Trumped by cheaper rates...again.

[5 Little Monkeys]

luppernoodle, I am not interested in fighting but just wanted to comment on a statement you made....

"I stand by my opinion and my experience. AS A MOTHER, I avoid and recommend to ALL my friends with kids to AVOID caregivers who undercut other caregivers with their rates and for all the same reasons as in my initial post."

I don't think this is a fair statement. I realize it is your opinion but there are providers who offer quality care at a lesser rate than some. They might have a spouse who makes a lot of money and they are doing hdc as a way to make "fun, extra money" and/or to offer their child(ren) playdates and get paid for it. Some aren't doing it to undercut other hdcp's but rather to offer another alternative to parents who need care and can't afford a high fee or get into a subsidized spot. Just because they are offering cheaper dc doesn't necessarily mean that the care is cheap as well or that they are going over their numbers. Some people are better at budgeting and stretching their dollar than others too.

I admit, when I see a provider offering care for far less than I do, I wonder how they are doing it but I don't know their situation and it would be unfair of me to just assume that all that are doing this are running illegally. If they want to charge less and are getting by with their income than all the power to them! We are in the business of providing a service and we will all have different rates according to our own specific situations. It's no different than hair dressers, plumbers, massage therapists, manicurists etc charging different rates. We get to decide how much to charge for the service we provide but IMO that doesn't mean that all the cheap ones should be discredited.

Sometimes cheaper doesn't mean better but I also don't think more expensive means the best!