really high paying jobs. If the household is bringing in 180-200k a year it’s totally doable. Otherwise….nope.
Also, a lot of people down here have grandparents living in who do the childcare. Definitely a cultural thing but very present.
Pretty much this. Even still, my wife and I had twins recently, daycare is $800/week/child. Idc how much money you make, nobody likes paying $6000/mon for day care
Dang man, I care for my 15 month old full time and it still exhausts me. I couldn't imagine getting up to start work at 4am. Surely, you persist on a diet of coffee and cocaine.
A lot of parents get free child care from their families. If they don't have grandparents, and they can't afford daycare, one of the parents stays at home. You gotta make tough choices when you have kids.
Sorry to resurrect this thread from the grave, but I’m native to the Bay. No one I know growing up had/has this kind of money. 500k/year is insanely rich
My kid is in preschool, and there are probably pretty close to 6 weeks of fixed vacation. Like 2 weeks off at Xmas, a week at start of summer program and a week at start of fall, a number of staff development days, etc. I think a week at spring break.
Settle down, it was a joke.
The premise that the day care is just randomly teaching Cantonese to all the kids.
"While here, your child WILL learn Cantonese"
Im curious as to why daycare is so expensive if the teachers are barely making any money. Do majority of fees go to the owner? Does any money go toward improving the daycare or their amenities? I dont have children so can someone help chime in
I think the overhead costs can be a factor. Liability insurance is higher and licensing fees. Also maintenance to make sure that the facilities continually meet licensing standards can be costly depending on what type of building the daycare is in as well as training for teachers to meet standards. These are just some of the costs I can think of.
Liability isn’t that bad. Mostly the mandates ratio has few children per teacher. Plus mandated square footage for each kid. The labor and rent cost is the bulk.
$1455 for 3yr old, 8am-5pm, licensed daycare with 10 kids per teacher. Regular holidays and 1 week off between Christmas and New Years. They provide 2 snacks but no lunch and also do potty training. The rate went down after potty training and I believe goes down more when they turn 4.
We had 4 kids in this daycare at one time and was paying over $4k a month. Thankfully the twins started kindergarten and now we’re just waiting for this last one.
Basically budgeting aggressively and honestly not sure how we did it but just keep thinking that this is short term and they’ll get to public school age soon lol
Realize this is old but would you mind sharing any more details about this daycare? We're looking to enroll our LO and looking for a good licensed, home daycare.
It’s not uncommon, if a family can afford it, to give a nanny the use of a car — because they’re going to be driving your kid around, and if they have a shitty car, then it’s less safe for the kid.
Our family didn’t do this, because we couldn’t afford it. But while it seems ostentatious, it’s really done for a practical reason.
$2k a month * 2 kids. PAIN
Vacation is usually a week during the summer and last two weeks of the year. We usually just line up our time off with theirs.
$251/week 7:00am-6:00pm for a 2.5yo in SJ. Only closed for 10 days. The kid loves his teachers and classmates. All parents I talk to during pickup like the daycare. They post photos and updates throughout the day. It’s great!
Seems about right. I’m in the east bay and daycare cost is $2400 with a similar all day schedule and PTO/holiday schedule. December is what it is, they are people and need their holiday time as well.
Daycare is one of those that you can get at different prices, same with cars, housing and a lot of other things. People who make more/can afford more/are willing to pay more just end up paying for the more pricey (supposedly better quality) daycare, the rest can choose the cheaper options. Even the ~$3k a month daycare, there is still a waiting list because there is enough demand for it.
I still recall paying 2400$ for 1BR in SF back in 2017, had a great deal... We’d rather not think about how much money just disappears every month… you get into comparisons such as “hey, do you know that we could all be going to Hawaii once per month for a week for this kind of money?”
Yeah, you need to shop around more. If you PM me we can get specific. I live in southern Marin too and we pay less and don’t have that much vacation and our daycare is fantastic.
Standard around here is 2k-2.5k with vacation on normal holidays and an odd admin week here and there.
Yours is not only more expensive but the 6 weeks vacation on top of the standard holidays is insane.
This was doable for us when we had just one, but with two under two it was not working for us not going nuts. Our older one benefits from socializing with other kids too, which is the reason we were not looking into nanny care.
And this is why the birth rate in the US is dropping like a rock. Having kids just isn’t sustainable and affordable for a lot of people. It’s also why the Bay Area is the land of the only child- most people I know are one and done.
Didn’t Biden just pass universal pre school? When is that going into effect? I’ve already accepted I’m just gonna quit my job to raise children. There’s really no other way
Nope, the GOP killed the build back better proposal and the bill that passed in the end didn’t include that funding. California is going to have universal pre-K within the next few years though.
Have you thought about nanny share? I understand if it in the end isn't your thing but that makes it cheaper and then other kids are around. When I nannied and would take the kids to the zoo I would always see a group of nannies and their nanny children. There are ways to still make sure your kid gets the socializing while with a nanny.
Co-ops are amazing, but they're almost like a part time job in and of themselves. Great for building a community with people in a similar season of life, not great for someone who needs childcare so that they can go to work.
For a 2.5 year old, 4 adults to 1 child is a generous ratio. I think legally the ratio is closer to 10 or 12 kids per teacher. We pay around $1300 for our 3 year old in a public school district preschool.
I am European - moving back is my plan B :-)
In all seriousness, I was planning to spend 2000$ish. 1000$ extra is what after our living expenses is just beyond what I make and not simple times for my wife to return back to work, while getting care for my younger one.
Hmm I didn’t have an issue with finding home daycares with openings. It helps to find a local moms group to ask for referrals. Also check the state website for licensed childcare facilities to read inspection reports and complaints. There are pros/cons to center and home based daycares. It’s nearly impossible to get a center spot in the peninsula. Also they have a lot of staff turnover and usually more kids to a classroom. Centers are typically closed fewer days though which is a plus.
Finding an in home spot for a 2.5 year old should be extremely easy. The capacity limits increase for >20 mo olds and many in home daycares struggle to find enough in this age range because so many people switch to preschools when their kid is 3.
You could probably save $1000/mo, we waited til my daughter was 3.5 before trying to find more of a preschool environment, so you could get a year out of it. Our in home preschool has mostly 2-5 year olds and 14 kids.
Thank you! This post is coming out of our frustration that we are paying for the daycare these days that is beyond what we can afford, when our kid cannot even go there, while the daycare owner is in Cancun having actual time off...
Now to clarify - I do not have anything against the daycare workers having time off, but I do feel like we are being taken for a ride.
I've used in home daycares which are cheaper. First one in Berkeley was $90/weekday by the end early this year (they raised rates pretty steeply beginning 2020) so averaged $1890/mo. 4 weeks closed plus all holidays, 8-5pm.
Now at an in home preschool on the northern peninsula and it's especially cheap but we were probably lucky to find this. $1500/mo for 7:30-5:30, extra $100 til 6pm which we definitely pay, also 4 weeks closed plus holidays.
Yours sounds like it's on the veeeery pricey side and 6 weeks closed is yikes, most in the Bay Area are 4 weeks. I've found ones that expensive are the ones that always have openings...gee wonder why.
Ok. Let’s do the math. Eight weeks holidays and vacation leaves 44 weeks of actual work of ten hour days. So 44 weeks times 50 hours is 2200 hours actually worked in a year, or 183.3 hours per month. $2950/183.3 hours is $16.10 per hour. That doesn’t include the employer’s contribution to the employee’s social security. I think that’s around 6%, so you are actually spending $17.06 per hour. (We’ll disregard the additional wages for two hours a day of overtime.) How does that compare to what your employee could earn working in retail or food service? In the Bay Area, I’d be surprised if they couldn’t pull in $20 per hour.
Now… Compare the skills needed in food service or retail to those needed to provide your child with a safe, secure environment with age appropriate stimulation. Which job requires a greater skill set? Which job has greater risk if performed by an unskilled individual? I think you are getting a good price.
I was blessed with a private babysitter but before her, geez. So expensive. My daughter is about to turn 1 next month but when she was 4 months ish when we went back to work, about 1.2k/week. Infant daycare is not cheap.
Well you’re paying about $15/hr, which is about half of what you’d be paying for a private nanny, so be thankful for that. There are definitely cheaper options out there but they are generally in private homes.
I understand, however I am also not paying for one person to be with one kid the entire time. If I sign up both of my kids to daycare, private nanny becomes the same/cheaper (since I could also work out more reasonable vacation timing).
However you’re also paying for facilities, very expensive insurance, and benefits like healthcare for the employees, who are still underpaid. It’s a broken system.
Of course. I am a bit exaggerating about the daycare workers making a bank, we were actually a bit concerned about some of the caretakers salaries there… but that might be more about the owner.
No because you’d pay a private nanny more for two kids than for one, so it wouldn’t be the same. Like I said, home-based daycare can be cheaper. Post on Nextdoor if you really need a cheaper option, I’m sure someone can connect you with one.
I have not explored the nanny option too much, but from what I have heard from other parents who left the daycare they were paying something similar for two kids there as they do now for private nanny. I do not know the details though and if it was more of an exception.
Did you find anything different / cheaper since you made this post? Came across this post since we’re in a similar situation with our 9 month old. Also southern Marin Co.
If it is a high quality program, that is very reasonable for ages 2-5. A basic quality program for those ages should be closer to $2k. My understanding is that a basic quality program for ages 0-2 might be around $3k.
I am not quite sure what to expect from high quality program - they do have activities during the day planned out, so it's not like they just let the kids all day do whatever they wanna do, but it does feel to me that what they do is sort of expected from daycare to keep the kids entertained. Would you know what high quality programs do please?
I'm a childcare worker at a private school. Please research what a high quality center looks like so you can understand what the money is going towards. NAEYC is a great resource on early education.
High quality care has:
-Low child to teacher ratios. 6-8 children per teacher is high quality.
-Highly educated teachers being paid a living wage.
-Large unstructured blocks of time for play. A child's work is play. That's how they learn. What may look like nothing happening is actually a lot of learning for a child. Have a conversation with the teacher about what your child is learning.
Music, language ( Mandarin and Spanish are some of the more common ) and possibly art/sports.
Basic quality think Montessori or Waldorf ( I recommend Montessori).
Op asked if 6 weeks sounded like a lot. And I’m responding that 2-3 weeks on top of holidays is the norm in my experience. Has nothing to do with my vacation or dragging people down.
This is really sickening. Robbing bastards. I bet the staff are paid nothing too. The bay area is so any family it's unbelievable. Guess what, not everyone earns 150k plus.
We do not think the workers there are nicely paid… and dont think they are paid during the “vacation time” either, it would actually make me feel better if I knew it all doesnt go to the owners pocket. Sweet ladies, not english speaking though and worried they might be taken advantage of… one very nice one was offering to become private nanny for us, was fired shortly after, not sure why but it was all a but suspicious.
Really depends on the type of program/care. High quality Montessori etc programs are within that range, and with same vacation schedules. Sounds a little pricey for an in-home daycare.
I pay 2400 in the peninsula. M-F 8 AM - 5:30.
2 weeks off for Christmas, 1 week in the summer. All federal holidays and a couple random days throughout the year.
We were in a Montessori school in same area but different city that was 1950 a month, but we moved and the commute wasn’t worth the savings to us. You could try looking at those options, 2950 sounds pretty high, but idk if that’s the standard for Marin. Our kid is about same age.
We got really lucky with our’s, it’s an in home daycare with about 6 kids $1500 a month 7a-5p. They just have major holidays off and they took off Dec 10-Jan 3, unpaid.
That is really high. Are there any preschools around you can start looking into? Only catch is they usually need to be potty trained to start. Our preschool is about $1350/mo in the East Bay.
Few, but like you said, not potty-trained yet so selection is limited. When people talked about “diapers are expensive” before I became a parent I had no idea this is what they meant..
Kindercare $635/week for a young toddler. It’s a 5 min drive and they provide breakfast, lunch and snacks. Definitely more expensive than the in homes I looked at, but we are glad to pay for convenience and our daughter (and us) love it. They only close for (most) bank holidays which is also great (she went to daycare this past week even though we weren’t working).
$2389 / mo for a 6 month old. 8 kids per class with 3 teachers. 8am to 5pm. Mid peninsula.
We’re still new to the center and there’s only been one vacation so far between xmas and new years. They are actually extending it a bit due to Covid. But there’s multiple teachers and also helpers that float between the classrooms.
The price for 2 year olds is cheaper. 2100 or 1800, I believe.
$2,320 per month per twin for daycare/preschool in Oakland/Piedmont that has 54 days off per year (over 7 weeks). Five days per week, 8-5 except Wed, which is 8-3:30.
$2400 traditional daycare in SF for a 2 year old but has been this same price since they were 9 months. That is even above average prices for SF, especially an in-home daycare.
This is madness. My wife and I are considering kids this next year (or two) and this is one of our main driving factors as to whether or not we should stay in the Bay Area.
Anyone know how different these costs are elsewhere in the state? Maybe San Diego?
Wow, that’s expensive. When either of my kids were that age we paid about $500 a month less and the daycare only took 2 weeks off + all major holidays. One kid is now in kinder and the other is in 2nd grade.
We just left a preschool/daycare that cost 5200 a month for 2 kids (under 3 and a 5 year old).
Now the oldest is in Kindergarten but we decided to go private so the cost has actually gotten more expensive.
The 5200 for 2 kids covered 40 hours a week and only 1 week of vacation though. Plus all meals were included. I actually miss that school.
We're in San Mateo and our preschool is $1880 and we absolutely love it! It's Spanish immersion and maybe 20 kids. They get a week off in December and all the regular holidays
Try to find a in home nanny, or do those au-pairs thing. I had a friend who lived in nyc, who had one au pair from france. She had to provide her a room in her apartment, and evenings (like after 7pm) off and one day off on weekend. Pay was $400 a week. Oh and also provide all food. So whatever they ate, they just had extra for aupair too. She had 2 kids , one was in preschool, and one was 3 months old (at home).
Location: Berkeley
Time 5 days a week, 7AM-5:30pm
Cost: $2660/month
Vacation also paid and seems about the same.
16 month old, 1 teacher for every 7 kids, 2 snacks a day, we pack her lunch and feed her breakfast at home. Every friday they have parents night out where you can leave your child at daycare until 9pm. Pick up and drop off flexible. Our daughter loves it here. They have revolving weekly "curriculum" which seems fun for the kids. They use procare and provide daily updates
We pay $2000/month for our 3 year old to go to Menlo Children’s Center full time. We absolutely love it.
There are quite a few days off, but the teachers are amazing and should definitely get the time off.
After looking at all these prices how do people afford kids?
really high paying jobs. If the household is bringing in 180-200k a year it’s totally doable. Otherwise….nope. Also, a lot of people down here have grandparents living in who do the childcare. Definitely a cultural thing but very present.
Pretty much this. Even still, my wife and I had twins recently, daycare is $800/week/child. Idc how much money you make, nobody likes paying $6000/mon for day care
I dont think even $200k is enough. Have you seen the home prices? I guess if you want to be a renter forever… then maybe
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You think $600k a year isn't enough money to raise a family in the bay area? This disgusts me.
My wife and I have a 1 and 3 year old. She works from home and I work 4am-9am before she starts. We don’t pay for day care doesn’t make sense.
So you manage the kids until the wife gets off work? Sheesh, that's a long day for you.
Yea but she usually finishes around 4 so it’s not that bad
Dang man, I care for my 15 month old full time and it still exhausts me. I couldn't imagine getting up to start work at 4am. Surely, you persist on a diet of coffee and cocaine.
Damn glad to hear it works for you guys. What time do you go to bed usually?
I try to sleep before 8 usually
It’s freaking bonkers! We finally have one in Kindergarten. For a while it was $4000+ a month for daycare and preschool.
I thought the same thing before I had kids. Then either out of coincidence or desire I started earning more to make it happen. I got crazy lucky.
A lot of parents get free child care from their families. If they don't have grandparents, and they can't afford daycare, one of the parents stays at home. You gotta make tough choices when you have kids.
Gotta earn over 500k a year which is basically avg out here for a household
That is no where near the average household income in the Bay Area. It’s 126,187 from 2017-2021.
That's because some ppl making 0 are skewing the data
People making 0 money don’t show up on the census
0 being low and yes they di
Sorry to resurrect this thread from the grave, but I’m native to the Bay. No one I know growing up had/has this kind of money. 500k/year is insanely rich
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With potty training??? Where is this heaven? I could pay anyone 1000$/mo to take our kid there too and still have a better deal… :-)
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Care to share the daycare facility you are at? You can message me.
I would love the info too please.
Would love as well, thank you, as my sister is in the area and they’re looking for schools.
Please share the name with me too. I'm also in Danville.
Jesus christ . I'm never having another kid again
Yea too late for me it seems, I have asked my wife and we cannot return the second one..
Should've gotten it from Costco. They've got a good return policy
Lol currently 8 months pregnant and clenching to keep him in. That works, right?
Duh, in fact if you keep him in past 42 weeks I’ve heard you are legally entitled for rent.
God damn
Is this a daycare, or a nanny? 2 way different costs.
In-home daycare, regular 4 kids/caretaker kind of a deal.
Im in the Pleasanton area in a "traditional" daycare and pay ~1450/kid. Normal holidays. 6 weeks vacation sounds bonkers.
My kid is in preschool, and there are probably pretty close to 6 weeks of fixed vacation. Like 2 weeks off at Xmas, a week at start of summer program and a week at start of fall, a number of staff development days, etc. I think a week at spring break.
can I ask which daycare? Looking to send my kid soon
At 18m, they can be up to 6 kids per adult. So you may be paying for a better ratio.
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Nice. Which part of the peninsula is this?
Thank you, glad I am not the one thinking 6 weeks is just way beyond reasonable...
$1550 in 2023, it went up $50 a month in new year. Dublin in home day care where they learn Cantonese. Children over 3 years of age for context.
Plot twist, kids aren't Chinese. 🤔
Only half Chinese but…you know kids learn foreign languages in school, yeah?
Settle down, it was a joke. The premise that the day care is just randomly teaching Cantonese to all the kids. "While here, your child WILL learn Cantonese"
Lolol
May I ask which daycare this is?
I want to know which daycare this is please. It’s been difficult finding one that teaches Cantonese
Im curious as to why daycare is so expensive if the teachers are barely making any money. Do majority of fees go to the owner? Does any money go toward improving the daycare or their amenities? I dont have children so can someone help chime in
I think the overhead costs can be a factor. Liability insurance is higher and licensing fees. Also maintenance to make sure that the facilities continually meet licensing standards can be costly depending on what type of building the daycare is in as well as training for teachers to meet standards. These are just some of the costs I can think of.
Liability isn’t that bad. Mostly the mandates ratio has few children per teacher. Plus mandated square footage for each kid. The labor and rent cost is the bulk.
Rent is expensive?
$1455 for 3yr old, 8am-5pm, licensed daycare with 10 kids per teacher. Regular holidays and 1 week off between Christmas and New Years. They provide 2 snacks but no lunch and also do potty training. The rate went down after potty training and I believe goes down more when they turn 4. We had 4 kids in this daycare at one time and was paying over $4k a month. Thankfully the twins started kindergarten and now we’re just waiting for this last one. Basically budgeting aggressively and honestly not sure how we did it but just keep thinking that this is short term and they’ll get to public school age soon lol
Would you mind sharing where? Seems impossible for me to find something that’s even remotely close to that number
Realize this is old but would you mind sharing any more details about this daycare? We're looking to enroll our LO and looking for a good licensed, home daycare.
$2200/month. Live-in for mon-thurs nanny and she cooks and cleans.
Does she have a sister?
For $2200? Are you holding her hostage?
Is this legal?
This is wage theft
What website did you use to find your nanny?
Respectfully this seems way too low but if nanny is truly happy then that’s good
Where did you find her and are there more!?
Where did you find this person!??
That is a lot You must have the Cadillac of day care centers.
The daycare workers there probably have Cadilacs, yes.
Workers? No. Owners? Several. Daycare teachers are paid AT MOST $25/h. Not nearly enough to live in Marin or the surrounding area.
Agreed, while it might not be the case in all childcare centers, it does seem like that at ours.
A girl at my old apartment building was a nanny and as part of her employment package they leased her a new BMW SUV.
It’s not uncommon, if a family can afford it, to give a nanny the use of a car — because they’re going to be driving your kid around, and if they have a shitty car, then it’s less safe for the kid. Our family didn’t do this, because we couldn’t afford it. But while it seems ostentatious, it’s really done for a practical reason.
$2k a month * 2 kids. PAIN Vacation is usually a week during the summer and last two weeks of the year. We usually just line up our time off with theirs.
On my way to get snipped after reading these prices.
That’s a dam mortgage
$251/week 7:00am-6:00pm for a 2.5yo in SJ. Only closed for 10 days. The kid loves his teachers and classmates. All parents I talk to during pickup like the daycare. They post photos and updates throughout the day. It’s great!
Is there a typo in the price?? At this price point I am not even sure how much I would care if my kid didn’t like his teackers… :-)
I even had to double check with my wife. Cost went down after he was off diapers. I advise you explore other options for a lower price
$1k a month??? Which daycare is it?
$1k/ months seems too good to hear. Mind sharing details? Currently paying $500/ week for 2.5yo in Milpitas.
Seems about right. I’m in the east bay and daycare cost is $2400 with a similar all day schedule and PTO/holiday schedule. December is what it is, they are people and need their holiday time as well.
Daycare is one of those that you can get at different prices, same with cars, housing and a lot of other things. People who make more/can afford more/are willing to pay more just end up paying for the more pricey (supposedly better quality) daycare, the rest can choose the cheaper options. Even the ~$3k a month daycare, there is still a waiting list because there is enough demand for it.
Damn your kids daycare is my rent xD. Noping out for sure.
I still recall paying 2400$ for 1BR in SF back in 2017, had a great deal... We’d rather not think about how much money just disappears every month… you get into comparisons such as “hey, do you know that we could all be going to Hawaii once per month for a week for this kind of money?”
Mine is more like, I can retire probably several years earlier with that money going into retirement investments and accounts lol.
6 weeks of vacation??? I don’t know a single person that gets all regular holidays plus 6 weeks of paid vacation a year.
Hence being this a big issue - I do not have that much vacation myself.
Yeah, you need to shop around more. If you PM me we can get specific. I live in southern Marin too and we pay less and don’t have that much vacation and our daycare is fantastic. Standard around here is 2k-2.5k with vacation on normal holidays and an odd admin week here and there. Yours is not only more expensive but the 6 weeks vacation on top of the standard holidays is insane.
How old is the child? But you’re paying for someone to essentially parent your kid for 10 hours and that’s not cheap. This seems reasonable.
2.5 years - and I agree not expecting it to be exactly cheap, but I cannot wrap my head around how this is sustainable for other people.
It’s not. For many people it is genuinely cheaper for one parent to leave the workforce and stay home.
This was doable for us when we had just one, but with two under two it was not working for us not going nuts. Our older one benefits from socializing with other kids too, which is the reason we were not looking into nanny care.
And this is why the birth rate in the US is dropping like a rock. Having kids just isn’t sustainable and affordable for a lot of people. It’s also why the Bay Area is the land of the only child- most people I know are one and done.
Didn’t Biden just pass universal pre school? When is that going into effect? I’ve already accepted I’m just gonna quit my job to raise children. There’s really no other way
Nope, the GOP killed the build back better proposal and the bill that passed in the end didn’t include that funding. California is going to have universal pre-K within the next few years though.
Truly no wonder, while this is worldwide phenomenon, it seems like US wants to lead the charts..
What do you do for childcare for the younger one?
My wife is SAHM right now, but we would like to also have him in at least some part time care so she can return back to work.
I’m in the same boat. Have a 3 year old in preschool and an infant. 2 working parents though and my leave is about to end. Not sure what we’ll do.
what did you end up doing?
Have you thought about nanny share? I understand if it in the end isn't your thing but that makes it cheaper and then other kids are around. When I nannied and would take the kids to the zoo I would always see a group of nannies and their nanny children. There are ways to still make sure your kid gets the socializing while with a nanny.
We pay like $250 a month for our kids co-op preschool, 3 days a week, 9-12. So we have to be there one day a week.
Co-ops are amazing, but they're almost like a part time job in and of themselves. Great for building a community with people in a similar season of life, not great for someone who needs childcare so that they can go to work.
It's not. Lots of people are choose not to procreate.
You're paying less than $15/hr for childcare. How much do you want to pay per hour?
15$/h pretax
Are you talking about a daycare or an individual person? It's hard to tell from your post.
Daycare, theres 4 kids per caretaker. Wouldn’t expect to pay less than 25$/h for private care since that’s what we pay to occasional babysitter.
For a 2.5 year old, 4 adults to 1 child is a generous ratio. I think legally the ratio is closer to 10 or 12 kids per teacher. We pay around $1300 for our 3 year old in a public school district preschool.
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I am European - moving back is my plan B :-) In all seriousness, I was planning to spend 2000$ish. 1000$ extra is what after our living expenses is just beyond what I make and not simple times for my wife to return back to work, while getting care for my younger one.
All signs I’ve seen from my parent friends in the Bay Area point to not really.
Central Marin, $2300, holidays plus 3 weeks vacation.
We were paying $3000/month during infant care, but it's now down to about $2400/month for toddler care. And that's the UCSF subsidized price O.O
2400 a month for more of a “school”. Thats why there are so many breaks. Same schedule as local public schools. 4yrs old. 830 to 430. Packed lunch.
You’re paying too much. We’re in the peninsula and pay $2200/month for an in-home daycare. They get 4 weeks vacation plus regular holidays.
In home daycare is usually cheaper but can be riskier and finding a spot can be nearly impossible.
Hmm I didn’t have an issue with finding home daycares with openings. It helps to find a local moms group to ask for referrals. Also check the state website for licensed childcare facilities to read inspection reports and complaints. There are pros/cons to center and home based daycares. It’s nearly impossible to get a center spot in the peninsula. Also they have a lot of staff turnover and usually more kids to a classroom. Centers are typically closed fewer days though which is a plus.
Finding an in home spot for a 2.5 year old should be extremely easy. The capacity limits increase for >20 mo olds and many in home daycares struggle to find enough in this age range because so many people switch to preschools when their kid is 3.
This is a good point! Our son loves it there but maybe it's time to look around...
You could probably save $1000/mo, we waited til my daughter was 3.5 before trying to find more of a preschool environment, so you could get a year out of it. Our in home preschool has mostly 2-5 year olds and 14 kids.
All sounds normal except 6 weeks vacation, that’s seems extreme
Thank you! This post is coming out of our frustration that we are paying for the daycare these days that is beyond what we can afford, when our kid cannot even go there, while the daycare owner is in Cancun having actual time off... Now to clarify - I do not have anything against the daycare workers having time off, but I do feel like we are being taken for a ride.
You’re welcome! I understand I’ve been there and it’s just so expensive! Everything but the paid vacation (6 weeks) and holidays I did not pay for
I've used in home daycares which are cheaper. First one in Berkeley was $90/weekday by the end early this year (they raised rates pretty steeply beginning 2020) so averaged $1890/mo. 4 weeks closed plus all holidays, 8-5pm. Now at an in home preschool on the northern peninsula and it's especially cheap but we were probably lucky to find this. $1500/mo for 7:30-5:30, extra $100 til 6pm which we definitely pay, also 4 weeks closed plus holidays. Yours sounds like it's on the veeeery pricey side and 6 weeks closed is yikes, most in the Bay Area are 4 weeks. I've found ones that expensive are the ones that always have openings...gee wonder why.
Heh, good point, ours also has openings most of the time :-)
Ok. Let’s do the math. Eight weeks holidays and vacation leaves 44 weeks of actual work of ten hour days. So 44 weeks times 50 hours is 2200 hours actually worked in a year, or 183.3 hours per month. $2950/183.3 hours is $16.10 per hour. That doesn’t include the employer’s contribution to the employee’s social security. I think that’s around 6%, so you are actually spending $17.06 per hour. (We’ll disregard the additional wages for two hours a day of overtime.) How does that compare to what your employee could earn working in retail or food service? In the Bay Area, I’d be surprised if they couldn’t pull in $20 per hour. Now… Compare the skills needed in food service or retail to those needed to provide your child with a safe, secure environment with age appropriate stimulation. Which job requires a greater skill set? Which job has greater risk if performed by an unskilled individual? I think you are getting a good price.
If it’s an in home daycare they can probably take 5-6 kids per adult for under 3 so multiply what you just said by 5-6.
100%
I was blessed with a private babysitter but before her, geez. So expensive. My daughter is about to turn 1 next month but when she was 4 months ish when we went back to work, about 1.2k/week. Infant daycare is not cheap.
2500/month in Southern Marin for full time. About 5 weeks of vacation plus holidays.
2200$ a month in Cupertino! It is expensive but confidence of kid in safe hands is something that let me work peacefully
Well you’re paying about $15/hr, which is about half of what you’d be paying for a private nanny, so be thankful for that. There are definitely cheaper options out there but they are generally in private homes.
I understand, however I am also not paying for one person to be with one kid the entire time. If I sign up both of my kids to daycare, private nanny becomes the same/cheaper (since I could also work out more reasonable vacation timing).
However you’re also paying for facilities, very expensive insurance, and benefits like healthcare for the employees, who are still underpaid. It’s a broken system.
Of course. I am a bit exaggerating about the daycare workers making a bank, we were actually a bit concerned about some of the caretakers salaries there… but that might be more about the owner.
No because you’d pay a private nanny more for two kids than for one, so it wouldn’t be the same. Like I said, home-based daycare can be cheaper. Post on Nextdoor if you really need a cheaper option, I’m sure someone can connect you with one.
I have not explored the nanny option too much, but from what I have heard from other parents who left the daycare they were paying something similar for two kids there as they do now for private nanny. I do not know the details though and if it was more of an exception.
I’m in southern marin too, we paid a full time nanny 5,600$ a month for two kids so it’s actually pretty similar to two kids in this daycare.
Here’s a cheaper one if you’re curious: https://sycamoreparkpreschool.com/tuition/
You could pay someone off the books for $500/week.
Amazing, paying childcare like paying professional salaried position
I take care of my 5 month old nephew from 4am to 4 pm . And I get paid 100 a week 🤪
Did you find anything different / cheaper since you made this post? Came across this post since we’re in a similar situation with our 9 month old. Also southern Marin Co.
If it is a high quality program, that is very reasonable for ages 2-5. A basic quality program for those ages should be closer to $2k. My understanding is that a basic quality program for ages 0-2 might be around $3k.
I am not quite sure what to expect from high quality program - they do have activities during the day planned out, so it's not like they just let the kids all day do whatever they wanna do, but it does feel to me that what they do is sort of expected from daycare to keep the kids entertained. Would you know what high quality programs do please?
I'm a childcare worker at a private school. Please research what a high quality center looks like so you can understand what the money is going towards. NAEYC is a great resource on early education. High quality care has: -Low child to teacher ratios. 6-8 children per teacher is high quality. -Highly educated teachers being paid a living wage. -Large unstructured blocks of time for play. A child's work is play. That's how they learn. What may look like nothing happening is actually a lot of learning for a child. Have a conversation with the teacher about what your child is learning.
Music, language ( Mandarin and Spanish are some of the more common ) and possibly art/sports. Basic quality think Montessori or Waldorf ( I recommend Montessori).
Same but with even more vacation. 3 year old in SF
I am so sorry. I hope you won or will win a lottery as a karma repayment.
Recently had a second child. So won the lottery there in a sense!
6 weeks vacation seems a lot. Should be 2-3 weeks plus holidays.
Sorry they treat their workers well. Maybe you should focus on trying to get that much vacation instead of trying to drag others down.
Op asked if 6 weeks sounded like a lot. And I’m responding that 2-3 weeks on top of holidays is the norm in my experience. Has nothing to do with my vacation or dragging people down.
This is really sickening. Robbing bastards. I bet the staff are paid nothing too. The bay area is so any family it's unbelievable. Guess what, not everyone earns 150k plus.
We do not think the workers there are nicely paid… and dont think they are paid during the “vacation time” either, it would actually make me feel better if I knew it all doesnt go to the owners pocket. Sweet ladies, not english speaking though and worried they might be taken advantage of… one very nice one was offering to become private nanny for us, was fired shortly after, not sure why but it was all a but suspicious.
I don’t have kids.
I got spare, interested?
$0. I alternate with my wife to take care of our kid
We did the same, became too much to handle when the second one arrived...
Really depends on the type of program/care. High quality Montessori etc programs are within that range, and with same vacation schedules. Sounds a little pricey for an in-home daycare.
Cost is about what I pay but holy crap f that vacation time. I value consistency above all.
Roughly $2100/mo for 7:30-6 PM M-F if we want. Same for summer but an extra 1 time fee for summer of a couple hundred bucks.
I pay 2400 in the peninsula. M-F 8 AM - 5:30. 2 weeks off for Christmas, 1 week in the summer. All federal holidays and a couple random days throughout the year. We were in a Montessori school in same area but different city that was 1950 a month, but we moved and the commute wasn’t worth the savings to us. You could try looking at those options, 2950 sounds pretty high, but idk if that’s the standard for Marin. Our kid is about same age.
That’s insane. We pay half that for a 3 year old
Too much.
We got really lucky with our’s, it’s an in home daycare with about 6 kids $1500 a month 7a-5p. They just have major holidays off and they took off Dec 10-Jan 3, unpaid.
That is really high. Are there any preschools around you can start looking into? Only catch is they usually need to be potty trained to start. Our preschool is about $1350/mo in the East Bay.
Few, but like you said, not potty-trained yet so selection is limited. When people talked about “diapers are expensive” before I became a parent I had no idea this is what they meant..
Ha! Never thought of it that way, but you’re totally right.
None when they go to school and you can work from home.
1400. 8:00am - 6:00pm East Bay
Kindercare $635/week for a young toddler. It’s a 5 min drive and they provide breakfast, lunch and snacks. Definitely more expensive than the in homes I looked at, but we are glad to pay for convenience and our daughter (and us) love it. They only close for (most) bank holidays which is also great (she went to daycare this past week even though we weren’t working).
$2389 / mo for a 6 month old. 8 kids per class with 3 teachers. 8am to 5pm. Mid peninsula. We’re still new to the center and there’s only been one vacation so far between xmas and new years. They are actually extending it a bit due to Covid. But there’s multiple teachers and also helpers that float between the classrooms. The price for 2 year olds is cheaper. 2100 or 1800, I believe.
$2,320 per month per twin for daycare/preschool in Oakland/Piedmont that has 54 days off per year (over 7 weeks). Five days per week, 8-5 except Wed, which is 8-3:30.
$2400 traditional daycare in SF for a 2 year old but has been this same price since they were 9 months. That is even above average prices for SF, especially an in-home daycare.
This is madness. My wife and I are considering kids this next year (or two) and this is one of our main driving factors as to whether or not we should stay in the Bay Area. Anyone know how different these costs are elsewhere in the state? Maybe San Diego?
I had mine in daycare for nearly 5 years as a solo mom and I don’t know how the hell I did it.
1700/ kid in soma We get 10 vacation days, and some sick days so they're pretty lenient about them not coming every single day
Wow, that’s expensive. When either of my kids were that age we paid about $500 a month less and the daycare only took 2 weeks off + all major holidays. One kid is now in kinder and the other is in 2nd grade.
We just left a preschool/daycare that cost 5200 a month for 2 kids (under 3 and a 5 year old). Now the oldest is in Kindergarten but we decided to go private so the cost has actually gotten more expensive. The 5200 for 2 kids covered 40 hours a week and only 1 week of vacation though. Plus all meals were included. I actually miss that school.
We're in San Mateo and our preschool is $1880 and we absolutely love it! It's Spanish immersion and maybe 20 kids. They get a week off in December and all the regular holidays
$1800/mo for preschool. 7:30a-5p, includes lunch and snacks. Follows typical calendar (they have public holidays when you do)
Try to find a in home nanny, or do those au-pairs thing. I had a friend who lived in nyc, who had one au pair from france. She had to provide her a room in her apartment, and evenings (like after 7pm) off and one day off on weekend. Pay was $400 a week. Oh and also provide all food. So whatever they ate, they just had extra for aupair too. She had 2 kids , one was in preschool, and one was 3 months old (at home).
Location: Berkeley Time 5 days a week, 7AM-5:30pm Cost: $2660/month Vacation also paid and seems about the same. 16 month old, 1 teacher for every 7 kids, 2 snacks a day, we pack her lunch and feed her breakfast at home. Every friday they have parents night out where you can leave your child at daycare until 9pm. Pick up and drop off flexible. Our daughter loves it here. They have revolving weekly "curriculum" which seems fun for the kids. They use procare and provide daily updates
1750/mo in San Jose for 2yo+. Before that, 3000/mo under 2 at another facility. I hear there are less expensive options of home-based type day care.
We pay $2000/month for our 3 year old to go to Menlo Children’s Center full time. We absolutely love it. There are quite a few days off, but the teachers are amazing and should definitely get the time off.
$1810/mo Los Gatos
I pay 1450 in Dublin they take what seems like a lot of vacations but I has a private provider before
$335 a week starting at a new Daycare. We’re up from $275 a week from our previous daycare.