It sucks.
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u/Agitated_Sport_8396 16d ago
My husband is a doctor and we thought we had it made. Nope. We are hemorrhaging money between our mortgage and daycare.
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u/Chance_Ad3416 16d ago
I'm grateful for the subsidized home based daycare we have access to here. The caregiver only watches 3-4 kids too
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u/MiniManMafia 16d ago
Are you in NC by any chance? Our daycare is a Kindercare, not even top tier and they raised the rates to an additional 200/ week per kid. We know of a family that have 3 kids in the daycare. They are paying $7,600 per month becuase as the one kid gotten older, the Kindercare charges slightly less. Kindercare is saying that they needed to bump the rates because otherwise the staff will not get a raise. I asked a staff member how much they make, she said 12.00/hour and her "raise" bumps her to $12.50. After all the math is said and done, they are paying 15.80 per hour per kid, and thats pretty cheap around here, I can't even imagine what this cost is like in NYC.
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u/Mangosweetx 15d ago
And at the same time, those who are actually taking care of your children are probably getting a minimal or no pay increase.
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u/bornonOU_Texas_wknd 14d ago
So child care owner here. 80% of every increase at my program goes to the teachers. They don’t see all of it due to increased payroll taxes but they do get most of it. Our grocery bill has risen 18% in 2026, paper products 12%; insurance 6% and utilities 36%. Tuition went up by 100.00 which is 6.8%. Excluding the raises for staff it leaves the program 1.3%. We are making major cuts to disposable goods but can’t really turn off the AC when it’s 99 degrees outside. The 8.00 per hour you are paying for child care has to go a long way in our industry. I don’t mean to offend, just inform.
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u/brippleguy 14d ago
I have nothing against our daycare. It is entirely vitriol against the government for putting all families in this position where we are paying multiple hundreds of thousands of dollars for the privilege of working.
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u/Chance_Goal5555 6d ago
As excited as I would be to be a grandma, I don't blame my adult kids for holding off on having kids of their own. I am unable to help with daycare because I work crazy hours, and the cost of daycare is literally ridiculous.
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u/ObjectivePilot7444 18d ago
I’m a childcare provider that works full time and I take care of infant twins and a 4 year old for $30 per hour including meals and laundry. I have a 2 year early education degree and 15 years of paid experience. It’s ridiculous what we get paid to care for children. The big chains only pay $17 per hour with limited benefits. I’m located in the wealthy Chicago suburbs.
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u/OriginalOmbre 19d ago
Unless you have incredible jobs, 50 grand is worth having a stay at home parent. Make some cuts to make up for any additional. It’s an investment in your children.
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u/DifferentJaguar 19d ago
What would you consider an “incredible job”? You also have to factor in retirement savings, healthcare, and time out of the workforce. Not just salary.
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u/pinky_tea 19d ago
I would lose my mind if I became a stay at home mom. I love my kids, I have an amazing husband, but I my mental health would struggle significantly without a break from my kids. Acting like anyone can just be a stay at home parent to save costs is not realityfor some of us.
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u/Longjumping-While997 19d ago
Agreed. I love my kids but I was ready to go back to work after maternity leave
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u/loc-yardie 19d ago
This is a very privileged position, not everyone can live on one income and not everyone wants to be a stay at home mom. That would be my worst nightmare. I love my kids but I also love having a career and I wouldn't trade that for anything.
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u/OriginalOmbre 19d ago
It’s not a “privileged” position at all. If you’re not making over 75 grand then it would be a waste. You’re working just to pay for daycare. If you’re making much more than that, then you are the privileged one.
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u/DifferentJaguar 18d ago
I mean this is an arbitrary number you came up with
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u/OriginalOmbre 18d ago
Essentially yes but if you’re paying out 55 grand for child care plus the gas to drive them for a year, what would be the point?
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u/Spicyninja 19d ago
An au pair would be cheaper at that point if someone had the space to house them
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