How Much Do You Pay for Daycare for Your Toddler?

Hi S., my 2 year old girl goes to Learning center in Palm Harbor Monday thru Friday full days and we pay $155 a week. the only thing we provide is lunch. i think is a lil bit high but the center is so nice i thing is worth it. i think that you pay waaaaayyy high for in home daycare, they are supposd to be cheaper than day care and learning centers. she is ripping you off. if you want info about the center my girl goes to send me massage on private and i will be happy to give you some info :) good luck.

It depends on where you live. In Seattle its usually between $200 and $250 a week ($800 - $1000 a month). There is no upper limit though, I have friend paying $1800 for a really excellent preschool/daycare, we pay $1000. Food is usually included.

wow! I live in mid-MO & own an in-home daycare. Been doing this for years now.

I charge $80 per WEEK for age 2 & up. $90 per week for infant care. I provide all meals/snacks + provide all supplies for preschool/KG prep. My going rate is median compared to the licensed facilities vs. the unestablished home-based daycares. Some of the daycares just starting out are charging as little as $50/week...which is absolutely insane!

When I began this venture, fees were easier to handle. In today's economy, for my little town.....some of the parents are hard-pressed to have this income. Makes my job much harder, especially when I know that one of my moms is cleaning houses to pay me. :(

As for my policy regarding attendance vs. fees: If I take off, you don't pay me. If you take off, you still pay me. The exceptions are federally-recognized holidays....Christmas, Labor Day, etc. Most of my families are on the same schedule as my DH...so it's rarely an issue....except for days such as Black Friday. That's my scheduled day off! Some parents pay me, some don't. As a family, we take off 2, sometimes 3 weeks per year which are also without pay for me. Sucks.....

The reason "why" I have a daycare is so that I am available before/after school for my family. Now that my younger son is 15.....it's time for me to head back to an office. This will be difficult for me, because I'd much rather work with kids than witchy women!

I pay $100 a week for a montessori daycare. When my son was with a friend who watched him every day for at least 8 hours, I paid $70 a week.
That is horribly high, she is ripping you off!
And yes I pay if my child is sick.
My montessori school provides breakfast lunch and 2 snacks included in that price!
When my son went to the nanny, I provided food.

Edit - I just looked what everyone else said - wow I have it good!

A Normal day in child care averages about 9-10 and yours is there about the right amount of time. Child care is by the week, not by the day. She gets paid whether he is gone all week, even one day out, or there every day. You are paying for the slot.

In Oklahoma, the state has a subsidy program to assist lower income families with child care expenses. I am putting in a link to their provider pay scale. It can be confusing so I'll try to explain it a bit.

In Oklahoma we use a STAR system to designate the quality of the facility.

1 STAR is minimal, they have little or no training, they don't have all the qualifications of items needed to supply adequate care yet but may be working on building up their supplies.

1+ STAR is the rating each and every child care facility starts out with. They can be licensed and chose to sign a contract with the state or not to receive payments from then for the care they might provide for these lower income families.

2 STAR Usually means the director has a college degree in the area of child development or education. They have teachers in every classroom that are certified and that have been working for several years at least.

3 STAR is the highest. They have very good criteria and curriculum and have many staff and employees extra during the day to help.

An Enhanced are is a county with at least one large town in it. We are an enhanced county and out biggest town only has about 30K in it. An enhanced area gets paid more per hour.

http://www.okdhs.org/NR/rdonlyres/2E81F###-###-####-487B-...

For a 2 year old child:
In a 1 STAR home they would get paid $12.25 per day or $61.23 per week.

In a 1+ home they would get paid $17.25 per day or $86.25 per week.

In a 2 STAR home they would get paid $21.25 or $106.25

and finally in a 3 STAR home they would be paid:
$118.78

So I think she is extravagantly high.

It's going vary widely depending on region.

Here, we paid about the same amount for a daycare center. In home daycares run from 100 a week & up here, for all day care. It also depends on the provider, as to whether or not you pay if your child misses time. Most centers will charge if your child is sick.

I'm in CA and I pay $150 week for my almost 3 year old and have paid the same for him since he was an infant. That includes diapers, snacks, and meals and included formula when he was younger. I think it's reasonable, my daycare has been watching my kids since my 5 year old was an infant, so I got a really great rate and she is awesome! Yes, I pay for sick time, vaction, etc. I don't get any discounts except for one week per year we can take vacation and pay 1/2 week. It's worth it, she's great and deserves much more than $150/wk.

What???? I pay 175 for 2 toddlers.

$30 for 6 hrs a day or $45 for anything over 6 hrs a day. They provide snack but we have to send in lunches. If there is a state of emergency we dont have to pay for the day but if our child is sick or it is a holiday we have to pay for the day. Also vacation we have to pay 1/2 the rate to "hold our spot" even though there is no wait list :)

Daycare/preschool in Maryland - it costs $290 per week for my 3 year old. No discounts for sick days, snow days. 1 week per year we can get 1/2 price tuition for 1 week if we go on vacation.

Rates vary in a huge way. But policies don't vary too much. Most of us can not afford to have our income going up and down like a heart monitor. So we do charge a consistent amount, every week, no matter what. Some providers though, have no problem with charging half on days they are gone or half if they are gone for a whole week. It all depends on the circumstances.

I am honest with my parents. If I have a parent that is occupying a time of day or day of week that I am rarely ever full, then I figure I'm not turning others away because of them. So in those cases I give some on weeks they are gone. But if they are occupying a space that I get calls on a lot and I turn people away because of them, then they must pay all the time no matter what. It's all about supply and demand no matter what business it is.

Hi S.-

You will see that many people answered who live in other areas and unfortunately, South Florida is just super expensive for well, EVERYTHING!

That being said, my children are in daycare at First United Methodist Preschool in downtown Ft. Lauderdale. I am going to paste in here their link so that you can see the prices - it does not include any food. Hot lunch that is catered is available for $2 per day. They are fully licensed, insured, etc. The daycare is open from 7-6. Oh, and we get one week of vacation that we can keep our children home and then not pay - otherwise, we pay 51 weeks a year or you can lose your spot.

While in home daycare does have its perks - if she is not licensed then it is a buyer beware situation!

Here is the link: http://www.preschoolftl.com/enrollment.html

Let me know if you have other questions and good luck! C.

An in home day care is going to be less than a school. Rates will depend on licensing too, and most importantly, location. You should really be checking with people in your own area instead of nationwide. In California, it seems like a perfectly reasonable rate. I pay a whole lot more for an established preschool.

We pay the weekly rate no matter what....so when we are on vacation a week, we pay. If he is sick at home with me, we still pay full amount. What you are paying is in the range of several daycares I've looked at but it seems high for in home care. It seemed that when I was searching the in-home daycares that they were far less than the centers - most in the 125/week range. I am only guessing that it is because they have less overhead costs. However, if you know this woman, trust her completely and have full confidence in her ability to care for your little one, that is what matters and this is worth a lot.

That seems fair. This a little over 3 dollars an hour. I pay $600 a month for my 2 1/2 year old at an in-home daycare by one of my good friends. I pay her on holidays and if my kids are sick.

$70 per day including morning snack, cooked lunch, and afternoon snack.

When mine was going to an in-home day care, I paid $125 per week for after school pick-up and care. That amount included an afternoon snack. I had to pay when the child was sick, for holidays, and when I took her out to go on a weeks vacation. The only time I didn't have to pay was once per year when the daycare closed for family vacation. So. if she was closed, no pay; other than that, you pay to keep your spot

i pay $115/wk
the only way it's prorated is if he misses 3 days in one week then it's half the normal price. holidays don't count so i pay for a full week during those times. the daycare provides breakfast, lunch, snack & i don't supply anything - actually not supposed to. but he goes to Little Tykes daycare, not an in-home daycare. $170 is high...to ME. but i think that's just about right overall! sounds like you did good!

That is how much i pay. I pay for when he is sick AND when on vacation also. the rate never changes....
she provides all meals and snacks. is also an inhome daycare

Lat year, my daughter was in a daycare center in central New Jersey and it cost about $330.00 a week.