Child Care for WOTHM's

[AmyBoz]

What type of child care do you use if you work outside of the home? Do you have someone come in, do you send the children to someone's home? A center?

My oldest went to someone's home until she was 3, and then we sent her to the local daycare/nursery school at a local Presbyterian church. We loved both situations.

My middle went to the home daycare, but then the woman's situation changed, and we had to send him to a center. When he was 2 and 1/2, we toook him out of the center and sent him to the same nursery school/daycare that dd had gone to. (You have to be 2 and 1/2 to go there) He also loved it.

My youngest went to the same center my middle went to, and then at 2 and 1/2 switched to the nursery school/daycare. He'll be in Pre-K there next year. He has loved, loved, loved it.

We've been lucky with our daycare situations. It's expensive, yes, but I am confident, all day, that they are being well cared for.

[McD]

With Wesley, I answered an ad in the paper and found an amazing in-home child care provider close to home. She charged a very inexpensive monthly price, but I gave her cash bonuses frequently. Sadly, she closed her daycare in July 09.

I followed a friend's recommendation for an in-home for Wesley and I pulled him out quickly. She was not a nice lady and if the charges would have stuck, I would have pressed criminal charges against her. As it is, I won't cross the street to spit on the woman if she was on fire.

Now the kids are at an in-home daycare. The kids LOVE it there and I love sending them there. I went to high school with the woman who watches them and she is married to a guy in Zac's troop. It's still much less expensive than a center, but daycare is our second biggest expense a month. However, Kayla picks the kids up in the morning, drops them off in the evening, and hauls Wesley around to various activities.

[hotprincesscm]

My kids are older thankfully and don't have to spend an entire day at a daycare during the school year. They go through the YMCA for all of our daycare needs. During the school year they go to the afterschool program, until I get out of work during the week, during school vacations, during the school year they go to the vacation fun club, and during the summer the go to the day camp. For the most part I have been happy with them. My boys don't necessarily like all the kids that attend the programs with them. but you will get that with any situation you are in. It's safe and well supervised, and they are kept busy with outdoor activities, crafts, swimming, movies, etc....so it's good!

[MaryCarney]

We ALWAYS (and our oldest is 30) worked different shifts / different days and did not have to rely on childcare by others. A HUGE sacrifice in terms of our 'adult time' but do not regret the decision.
This assumes that you CAN work different shifts - I am a nurse and have never had a day shift, Monday through Friday job (nor would I want one )

[joyofsix]

When I worked my kids went to a daycare center attached to a local long term care/senior living center. I felt like the care was excellent and it was local kids they would be going to school with.

[StartingOver]

When they were in day care they went to a daycare center. They have an amazing preschool they can attend when they are old enough.

The summer program was awesome. Everyday there was a field trip planned with swimming at the local city pool every afternoon.

I remember the kids coming home exhausted and going to bed very early those summer nights.

It was expensive, but we somehow did it. NOw the kids are older but from time to time they talk about their time spent at the daycare down the street.

[Momto5RN]

right now they are all school aged so i work around their schedules - i am done before they are done - work my schedule to be 1/2 days when they have a 1/2 day /

summertime i cut my work load in half and work 3 days and only till 11-12 if i can work it that way .
my 16 yo ds babysits during the summer ( he gets paid , not as much as if he was watchig someone elses kid but he gets to work in his house in his Pjs -go bike riding with him etc )

he watches the 9 yo

the 13yo really isn't babysat by him but he is in charge of the house - she will text me asking if she can go bike riding etc to a friends house etc - One of the Pros of small town living

when the 16 yo is away ( he has a few friends who invite him to go to beach with them for a day or two ) the 13 yo will watch the 9 yo although i usually try to be off of cut my schedule back further those days because they tend to bicker and call me when its just those 2.


i try to stay within a 5-10 min drive from home work wise also in case they need me.

previous methods throught the years ( oldest is 22 youngest is 9 )
a woman i met thru the church who came highly reccomended had no children of her own - had an adoption fall thru last minute ( birthmom changed her mind) and just couldnt go thru that again so loved to watch children .
that was with my oldest two- she was 4 houses away on my street and the kids would be with her for 4 hours in the afternoon the 3 days i worked - i think she spent about 1/2 of what i paid her buying my kids gifts LOL!!

i also had a cousin to just sit with them for a few hours during the day while i slept when i worked night shift - i was home did the meals etc she just had to keep them busy .

a mom i knew from my towns young womans league watched 2 of them for one AM a week when # 4 was a baby - i worked from an office for blue cross 1/2 a day a week and the rest of the time from home .

and at one time for 2 hours every friday i had my neighbors 16 yo sit with them ( had 4 at the time ) until my dh got home from work .

but most of time it was me and dh switching off shifts - he worked days - i worked evenings nights- or on call night posistions or weekends to reduce any need for childcare to a minimum.

a more complicated answer then i bet you expected LOL !!!

[ansley]

I started with an employee daycare and it closed. Then DS#1 went to my cousin that had an in-home daycare. I moved and put oldest and dd when she was born in a center. My mil got laid off and she has kept them in my home. Recently MIL decided to keep them in her home and it is close to the school. If DD can't ride the bus I will have to find a center. We only have 1 preschool and it is half days. That isn't an option because there wouldn't be anyone to pick DS#2 up.

I liked the center best but was trying to help out MIL.

[Telephus44]

I started out using an in-home daycare, but as much as I loved the woman, she had financial and health issues that made her unreliable (she was diagnosed with MS, lost her home to forclosure and had to move, etc.) and we finally just couldn't deal with the number of emergency days she closed. Which is too bad, because I loved the care she provided, and DS loved going there. We put him in a center because he has slower social development, and while I have occasional issues with management (over his "development"), his teacher that he sees every day is wonderful and loves him and he is incredibly happy there.

[baxjul]

My dd is 10, my FIL comes over to watch her.

[Liane]

Childcare was a big issue for me. I had a friend watch my daughter in the beginning and she would smoke around her. That did not fly with me. So I tried to have her Father watch her for a few hours, so I could work part-time. That lasted one day. Then I quit my job because I could not make enough to pay for childcare. When I went back to work my dd was 3 and I was getting divorced. I worked part-time nights and weekends and my one sister and parents helped. Then I changed jobs to a full-time job that started out first shift and switched to second shift. When I was on first shift it was good. I had my daughter in pre-school a few minutes from work. She was injured at the pre-school and they didn't tell me about it and I was not ok with that. Then I sent her to a woman's house who watched kids. That was fine. When she turned four I wanted to send her to pre-school for the experience and that was not great. She had a really bad allergic reaction and the teacher did not even notice. Then she went back to the sitter before pre-school. When she started kindergarten I would leave work on my lunch break to take her to school. I was laid off from this job in Dec and was able to go to school for a year and not work. I went around my dd schedule. When she went into first grade I took a job with the before and after school program until she was in third grade. This gave me a chance to go to school and have my daughter in a safe environment for free. In the Summer I was able to work at a camp and my daughter could go for 1/2 off. This was ok but not without some issues. Day camp would have worked better but we lived to far for that. After this job I worked a year at another job and worked as a floater day or night shifts 12 hour shifts. This was a nightmare once school started because I was going to school full-time and working full-time and trying to get sitters to commit was impossible. Now I am a SAHM and busier than ever. When it comes to childcare you never know what you are going to get and what will happen. Keep an open mind to opportunities and don't do what does not work for you.

[Lora88]

Interesting thread My youngest was the only one I didnt stay home for First my mil watched him and then her daughter gave birth 8 weeks later and she told me she would be watching her daughters child not mine He then went to a series of private providers some excellent one horrible after the horrible I put him in acenter where it all worked out wonderfully I still feel guilty I wasnt home with him but I really had no choice we needed the money.Now that he is grown I asked him if it bothered him That I wasnt home with him and he said no everyones Mom was working he is 21 now. I paid 125.00 a week 15 years ago I cant believe how expensive child care is my bf is a nanny to one child 4 days a week and makes 700.00 a week clear holy cow thats expensive

[freebs]

I am lucky in my work as they can go with me. They have been going with me to work since they were little

[frugal is fun]

I am VERY lucky with Childcare. My ex husband and I work different shifts so the usual schedule is..

James wakes up with me in the morning, I drop him off at my ex's and head to work. James is with my ex until 3pm at which time he drops him off to our sitter, my good friend.

She charges me $30 for 3hrs/3 days a week and I have not a single worry while James is with her.

I pick James up on my way home from work.

James spends Thrusday afternoons with my dad and Friday afternoons with my ex's parents. It works out nice and only costs me $30

[happymomof4]

With 4 kids my daycare changed thru the years. I was a sahm for 5 yrs and ran my own daycare.

My kids have been at daycare centers and church nursery schools. I used a few private babysitters thru the years. Didn't like the private sitters at all and all the ones I used where state license. Very poor care and personalities. I loved the church daycare and the other daycare center that I used for years.

The daycare center was expensive but worth the money. Never had issues with worring about if they were taken care of.