Anonymous wrote:How common is this, and how does one begin? Looking for advice from anyone who has been able to find someone to pick up, drop off (or both) your kid from daycare. I am considering doing this because we are looking to buy a house in Burke (more affordable, great schools and more house space for our growing family) but I work in downtown DC. My biggest concern is the commute, obviously. Husband can help with daycare drop off and pick ups every other week when he isn't traveling, but during the weeks he is away, it's up to me and I'm panicking about that kind of stress coming from my office in DC. But I also don't want to nix buying in an area like Burke solely because of my commute and daycare. Trying to think of alternative solutions...

Why are you "growing your family" when you already know you don't have enough time to properly care for the child you already have? This is very irresponsible.

If you plan on driving, I strongly suggest looking at West Springfield instead of Burke. You will be that much closer to 95/395 and it will save a significant amount of time.

I work at L'Enfant (so not far into DC) and I leave by 4:45 p.m. most nights. I do pick up and almost always make it by 6 p.m. to daycare in West Springfield. I pick up slugs and drive in the HOV/HOT lanes. But there are days when I run into problems - I get stuck at work, there are no slugs, there's an accident. So when I'm running late, I call my husband who works close to home. When he's traveling for work and I'm on my own, I try to leave closer to 4 p.m. so that I have plenty of time.

My commute probably averages 45 minutes to Springfield, but when things go wrong it can take a lot longer. It's not consistent at all.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It's true that it is not easy to find someone to do part-time after-school care -- but it is definitely NOT impossible. We've done it several times and in the last round, had 4-5 really strong candidates to choose from. Care.com has been super helpful in this process, because in the job posting you can be very specific about the hours you need so that sitters can opt out if they're not up for what you're offering.

I do agree that the rates tend to be higher for these part-time gigs -- we are having to pay $25/hour, which I NEVER expected to have to pay for one kid, but that seems to be what the market will bear.

Here is the issue I found with afterschool sitters - you get lots of applicants but no one stays. We went thru four babysitters in a year and a half, paying $25 an hour. Finally we hired a full time nanny when I had a second baby.

Huh, interesting -- that's no fun. That hasn't been our experience at all, though -- we've been able to keep sitters for a whole school year. Maybe that's just luck of the draw on our part...

Anonymous wrote:"solely because of commute and work" is a very good reason to not move to Burke. If your husband is gone every other week, the commute is going to be a huge problem.

Yep. This is why Burke has a lot of SAHMs.

"solely because of commute and work" is a very good reason to not move to Burke. If your husband is gone every other week, the commute is going to be a huge problem.

Anonymous wrote:It's true that it is not easy to find someone to do part-time after-school care -- but it is definitely NOT impossible. We've done it several times and in the last round, had 4-5 really strong candidates to choose from. Care.com has been super helpful in this process, because in the job posting you can be very specific about the hours you need so that sitters can opt out if they're not up for what you're offering.

I do agree that the rates tend to be higher for these part-time gigs -- we are having to pay $25/hour, which I NEVER expected to have to pay for one kid, but that seems to be what the market will bear.

Here is the issue I found with afterschool sitters - you get lots of applicants but no one stays. We went thru four babysitters in a year and a half, paying $25 an hour. Finally we hired a full time nanny when I had a second baby.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I ride the bus to the Pentagon from Burke and get on the metro from there, and regularly see a few moms with their toddlers and preschoolers do the same commute. It looks like a great way to get some more time together and the kids seem to love it. And if you had to pick up your DC because of weather or illness, you’re close by.

This is the most realistic advice. My husband travels often fir consecutive weeks. I found a daycare that fit my commute. When he’s in town we alternate drop off and pick up according. It’s more work for him those days, but he does it as a courtesy for my doing it all while he’s away. It creates some balance for us. Truthfully though, Burke is far enough out, I’d wait til child is in regular school and make before/aftercare arrangements, or look for a home much closer in.

I agree with this. Commuting to DC with a kid can be a hassle (mostly carrying stuff!) but it's time spent with my child. We have about 40 minutes each way, and it affords me the opportunity to keep my work schedule and never worry about being late for pick up. When my husband has to do pick up or drop off, it is more difficult, but it's a trade off because I do it 85% of the time, and thus feel no guilt when he has to go out of his way the small minority of time that I'm unable to do so. It is no burden on me really, I would be making that commute anyway. I just do it with my kid now.

It's true that it is not easy to find someone to do part-time after-school care -- but it is definitely NOT impossible. We've done it several times and in the last round, had 4-5 really strong candidates to choose from. Care.com has been super helpful in this process, because in the job posting you can be very specific about the hours you need so that sitters can opt out if they're not up for what you're offering.

I do agree that the rates tend to be higher for these part-time gigs -- we are having to pay $25/hour, which I NEVER expected to have to pay for one kid, but that seems to be what the market will bear.

Anonymous wrote:Get a nanny once you move. It will be well worth the added cost.

This

My brother and his wife have always had a part-time sitter who picks their kids up (they have twins). This started when the kids were in preschool and continues now that they are 9 years old. They've had really good luck, usually college students who like the regular routine and guaranteed hours. I believe they pay pretty well too. The sitter picks them up, gets them home, does a few chores, sometimes feeds them dinner, sometimes gets their homework done etc.

But obviously, it's an added expense. And you need someone reliable who can drive.

Many families at our old daycare were World Bank and Dept of State employees where one or both parents travel frequently. The most common solution I saw was that families either had an au pair or a local grandparent who could be flexible with their schedule. Au pair was critical when sometimes both parents could be away overnight due to a cancelled /delayed flight.

If you move and plan to have another baby just invest in a good nanny and preschool. You are going to make yourself crazy with the commute and fear of missing pickup. Those afterschool babysitters just never stay and are so expense.

A good nanny can help you in other ways too like doing all the kid’s laundry and having her bathed by the time you get home. Our lovely nanny has our kids bathed and a slow cooker meal ready for us when we get home so we can eat together. It is so nice!!

We did this when I had kids at 2 different locations. We went onto care.com and posted an ad. We had more than 20 applicants including a local school system bus driver. We picked a woman in her late 20s looking for extra cash after work. Care.com can run driving and background checks (although I also checked public records). She was fantastic. There are people looking for extra cash after their regular jobs.

We guaranteed a certain number of hours a week. It was great because she helped out while I got dinner ready. Although I hear you can get people who will start dinner for you too.

We also advertised to the teachers (through the director and within the school's policy) but didn't get any bites that way.

Maybe one of the other parents would be willing to do it, but it would be hard to know until you’re actually at the daycare.

Anonymous wrote:I would get a nanny plus preschool.

I don’t know if OP could afford that since she seems to want to move to Burke.

It is not so easy to find a part timer with very few hours. I tried to find someone reliable for years. I eventually stopped working because public kindergarten was awful for working parents. So many daytime parties, events at like 2:30, teacher work days, snow days, 2 hr delays. This world is not made for working moms. You need to get a good nanny for a mom substitute.

+1. It is virtually impossible to find someone good part-time.

For Pre-K and K, we are planning on going with one of the private options that is within 5 minutes of my work in Old Town Alexandria.