[kzwief]

DH and I need to start looking into day care for Kate. She will be in day care 4 days a week. So, what do you pay in your area. I just wanna prepare myself for the idea of what it might cost.

[carolynpep73]

Currently as a 3 y/o I pay $130 a week, however, because I am a member of the church I get a 10% discount (it's my church's daycare).

When Olivia was under 1 it was $150, 2 $140, etc.

I live in SW FL. I'm pretty sure it varys from area to area.

Good luck!

[bbeard72]

Full time care at our church preschool is $980 a month. We are in Charlotte,NC

[Niclayson]

Ummm...too much! I pay $170/week for a 3 year old. It is an excellent daycare with good ratios of teachers to children so I guess I shouldn't complain...they are wonderful to Trey.

He had been another less expensive school but we ended up having real issues. One day I went to drop him off and there were 14 kids under 18 months in one room with one teacher. I was like "I don't think so!"

Both of these schools are private and in SE Florida.

[angieandstever]

We pay $964 a month for our two year old in St. Louis. It is expensive but worth it totally to pay more if you really like the place, which we do!

[robandjulie]

In St Louis we would have paid $225/week for full time for a 18 mo old (5 days/week, 40-50 hrs/week); since we only used it 4 hours a day we paid a little over 1/2 ($130).

In upstate NY we paid $135/week for full time 5 days a week. She was just over 2 when she started and almost 3 when we stopped.

In both cases we had to bring our own diapers & wipes and back up clothes but that was all--they provided all the food, snacks, and drinks for the day. Both were also small settings with no more than 6 kids and 2 caregivers--one who lived there and one that came to help.

[mlburney]

We are in a small town in Mississippi and our daughter goes to what most everyone here would say is the best daycare in town. After looking at everyone else's posts, I guess we are very blessed that it only costs $85 a week!

[adoptnky]

I live in Kentucky. Alex goes to daycare 3 days a week and we pay $69.00 a week - very cheap in my opinion. I do really like his "school" so I think we are very lucky. We also supply dipaers, wipes and a backup outfit. They supply breakfast, lunch and a snack.

Kim

[dana3262]

I'm in NYC and I'm afraid to tell you what I will be paying. I'm planning on having a nanny at first and I think I will be looking at spending at least $500 / Week! I know, it's crazy, but that is the going rate. Daycare is less, but not a whole lot less.

[cbmstephanie]

Sioux Falls, so not too far from you.

We paid $100 per week full time for one child and $175.00 per week for 2.

My provider provides breakfast, lunch and snacks and whole milk. We have to provide formula and diapers.

[vjk1]

Maple Grove, MN here. I had to choose a center. All the home daycares in the area didn't open until 7:00 and closed at 5:00 and I couldn't find a spot for an infant. As a single mom who works downtown, I needed more flexibility with hours as well.

Luckily for me the center I liked best was the "cheapest". I paid $245 per week for an infant in Jan 2007. There have been several rate increases and now that she is in the 2 year old room I am paying $220. I really like the center and would hate to change it.

Some of my friends have been lucky to find daycare at about 75% of what I pay, but they work staggered schedules so one can do the drop off and the other the pick up.

[BarbnJeff]

Both our boys are in the daycare and we pay ~$450 a week in Wilmington, DE. I'll be glad when they are in school.

[DW326]

We live in upstate NY and pay $298/week.

[matthewsmom0505]

Wow--I'm going to quit complaining! We pay $119/week for our 3 yr old DS and $139/week for almost 10 month old DD. Our daycare does offer part time rates of $30 per day for DS and $32 for DD, so not much of a price break, but it's a good option that is pretty hard to find if you need it. To me it's A LOT of money, but unfortunately it's still worth it financially for me to work. I will say, though, that our center, which is affiliated with a church, is one of the least expensive that I've found. Good luck with your search!

[Waiting4Celeste]

Celeste just started at a new school (you can see pics of her first day on our blog!) and it is $27/day. We left another preschool last May that was $50/day.

We didn't necessarily change because of the cost... we changed because the first school didn't offer a Christian curriculum. Also because she is now at the school that Jacob went to for Preschool and Pre-K and we LOVE the teachers & staff there! It just feels like "home". She does get breakast (not that we get there in time for breakfast!) lunch and snacks. I had to bring school supplies, but nothing else (besides extra clothes).

I guess I should consider ourselves pretty fortunate that we only pay $350/month for 3 days/week. Oh - and that's for a 2 year old. Thankfully, it will only get cheaper!