Quote Originally Posted by joan tack View Post
I live in Southern Ontario and I feel like the whole Daycare thing needs to be overhauled by the government. The cost of daycare is through the roof, whether its licenced or not. We all know that Quebec is cheap and it's working (as far as I'm concerned). I'm not saying we need to go that low in cost (Quebec) but a happy medium would be nice. I'd happily shell out 500-600 a month for daycare but 1000 and up seems insane!
Well it strikes me as very obvious that you are not a daycare provider and haven't the first clue how much it actually costs to run a daycare otherwise you wouldn't have made such a statement as
I'd happily shell out 500-600 a month for daycare but 1000 and up seems insane!
I charge for my full time children $860 per month regardless of age. I feed them unprocessed food either organic or abf and cater to gluten free at no additional cost to them. Even providers who do not provide organic food still shell out a large portion of their monthly fees on food. On top of that there's the whole set up of a daycare, in some cases including a major renovation, includes drywall, electrics, plumbing, plus all the finishes and that's before the cost of paint and decor. If people are lucky enough to have a finished space dedicated to daycare prior to starting up then there is still the cost of toys, art supplies, office supplies, furniture, etc which is not always a one off expense but an ongoing one when you consider wear and tear of toys when being heavily used by five children everyday and even more in some provinces plus providers own children. Add to that the fact that I bought an 8 seater minivan SOLELY for business use and the 5 car seats I bought for anywhere between 120 and 200 dollars a piece.

What next, oh yeah there is the cost of car insurance with enough liability to cover all passengers running thousands a year, as I do not have a rider policy which is inadequate coverage but actually have a commercial policy, and house insurance in the event of accidents on site. My back garden is being fenced in AS I TYPE, although it is not needed for my older kids but for my daycare is a necessary safety requirement in the best interest of my daycare children. That's a tremendous expense.

Then there's the cost of my accountant annually, website hosting as we'll as other advertising costs, printing services etc. My working week is 50 hours in terms of operating hours, but what about all the after hours I put in prepping and cooking home cooked meals, planning my preschoolers curriculum and getting materials ready, planning themes for the toddlers, interviewing during my precious family time and shopping for everything else inbetween on weekends.

There's nothing quite like someone who is not in the field making such statements as yours Joan. Sure go ahead, give me a pay cut because you have not bloody clue what you are talking about. It's expensive because care is not cheap to provide. If you want to pay a "CHEAP" rate then you will get "CHEAP" care. There's a big difference between cheap and inexpensive.

I would gladly welcome some kind of licensing as long is it was reasonable and us daycare providers had a say in the new legislation, but then I can guarantee you we will get slapped with a licensing fee which guess what, will be reflected in my fees.

If you in fact were in any kind of position to look for childcare my recommendation to you would be to look for the crazy lady down the road who has twenty kids running round her house all day. She's probably more in your price range, but beware you may never see your child again.

Pahhhh, it's great to hear people's opinions but don't try to have an opinion before you have all the facts on a subject you have clearly shown you know nothing about first hand.