Anyone else not able to focus on work due to lack of good childcare options?

[Anonymous]

The pandemic that is never ending as we all know has been detrimental particularly to working moms.

The first 7 months we were without daycare for our then six month old. Like most people we thought it was a two week flatten the curve wait...then it rolled into a month, then okay until Memorial Day etc etc. When we realized that our child would be a year old before the daycare reopened and then found out there was not space in the older big kid room...plus factoring in the daycare location was no longer a good option because we were not going into the office...we ended up with a part time nanny.

Of course we would have liked full time, but that would be double the cost of daycare. Nanny shares wont work for us now since we are at home working and the house isn't big enough to accommodate.

Every single daycare in our neighborhood is at reduced capacity or a long wait list...same for preschools for twos in the next year.

I am not the type who wants to be VP or anything, but that being said I enjoyed work and making decent money. However, at this point I am so stressed and can't focus on work because of a crappy childcare situation. Our nanny is okay and she works for now since we are home, but she isn't the best honestly.

[Anonymous]

Yes, I didn't get in when my daycare opened at partial capacity and as I live in a small apartment a nanny wasn't really going to work. There was definitely a childcare crunch. My employer has been very accommodating, thank goodness. I have been there basically since I left school so I have many years of experience and goodwill.

Daycare has told us we're back in starting in early May. Looking forward to that.

[Anonymous]

Luckily we have a great nanny who has never missed a day and keeps the kids happy and occupied. But I’m not good at working from home with so many distractions and DH being here too. Every time we hear nanny laugh or clap, I want to run out and see what my baby or toddler is doing. It’s totally my fault. I’ve always been someone who couldn’t concentrate with distractions.

[Anonymous]

You have to be willing to compromise on something, and I would suggest compromising on the commute. We drive our 2 younger kids 20-30 mins each way twice a day to our downtown DC daycare. For us, this is worth it. It means we can work for 7 hrs a day.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You have to be willing to compromise on something, and I would suggest compromising on the commute. We drive our 2 younger kids 20-30 mins each way twice a day to our downtown DC daycare. For us, this is worth it. It means we can work for 7 hrs a day.

PP here. And I should add that our kids (21 months, 3 1/2) are both really happy in daycare and learning a lot.

[Anonymous]

I hear you OP. My child is older (2 when pandemic started, now 3) and trying to find space in the 2/3 or PK cohorts has been hellish. We finally (finally!) lucked into a spot at a 3 day a week PK that is a reasonable distance from our house (10 minute drive or 20 minute walk) and it's been a godsend. We even struggled to find a nanny because like you, we couldn't afford a full time nanny and the market for PTers is understandably smaller. We had a college student in the fall but she chose not to return to DC this spring so until we started in this PK this week, we had been without childcare basically since Thanksgiving.

It's particularly frustrating because I think people's understanding about it started wearing out in the fall and there's this attitude that you should have figured it out by now. But what people who don't have very young children don't understand is that the demand for childcare shot through the roof and the availability shrank because of diminished class sizes. And then same with the nanny market. It is HARD to find a nanny now. Plus those of us with small homes or apartments who are WFH are not very appealing to most nannies, who would understandably prefer to work in an environment where they get more separation from the parents.

Anyway, I am hoping the vaccine alleviates this and we only have to deal with maybe 6 more months of this. I'm in DC and we are praying the public schools have in person PK in the fall, which would help everyone by reducing the pressure on the daycares and private PKs, too.

[Anonymous]

Yeah I had to forego daycare with a newborn and find a nanny on a 2-week notice. And yes it cost me twice as much. Stressful AF but..it’s what you do if you have a job. Zero sympathy for people who haven’t found childcare yet. In fact negative sympathy for people like you who A YEAR
INTO COVID can’t figure out childcare.

[Anonymous]

I'm at an inhome daycare and we aren't at full capacity since so many of the parents lost their jobs. My best friend said the same about her daycare. Can you look around more? I think there are more options available, they're just hard to find.

[Anonymous]

Working from home with a nanny is awful unless she is literally Mary Poppins. And I'm pretty hands-off and let my former nanny take charge. Having the child in the house is intensely distracting, and got worse once it was too cold to stay at parks/in the yard for long stretches.

I recommend daycare even if it's "just okay" as a fit.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm at an inhome daycare and we aren't at full capacity since so many of the parents lost their jobs. My best friend said the same about her daycare. Can you look around more? I think there are more options available, they're just hard to find.

You must not live on Capitol Hill. There are seriously zero spaces available.

What makes this hard is may daycares have reduced capacity to comply with CDC guidelines so supply is down while the demand is through the roof. This is going to be a long term challenge.

Since the teachers union is fighting a return to classroom this is also putting strain on parents with school age kids, which has also contributed to the demand of nannies. Only so many nannies that are legal to work to go around.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Yeah I had to forego daycare with a newborn and find a nanny on a 2-week notice. And yes it cost me twice as much. Stressful AF but..it’s what you do if you have a job. Zero sympathy for people who haven’t found childcare yet. In fact negative sympathy for people like you who A YEAR
INTO COVID can’t figure out childcare.

Oh we have figured it out, just would prefer something better and frustrated that a city of this size has crappy childcare options and clearly not enough to go around.

[Anonymous]

We've been paying for full time daycare since ours opened back up in July. We didn't start our child back until September when our older child started ES and she no longer had a playmate. She's been going 3-4 days a week based on my and DH's work schedules. We're lucky we can afford it, but it was already in our budget and fortunately our income hasn't changed due to the pandemic. I recognize others are not so lucky.

[Anonymous]

Luckily, most people's jobs -- yes this includes you -- aren't nearly as important as they think. Mediocrity is fine.
Get it done. It's just a job.

[Anonymous]

OP, why will you not consider commuting? There are daycare spaces available if you’re willing to travel outside of your neighborhood.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm at an inhome daycare and we aren't at full capacity since so many of the parents lost their jobs. My best friend said the same about her daycare. Can you look around more? I think there are more options available, they're just hard to find.

You must not live on Capitol Hill. There are seriously zero spaces available.

What makes this hard is may daycares have reduced capacity to comply with CDC guidelines so supply is down while the demand is through the roof. This is going to be a long term challenge.

Since the teachers union is fighting a return to classroom this is also putting strain on parents with school age kids, which has also contributed to the demand of nannies. Only so many nannies that are legal to work to go around.

Is this the OP? You may have to look outside Capitol Hill. Similar experience to the PP- our daycare is not full and I know of others that aren't as well. Heck of I know of a couple that closed because they just didn't get enough kids back to make it worthwhile! I'm in MD, so probably too far, but you may need to expand your radius a bit. Even with a commute it might be a worthwhile tradeoff if you get more uninterrupted hours in.