Cost of Daycare

[mimi]

To Parents: Home daycare is not expensive. Do the math. If you leave your child with a provider 9 or 10 hours a day at an average cost of $40.00 per day which includes snacks, lunch, crafts, equipment etc. and all the care and attention that goes into looking after a young child that amounts to about $4.00 p/hr not including expenses like utilities, insurance, professional development etc.

The time we then put into our business in the evening and weekends is unpaid. The only way we make money is to fill our all our spaces with f/t children and that is a tough thing to do in most areas. So yes, we would all like to have a cost of living yearly raise, but unfortunately, we are under cut by low ball providers who just do a very basic job with your child. I know this because if they didn't, they would be operating in the red. There are also parents who shop price only. If the serious providers had the luxury of always having clients knocking at our doors enabling us to set our deserved rate, pick the best clients and get paid a decent wage for what we do then all would be well.

This industry is supply and demand and is very competitive which just adds to our stress level. Unless your company goes out of business, are you always under a threat that your income could drop by lets say 50% in a week or month?
The reason why we put up with all this is because we love what we do. We enjoy working with children and care about making sure we give them our best each day. So the next time you need to find a provider, look at the person who is offering the service. If she gives you the impression she is professional, caring, nurturing, patient and knows her business, then pay her what she is worth and don't demean our profession by nickel and diming us.