More day care

[judecorp]

Ugh, I wish I was independently wealthy and could just stay home with my kid.

I spoke to a woman today about her add on CL. She is a homeschooling mom who is looking to do child care. She has two children (9 and 4) and takes them to various homeschooling groups and activities (museum, theatre class, etc.). She is super crunchy and eats healthy food and does not watch TV for the most part. She sounds very invested in her kids.

She also would want $100/week more than we're currently paying. It's a lot of money, but it also mostly one-on-one care. No other kids. No schedules. Lots of crunch.

I am meeting with her in person on Friday. I can't believe I am considering a nanny situation. I can't believe we could possibly be spending that kind of money. Ugh.

Comments

[(Anonymous)]

You probably already checked this out, but if not:

http://westernmass.craigslist.org/kid/791472820.html

I'm in a similar boat, stressed out and horrrrified by some of the options. Hope you find something.

Kathleen

[judecorp.livejournal.com]

Yeah, Jen went to that woman's house and she said it was dark and dirty, and the woman didn't engage Punk at all. :(

[(Anonymous)]

Ugh. I HATE this. Right now our BEST option is in Hadley (we're shooting for N'hampton), seems a tiny bit homophobic and has guns on the premises. The sad thing - WE ARE CONSIDERING IT.

[judecorp.livejournal.com]

YIKES! Guns in the house would freak me out.

Hadley's not too bad, though. Cute town. But I do worry about homophobic vibes. I sorta got them at the TV house but tried to just push it off.

There is a nice center in Northampton (Dolphin Daycare) but they are usually booked for infants FOREVER. I was on the wait list for a little while but then found my place in Amherst and loved it, so I got off.

[tea-soaked.livejournal.com]

Crunch is good.

[ladygreyy.livejournal.com]

Wow. Good childcare IS pricey but it sounds worth it in how much less WORRYING and unhappiness you'd be dealing with.

[siercia]

It is a lot more money, but J's new gig is coming with a fairly significant raise, if I remember correctly. If it's enough to cover the increase in daycare costs, while it's a bummer to "lose" the extra money, it's gotta be worth it to get J into a job with a future that she's happy to go to every day, and to maybe get even better more personalized care for August.

The transition is hard, of course, but it sounds like it will be worth it in the end.

[judecorp.livejournal.com]

The thing is, we actually won't be bringing in much more money with Jen's new job. Since she won't be doing the part-time/evening gig anymore, we're losing that money and what she makes at FT at the new place is just about what the previous FT plus the PT was netting us. (Does that make sense? I feel like I'm rambling.)

I hate money. I am so tired of living hand to mouth all the time, with nothing to put into savings or retirement. It's hecka stressful.

[hetterrific.livejournal.com]

My concern would be that if she is taking her kids to these various activities for homeschooling, there might not be a schedule, but it means that naps could be in strollers or car seats or interrupted because they have to go to a class or event or something.

[dustyskinandall.livejournal.com]

and you still wouldn't be spending the gas money to take her to the other day care and back... so maybe the $100 would be worth it for that reason too?
I dunno, I guess you will know more when you can talk face to face.

[whuffle.livejournal.com]

Childcare is pricy, we agree. We're going to be strapped tighter than a straightjacket to pay for the childcare closer to work. The trade-off is that we won't be paying for gas and parking as part of our commute any more, we'll feel better about the care our kid is getting, we'll get to spend more time with our kid each day, and we'll be able to visit him at lunchtime because its a short walk. For us, all of those things are worth more than any pricetag. So we'll suck it up, revamp our budget, pull in the slack, and cope.

[calledmara.livejournal.com]

I will be your nanny!

[judecorp.livejournal.com]

I'm not sending my kid to the west coast! TOO MANY DIRTY HIPPIES!!

[sarahaubry.livejournal.com]

I don't know if you're publicly saying how much you are paying for care right now, but since i happen to know hoe much you are paying, i would say that $100 extra is too much. one-on-one or not......that's too much. you would be better off hiring an in-home nanny who will clean your house and do your laundry too for that much money. for realz.

FWIW....i charge 150 a week. and he is the only kid.

[mtgirl.livejournal.com]

Have you tried sittercity.com ? I have been using it for about a year, and I have been really pleased with the website organization/information and the nannies I have found. It also has a nifty calculator that tells you what you should be paying someone in your area, etc. I have had no problem finding really great nannies, even for temporary situations, like summer. You can do background checks right on the site, as well. You can also post a specific job that you are looking for, and the nannies will apply to you. They protect all of your personal information, and although I pay for the service, it has been worth it!

You might even find a nanny for a while, until you find the just right situation. We have always used nannies, and I always assumed that they were more expensive than my friends' daycare. We even paid our nannies really well, and we still found the price to be comparable or less than daycare.

It might at least take some of the rush feeling off for awhile. Child care is so very hard to find. I will be sending good thoughts your way -wish I could send a nanny!

[judecorp.livejournal.com]

I'm actually registered on sittercity as a sitter. :) Private sitting is pricey around here (usually $10-12/hour) and while it might be less for a full-time gig, it hasn't been when I've looked.

I would love that sort of arrangement, but I can't swing it. At that cost, I might as well stay home!

[amyura.livejournal.com]

Sounds a LOT like our nanny situation, except that even though it's $100 a week more than we paid last school year, it's only $50 a week more than we were planning on paying and it's about $300 a month LESS than two in day care would cost.

I hate hate HATE how kids are like good healthcare-- a luxury :(