I live in an area where there are lots of home daycares. I think that happens in smaller communities because people don't want to commute to the city.

There is a lot of competition since there are many daycares in a small area. I think every street has 2 home daycares on it. Seriously.

What I am noticing is that a lot of new daycares continue to spring up and I see some of the new ones are advertising as low as $21, $25, $28 dollars a day.

wowsa ! I really think new daycares (even if they are trying to attract initial clients) should stay in the norm. Right now the range is anywhere between $21- $41 in this area. That is a huge span. Back when I lived near Toronto the going rate was $35-$40 a day and that was 7 years ago. I have NO idea how someone expects to make a living, pay craft supplies and pays the rising grocery costs on anything less than $30 a day.

It sort of makes me nervous because I really wanted to raise my price from $33 - $35 this fall and when I see these other ads crop up I feel like I can't. I can't pretend that my bills don't keep getting bigger though (fruit prices rising, electricity and gas and water bills going up) and I really could use the extra $20-$30 a week from my daycare to cover it.

I wish that new daycare providers would really consider the long term before advertising themselves so low. I know it is hard to get started but if they would just hold out until they find a good client rather than GIVING their service away it would make for a better industry overall

okay...vent over