Okay, this baby is still six months away from being born. It is currently the size of a lemon, and I'm not going back to work until January 2011, but I'm already a bit stressed about finding childcare. It all started last week when I guy I teach with was talking about their search for child care. Their baby is due in May and his wife is returning to work in September. They've been look for the last few weeks and quite a few places have no openings.
Another friend who works at a private school that has day care, expressed that they have a similar situation. They have two infant openings for fall and several people already interested in those spots. It seems that many child care centers have a 18 month waiting list!
18 MONTHS! How is that possible when you only know you are going to have a baby for 9 months and very few people can take another 9 months off work! I'm thinking I can take three or maybe four, that means I'm only 9 months away from needing child care! Thus, the searching and researching have began.
The Good News: There are a lot of really great day care centers very close to where we live and work.
The Bad News: Most of these places are crazy expensive and many will make me pay for 12 months even if I want to keep my own child in the summer!
This didn't seem to be a problem when we were growing up. Many moms stayed home and there was lots of family around to help care for the little one. My sister and I went to work with mom for a while, then to "Nanny", a woman who kept several kids in her house. Josh went to "Granny", the same situation. There were no stars and certifications. How did our parents know these people and know they were safe. There is still in home care, but that is tricky. How do you know if the person is trust worthy? What do you do when that person is sick or out of town?
Help! I welcome any advice, recommendations, and referrals you can offer!
I will point out that the 18month wait list is for preschool. As in ... already existing children who are about a year old if they want to be in preschool at age 3. Just to clear that up :-)
ReplyDeleteI hear you! I am having a hard enough time trying to find a babysitter. I did hear that you can go to Babycenter.com type in a search for babysitters and there are several websites to look at. If I was in your situation, I think that I would want someone to came to my house and watch my child. Ask around at local Ped. offices.
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