Q for parents with two infants going to daycare...

[PintoBean]

Of course they'll tell me that I'll make more $$$ until the stock market crashes... Anyhow I don't have a financial advisor.

Invest it in your new day care business.

 

[Dancing Fire]

DF get that license and start Dancing Fire Daycare!

I haven't changed a diaper in most 30 yrs.... Did anybody invented an automatic diaper changer yet?...

 

[PintoBean]

I haven't changed a diaper in most 30 yrs.... Did anybody invented an automatic diaper changer yet?...

There's an iPhone app you can get - iDiaper

 

[LJsapphire]

Mine was about £500 a month for one child, 7 years ago. I went back to work after 9 months. These days my mum looks after him for half an hour in the morning and takes him to school, and in the afternoon some days she has him for 1 hr -90 mins and some days he is in after-school club.

 

[LLJsmom]

Of course they'll tell me that I'll make more $$$ until the stock market crashes... Anyhow I don't have a financial advisor.

Fine. So I will tell you. Of course the market will crash. Of course it will go up again. You’ve got 18 years until your grandchild goes to college. Over a time that long, the market will overall trend upwards.

 

[missy]

Of course they'll tell me that I'll make more $$$ until the stock market crashes... Anyhow I don't have a financial advisor.

Fine. So I will tell you. Of course the market will crash. Of course it will go up again. You’ve got 18 years until your grandchild goes to college. Over a time that long, the market will overall trend upwards.

@Dancing Fire that will be $1k for @LLJsmom time and expertise. Please make the check payable to CASH.

 

[madelise]

I know in the lower peninsula/ north south bay, my teacher friends pay over $3k with their educators discount for daycare for two kiddos. I don't know how much it costs in your area. But I remember calculating... take home pay of $4k, to have 75% spent on daycare.... with the stress of commuting to day care to work and back... not worth it IMO. If you have the ability to help your grandbabies out, it would be so amazing for your daugthers.

 

[madelise]

In the SF area, average $2k/month/infant per infant. Yup 4.5 months counts as an infant. No discounts for 2. And it’s after tax dollars. The FSA is limited $5k/year so helps a little but not much. So that means a person needs to earn about $6500/month pre-tax to make it worth while to work.

Thanks for the birth control, LLJ! HAHAH!

 

[ringbling17]

Where I lived in NY the daycare right near my house was $1700 or $1800 a month. Five days a week from 6 am to 6 pm. A second child got you a discount of 10%. This was 8 years ago so I’m pretty sure prices went up since then. Also, This wasn’t in Manhattan though so I’m sure prices in the actual city would be even more expensive.
I haven’t checked out daycare prices near me in NJ.
I’ve been fortunate enough to never have to use daycare. I work nights and my husband works nights. Both of us work part time so we work our schedule so the kids always have one parent at home at all times. It’s always worked for us, we save money, and I’d rather have one of us watching our kids than a stranger.
The few times I did use my MIL or aunt to babysit when I lived in NY, I did pay them.

 

[chrono]

There’s the tax shelter (taken out pretax), tax deduction, multiple child daycare discount, and continued 401K / pension growth to consider.

Also, not every parent is able to cope with the stress of childcare. It’s extremely hard work.

 

[LLJsmom]

@Dancing Fire that will be $1k for @LLJsmom time and expertise. Please make the check payable to CASH.

I love you @missy

Since @missy is so kind to think of me I will just mention incase you don’t know, income earned on 529 investments is tax exempt provided they are spent o qualified higher education expenses. And it doesn’t matter if the parents already set one up for the child. By the time your grandkids go to college they will need easily half a mil.

 

[Dancing Fire]

There’s the tax shelter (taken out pretax), tax deduction, multiple child daycare discount, and continued 401K / pension growth to consider.

Also, not every parent is able to cope with the stress of childcare. It’s extremely hard work.

Then why have kids in the first place? .... daycare aren't 24/7 service.

 

[canuk-gal]

Then why have kids in the first place? .... daycare aren't 24/7 service.

Really? Simply nonsense DF.

 

[Dancing Fire]

Really? Simply nonsense DF.

If you can't handle the stress why have kids?

 

[YadaYadaYada]

@Dancing Fire, why have kids? Tax deduction!

 

[Asscherhalo_lover]

I live on long island, prices here start at 2k per month per kid. If you have the space in your house, it costs much less to hire a live in nanny. My mother watches my son, I do not pay her. I watched my brothers as much as I could so we consider it a wash.

 

[canuk-gal]

If you can't handle the stress why have kids?

waaaaaaaa

 

[Dancing Fire]

@Dancing Fire, why have kids? Tax deduction!

Much cheaper to the pay taxes!...

 

[tyty333]

Nahh, we would rather see them put more money into their mortgage each month.

Yes, that's fine DF...as long as the money is going to something worthwhile and not being pi$$ed away. Some kids are responsible and will use the
money for something good. Others...will use it to buy bigger TV, more electronics, vacations, eating out etc. However, I do prefer the 529 idea but to each
their own.

 

[Rubybrick]

DF...my mom watched my oldest child when I went back to work. I paid her for it. Worth every penny! Didnt cost me as much as regular day
care and I knew he was getting the best care possible.

Make your kids pay. Do what you want with the money or tuck the money away to give back to them someday (or help pay for the grandkids college).
I dont think they should be getting "free" daycare. Even if you love doing the job, its a big responsibility and very time consuming.

A lot of wisdom in this. I second that grandma’s work should not be “free”.

 

[Rubybrick]

Thanks for the birth control, LLJ! HAHAH!

If you happen to be in a career where you can “off ramp” for a couple years where you can send your kids to preschool instead of infant care, it can be more doable. Also speaking from my own experiences I was more than ready to be back to work after about 18month of mommy daycare for both my kids! And I think my kids are happier too!

 

[Dancing Fire]

My wife is still providing FREE daycare for 3 grandkids.

 

[Asscherhalo_lover]

My wife is still providing FREE daycare for 3 grandkids.

I was nice to my Mom and spaced out my kids so she only has one at a time

 

[Mreader]

My wife is still providing FREE daycare for 3 grandkids.

I hope she is ok with it and/or the parents do things to reciprocate.I think it’s an amazing thing she is doing for them.
Eta - As for the question about daycare vs. work - sometimes it’s not the monetary value at play. I would go bonkers if I had to stay home with my kid all day (this was tested when he was home w me for a year due to Covid).

 

[Dancing Fire]

I hope she is ok with it and/or the parents do things to reciprocate.I think it’s an amazing thing she is doing for them.

Wife and I love playing with our grandkids.

 

[qubitasaurus]

I think it is 1600-2300 a month per kid here. At least we toured all the ones near us and that was what we got told (i think it'd be a bit more in the center of the city, and a bit cheaper if we were in a less well off district). We need an additional care giver for the hours after daycare ends where we are still working. For us still much better off to keep working (this will still be true when #2 gets here in a few days time). But I've had two people tell me that it's not worth it, and both are going to give up living here to return to their home countries where costs are lower. One is my daughters best friend. I am not looking forward to trying to explain it to her.