Questions About Child Care Contract and Center Prices

I have worked in the child care field for 4 years and while they did fail to uphold there end of the contract it is not a good idea for you to not up hold your end of the contract.

Depending on th child care center you go with you are looking at anywhere from $150 a week to $175 a week, but with a center environment you don't have to worry about paid and unpaid vactions and that is not in the contract. While in home day care is more personable so can child care centers and also most child care centers offer preschool programs once your child is too old for the toddler rooms eliminating the need to search for any type of preschool out side of the day care. Thats what I loved about the center I worked at. Because of the preschool program I did not need to look for a separate preshcool for my daughter.

Whether or not you must adhere to the contract depends upon the contract itself. The contract I have with parents stipulates that even if I fail to uphold one or more of the terms it doesn't wave my right to uphold other terms or something like that. Now, could she have made a mistake? Did you ask her about this in person? Was this notice given in writing or was it verbal? She may have said or written "paid" and meant "unpaid". Communication is so vital between parents and providers. Never take anything for granted.

For information on rates in the metro area check out this link from GMDCA's web site. It pertains to all child care rates on average. It's a PDF document so you'll need the software to view it. Adobe reader software works for reading this type of document.

http://gmdca.nonprofitoffice.com/vertical/Sites/{AD3E3131...

As for what I charge personally, a two year old is $145 per week. I appreciate the other's responses regarding what a center offers, but don't discount the merits of in-home child care. Low provider turn-around is of top importance in a very young child's life. Also, not everyone can afford center's rates. The $50 per week on average difference can be huge to some families.

:)

We used an in-home daycare last year and are using a center this year. My kids are there half days but full time care for an almost 2 year old would be a little over $900/month. It is nice to not have to worry about vacations, sick days, etc. with a center and the in-home daycare we had wasn't very structured and now that our daughter is 3 we wanted more of a school-setting. However, the in-home daycare was much less expensive! It is so hard to choose. I think a 2 week notice is needed because your provider is probably relying on that income. (One of the weeks could be her vacation week.)

I don't know about the Contract thing, but my personal opinion is, even if they broke their end of the contract first, that doesn't make it ok for you to disregard your end of the contract. Tit-for-Tat is never a good idea.

My daughter is at the Children's world in Andover. She is almost 3. We pay 198 per wk. We like it alot and REALLY like the structure and the education part. We thought many times about moving to a home daycare for cost purposes, but the safety factor, adult vs. child ratio's, education, rules and regulations and written processes, staff and other fun activities they do for the kids always out weighs our decision to stay. Centers have longer hours and you don't have to deal with the vacation scenario. It's worth the little extra. There are a few daycare centers around and I think that Children's world ranks highest in cost for the area, but they offer more too...so, you get what you pay for. Good luck.

We take our child to Children's World in Ramsey and we pay $210.00 a week for a 2 year old. We love it there and would never even dream of taking him out.

K.