The High Cost Of Childcare

Child care is a major expense in family budgets, often exceeding the cost of housing, college tuition, transportation or food. Unlike all other areas of education investment, including higher education, families pay the majority of costs for early education. A recent release, Parents and the High Cost of Child Care 2013 Report,by Child Care Aware of America provides information about the cost of child care from a recent survey of Child Care Resource and Referral (CCR&R) State Network offices and local agencies. Child care costs were reported for infants, 4-year-olds, and school-age care in centers and family child care homes. The report also compares the cost of child care to household income, expenses and college tuition.

According to the report, in Pennsylvania, the 2012 average annual cost for an infant in a child care center was over $10,000. In contrast, 2012 annual rent payments in Pennsylvania were slightly over $9,000 and 2012 annual tuition and fees at a public college were slightly over $12,000. A Pennsylvania family of three at the poverty level will have spent more than half of their annual income on center-based care for their infant, while a family of three at 150% of poverty level will have spent more than a third. Although costs were lower as a child aged, it didn't look much better for families. Those same families would have spent over 45% and 30% respectively for center-based care for a four-year old.

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Tis The Season...

I'm up on this Saturday planning my holiday 2013 events in advance to avoid chaos and a headache. With shopping, visits with my kids to Santa themed activities and multiple family functions soon ahead planning time and budget saves a lot of stress. During this busy time I allow parents to extend hours of care and/or add days and am even opening my door to limited hours of weekend care. Email for more info!

Montessori?? What do You Think About It?

Ok. First off if you know nothing about Montessori teaching methods take a quick moment to google/YouTube this way of teaching. Whatever is your preferred way of Internet learning. After being introduced to this method about 6 years ago I decided to incorporate it into the daily schedule of my new daycare. I am all for it, but institutions and daycares that are based fully on this method and don't seem to offer a young child everything they need to encourage creativity and imagination. Leave a comment and tell me what you think.

Small? Yes! Unstructured?? Absolutely NOT!

Think just because I only plan on watching 4 kids, max at a time, we are not going abide by a well structured, activity filled schedule? I believe that's even more reason to have age-appropriate fun planned throughout the day. It will be more focused, personal and controlled. That's just one beauty of in home child care.

The Babysitters Club

Babysitters are great right!? Young and active, very accessible, and in most cases dirt, dirt cheap! If you're lucky enough to find one with experience with children outside of sibling care pat yourself on the back. Babysitters are great for an occasional date night or for a quick errand run, however, when it comes to routine care you want your child to have access to as much structure as possible. A "babysitter" is never someone you should hire for full/part-time care, they just (in most cases) do not have the experience, the educational qualifications, or setting to help your child develop physically, socially, and encourage imagination.

Did You Do Your Research?

Ok! So your seeking quality childcare that's close to home, affordable, and promises to teach, love, and care for your child....And you come across "Sally Sues Daycare" ( Totally made up!). Here are some things you want make sure of:
Is the daycare licensed?
The state has a system set up in order to get licensed that includes multiple background checks and training.
How many years of experience with children do you have?
Being a mother does not count!! Yes, this is a plus when it comes to knowing what a mother expects when it comes to caring for a child but how many years and what qualifications do you have as far as teaching, dealing with outburst, and creating daily age-appropriate activities?
Has the setting of care been inspected and evaluated?
You want your child to be in a safe environment!! Toys cleaned on the daily basis, furniture safe and age-appropriate, baby gates in place and outlets covers in use, etc.
OH! But "Sally Sues Daycare" only charges 1/2 of what other providers charge......
You get what you pay for!
Be patient and don' settle. Choosing the right childcare is very important.