So Clutchfan working parents: how did you handle the daycare situation? New dad here, with a four month old son. I am working and the wife will be going back to work soon. Our original plan with a home daycare recently fell through. Man, I am stressed out. My family lives an hour away, so it's doable that they could help but it's not easy. Income-wise it wouldn't work for my wife (or I) to stay home. We've looked into actual daycare centers but damn they are expensive. And man, I am paranoid about finding another home daycare. So hard to have someone else I hardly know watch my son. We of course thought we had all this budgeted out; but life of course threw us a few curveballs and then the original plan fell through. aaarrrrrrr
What area are you guys in? My parents own a daycare on westheimer & hwy 6, hwy 6 & alief clodine, west belfort & eldridge, and hillcroft and beechnut. How much are you looking to realistically spend per week ? We could probably do something for you.
we are in the southeast side, friendswood/clear lake area, so I don't think that would work unfortunately.
Ahh I see. I'm sure thats it's super expensive for infant care in your area. Hope you find something reasonable! Good luck.
I reccommend upside-down play pen with a food and water bowl. My wife slaps me every time I say that to her.
Good daycares are expensive, but consider that you're paying for the care of your child. I used to say that I clip coupons for the groceries, not for the care of my kids. Like a lot of things in life, I think you get what you pay for when it comes to daycares. Check into things like provider turnovers and just general demeanor of the people there. Like with other companies, if the employees are happy and taken care of, then they'll be in a better position to take care of your child. And there's usually a price for that. I'm not familiar with that area, so I don't have specific recommendations, just my two cents I suppose. Good luck!
I made a similar joke and got the same response. I also suggested the dog, since he's home all day anyway. She wasn't amused when I offered this either.
See if you can get a list of licensed in-home daycare providers in your area through the county/city government websites. They may also post any reports for specific providers. If you are able to get a list, then visit the daycare and get a couple of references for parents that currently and previously had kids at the daycare. Call the references.
I live in the Kingwood area and have used the Kingwoodyardsales to find a nanny for my kids before. I have a 4 and 2yr olds. I put an ad saying what I have and what I am looking for. Got a bunch of responses and sifted thru them. You might want to try. Definitely cheaper than a daycare. You can usually find some old lady that just wants kids around and will do it for cheap. At one time I found a lady watching my kids for $100/week! She lived in a little ghetto area and I became a little uncomfortable but I found a few other laddies that were just like $150/week (2 kids) that were in the kingwood/atascosita area. Luckily my ex-wifes parents watch my kids for free now. WHoo wee.
I have a 9-month old son who is currently in daycare. We studied and stressed about it beginning around my wife's 3rd month of pregnancy. We visited many places and did a TON of research (online and otherwise). We finally found a couple of places and put down deposits around the 6th month of pregnancy (this is basically required in Austin where daycare occupancy is right at 100% for accredited schools). We ended up getting the place we had listed first on our "best of" schools. He began daycare at 7 weeks since my wife had to return to work. The place was a god-send. The teachers are awesome and the "curriculum" for infants is learning-based play. That said, we've learned over the last few months that there are some issues. I'm sure this is the case with all daycare facilities. It's just difficult for the staff to be 100% attentive to each child all the time. It's the nature of the beast. Also, we're paying an above-average price for this particular school. These factors have contributed to my wife beginning to search for other options. The process starts again... Good luck. Do your research. Ask people who have kids in your area. Actually go to the schools and visit a "classroom" and just watch. They all allow this and usually recommend it. Realize it's much tougher on the parents (especially the mom) than on the kids. The babies do GREAT in the group setting. In fact, I'm certain my son has learned a TON of stuff from studying the other "older" kids in his class.
DFPS has a list of licensed daycares If you didn't already know, you better getting going on this since most places don't have many available spots for infants $150/week. I'd be skeptical about anything that cheap
In my mind the absolute best way to go is if you can pay a family member to watch your kid. It keeps my mind at ease for sure, but that obviously isn't possible for you. I'd say the next best thin is a montessori school. They are very hands on in educating children from a very young age. You can find out more about their methods here: http://www.montessori.edu/
Put the kid in early if you know you're going to do it, they don't mind as much when they're young. You've got to find a place that you trust, good staff, clean, good ratio between teachers and kids. Do not hesitate to switch daycares if you feel that something is off.
We used to take our son to a daycare when my wife worked, but when we got pregnant again we knew we couldn't afford two kids in daycare. My wife now stays home and operates an in-home daycare where she watches 3 other children. It has worked out great, though we can't really plan vacations with her obligations to watch other people's children.
