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Infants, Toddlers, & Preschoolers
Who is using all these preschools?
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Anonymous
Not the poster you are responding to but a lot of folks chose to keep their jobs for a variety of reasons - including back up benefits. I don't think people realize that the many Americans are one medical emergency away from financial ruin as the poster mentioned. Very few people can afford COBRA if someone loses a job - health care reform is changing that but it will take time. Having back up health care insurance is an absolute necessity for many folks. And I am all for paying more $$$ to have more family time. Different scenarios work for different families. |
Anonymous
Health insurance is an important point. I wasn't suggesting that she quit her job. But she is paying more for childcare than she is bringing in, and I think that the cost of childcare needs to be considered in the context of one. |
Anonymous
No way! I had no idea. I own my own business and happen to draw a bare minimum salary expressly to pay for childcare. I don't need to justify to you why this investment makes sense. The hope is that one day, I will be wealthy. For now, I'm investing back into my company. |
Anonymous
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Back to the original post. The OP is correct that there are more options available if you stay at home, work part time or have a nanny. This doesn't mean that there are only substandard options just fewer and depending on your area it may more of a problem. I didn't see much academic difference between several of the part time play based preschools and daycare centers. I did see differences with Montessori and a few more academically oriented preschools or preschools that had more resources to offer better facilities, programs, and educated teachers.
I think it is generally true (not always) that most places have a hard time doing both to the best possible level. A full time daycare has administrative staff who are focused more on daycare issues and less on academic needs. You could very well though find a very good teacher making up the slack. If you are really after social engagement and fun yet educational activities you'll be fine. If you are more interested in a consistent educational approach then it will be harder. We switched to a Montessori preschool and nanny from a center that sold itself as more educationally focused but was really a daycare without a very good preK component. The director was an idiot and the quality of the classes was solely teacher dependent. They were a bit delusional about the methodology and level of teaching capability they were providing to the kids. We felt we were paying way too much to this daycare, so even though the Montessori and nanny cost more we feel we are getting more value. |
Anonymous
New poster. You MIGHT (or might not) be wealthy one day, but your children will always have the memories of being daycare kids. |
Anonymous
And your point is? They would have better memories being left with a nanny? I think that my children will most likely not remember that they attended preschool, or at least any of the specifics. And a nanny before age 5, they aren't going to have many memories of that either. If we had a long-term nanny or I was home long-term they would probably remember that. |
Anonymous
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"New poster. You MIGHT (or might not) be wealthy one day, but your children will always have the memories of being daycare kids."
I went to daycare as a baby. I do have memories of it starting around 2-3. Very happy memories. The right daycare can be a wonderful experience for a child and by no means any less than being with mom or nanny. |
tammilynnette
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| My child was in home day-care until the age of 2 and then we moved him to a child development center that ran from 7AM until 6PM. Both my husband and I work full-time. Pre-K is not considered daycare but school and operates on traditional school hours. There are programs out there that do more than just "baby sit" your toddler but you have to look for them. I would also caution not getting too caught up in the hype of what a program claims their structure is as their structure may not be appropriate for your child's social development. We are find that out the hard way now. |
Anonymous
My mother's a Phd in Education. Supposedly, the most conclusive findings regarding your child's likelihood of success is looking at the mother's education level. Obviously we've got a lot of sharp ladies on this forum, so it looks like we are all in good shape
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Anonymous
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Back to the original post, we are also a household with two working parents and two young kids. I have also had the same experience of finding it very difficult to find any non-daycare center preschools that offer full-day programs. It gets even harder in the summer when many preschools only offer a limited number of weeks. I also was not always impressed by the non-daycare centers.
I live in Fairfax County, and I can only guess that one part of the explanation is that lower-income families have access to Head Start, which takes some of the people who need full-day, affordable preschool out of the equation. That leaves wealthier families still looking for pre-school. A family with one working parent making $100k may be reasonably comfortable with no childcare costs but would me much harder pressed to afford full-day pre-school. Most of the single income families I know only enroll their preschoolers a few mornings a week. For the wealthier and/or dual-income families, they may be more inclined to have a nanny to help meet all the hours they're working or eliminate pick-up/drop-off stress and missing work with kids home sick. Again, it's hard to justify a nanny if your child is in school full-time, so many of these families that I know only have their children in preschool part-time. We have had one son in preschool 3 full days and a nanny home with our younger son. We will be putting both kids in school full time in the Fall so that we can eliminate the need for a nanny. It's expensive any way you look at it - having both kids in school will cost us about $26,000 annually (only $5k of that is pre-tax), and we will still have 5 weeks of the year where school is not in session and we need to make alternate arrangements. I think the bottom line is that it's very hard to have both parents working and find good, affordable care and juggle all the logistics. Good luck! |
Anonymous
I'm not the PP (but I could have been). You should look into Easter Seals CDC in Silver Spring. You won't be diappointed. |
Anonymous
Um, amen? Raised by a depressed SAHM here, and my kids are with a wonderful nanny now. I think happy is key. |
Anonymous
Hey New Poster, this is the mom who spends a sizable portion of her income to keep her kids out of daycare and in traditional preschool with a nanny because she does not think daycare is a good alternative for her family (or for any other families who can afford differently by getting their priorities in order). It is always so embarrassing when you accidentally insult people you agree with. |
Anonymous
SO you want everyone to be as on the brink of financial ruin as you are? Nice. |
Anonymous
She's just misinformed. High quality day care with stable providers is just as good, if not better in some cases, than having a nanny. |