Price of Childcare vs. Quality of Childcare?????

HI
I actually had a bad experience with the whole money issue..........i was charging to little and quickly (after 7 months of exceptional care) realized this, so i raised my rate by 5 dollars a day.....my rate is still competitive but fair.....she put up a fight :( I felt so small like she didn't feel as if my services were worth it and that the last 7 month of hard work and dedication to her child wasn't enough. After a long drawn out discussion she agreed to pay me more. I worked for 4 years before i decided to do daycare and i had the upmost respect for my daycare provider she helped raise my daughter......you cannot put a price on that its such an important job.

Nikki, I totally understand the idea of having a hard time paying for daycare, I do my best to work with my families and give discounts to help, however my point of view is more on the fact that the price is the ONLY concern for some. I don't blame a parent for asking how much I charge on a first call, but that shouldn't be the only question (or the first question) there are many more important concerns when finding a person to care for your child than just the amount they charge. Those are the situation i am talking about. So many call I have recieved start and end with: "how much do you charge?"........it's very important but shouldn't be top priority, even for those who struggle financially. :)

Childcare costs SHOULD be accelerating!!! I make no apologies for charging higher than normal rates and people still come to me. I'm educated in the field, have worked for years developing my business and work 60 hours per week. I think I earn it and that we all deserve it. It's a hard job and frankly, I don't believe for a second that providers (who make a very modest income to begin with) should have to subsidize other people's families. I work hard and earn every penny. Since I raised my rates by $5/day, I've noticed other providers following suit....and I'm thrilled to be a part of my peers getting closer to being duly compensated for a job well done:D

I am on the higher end in my area, MB. ($30 per day for private care, whereas a centre is $28 for infant, $20 for toddler and about $15 for school age) I also have a limit of 4 children so my maximum daily wage is $120. Minus the costs to run the daycare and feed the children and it's not a great wage but it gets me by. I do wish that it could be increased but at the same time I realize that childcare is expensive, especially if you have more than one child in care. One child in my dc is $600 a month. That is a lot when you also have a mortgage or rent, groceries, car payment, phone, cable, internet, clothing, medicine etc etc etc. I don't think that parents should put cost of daycare over quality but unfortunately and realistically, this happens all the time. If a parent is only making minimum wage themselves how can they justify going to work if they are paying it all into daycare? I'm not saying it's right or wrong but it's unfair to judge a parent due to their financial situation.

I look at it this way....on the income I make, I couldn't afford to put my child in my daycare!!! :) (well I could, but it would be a tight budget!! lol)

I have worked in centres and now have a hdc so I know the pros and cons to each but I have to say the 2 biggest pro's to a centre are that as a parent, you don't need to worry about your provider being off due to illness or holidays and the cost is usually cheaper. If a parent doesn't have a back up alternate provider or is on a tight budget, I can understand why they would choose a centre.

For the hdc's that charge less around here, I do wonder how they make a living but I also wonder if they maybe have a spouse who makes good money and they stay home with their own children and make a little extra "fun" money in the meantime.

$600/mo? I'm guessing you're not in Ontario. I'm in a town near Toronto full of city commuters and charge about $900/mo and only accept full time clients. Most providers are still around $800/mo and are more flexible with enrollment. I've just moved to this area so I started low then just threw a new number out there to see what would happen. I've had no problems getting new clients. I spoke briefly with a couple other providers about rates and I guess people are talking about it as I've seen several more providers in the area bump their rates between $2 and $7/day.

I think you're right that those who charge low have another household income. For me, as a single parent, this is it, so I target a very specific type of client and, so far, have been getting them....phew! I still think, even at $45/day that it's a modest income, considering the hours, stresses and liabilities, especially compared to other professions. It's funny.....here, Daycare centres are more expensive than home providers (about $5-$10 higher than me).

Cfred, nope, I'm in MB, like I said in my post :)

I'm not saying we don't deserve more but I know that around here, parents couldn't afford $900 a month for daycare, especially when they have more than 1 child. It wouldn't pay to go work. However, every province is different and I do believe that for the most part MB is behind in wages even though our min wage is the 3rd highest in Canada.

That's why I decided to be a licensed, funded home daycare in Winnipeg. It makes it possible for me to provide very affordable rates to my parents, which are very lovely families. I myself could barely afford daycare for my oldest daughter when I was working as a teacher. With my other bills, student loans, etc. it was almost impossible. I'm providing what I wished I could have had for myself and my family when I needed it.

I agree that you can't put a price on quality daycare the thing is you have to. I charge $30 a day (in Manitoba as well).

When a parent asks my rate I don't hold it against them. They need to be able to afford to pay me. I don't want issues with late payment, non-payment etc. I budget my paycheque and want to know the cost of things up front why should daycare be any different. Yes your children are your most important possession but if you can't afford a certain daycare fee then you just can't afford it.

I myself charge a lower rate.
I just want to say that there are ways to provide quality care, education AND nutrition without parking the kids in front of the t.v. and serving pb&j or alphagetti.
I live in a rural area, and I buy as much of my daycare groceries as possible from our local farmer friends.
I buy in season veggies, meat and fruit in bulk for cheap or next to nothing and whatever I don't use right away I freeze for later use.
Parents love that I am supporting our community, serving healthy meals and saving them money.
I also manage to do arts and crafts almost everyday, even though I charge a low rate
I save whatever I can from around the house (egg cartons, cardboard) for use in arts and crafts and I buy my paper, paints and crayons once a year when stores markdown the back to school supplies at the end of sept.
We keep busy and active with very limited television.
I just wanted to get the message out that low daily rate does not always mean low quality care. I read that assumption on here all the time.
I am just providing care at a cost that is affordable for people who have school debt etc but want the best possible care for thier kids.

Of course you can provide quality childcare along with affordable prices....if you so choose. I commend anyone who puts forth their best efforts to provide quality care, regardless of their expenditures. I think we can all agree that quality care is the utmost priority of a good provider. I would certainly never insinuate otherwise, regardless of fees. I have done this job for lower fees for years, and did so very well. However, now I've moved to an area with a fairly decent smattering of people with money. I choose to target those clients. Bless everyone who goes into this line of work with an altruistic heart and practices. I prefer to do my job, do it well, offer a great service as well as be compensated appropriately for doing so....well.....we're getting ever closer to appropriate compensation. I'm simply not willing to work my arse off for 60 hours per week any longer whilst foregoing things I want out of life to offer breaks to other people. I don't want to 'get by'. I want to always have enough for my bills and mortgage, the ability to contribute substantially to my kids' educations, have extra to travel and, doG forbid...perhaps retire some day. I'm not sure there's anything wrong with that. It is a business after all.