HOW do people afford preschool?? - Page 3

[The4OfUs]

I am GOBSMACKED at some of these prices.  I paid $95 a month for one kid for 2 days, 2 hours a day, and then $110 a month for the next kid, 3 years later.

[AndrewsMother]

We spent about $18,000 a year for 3 years.  We drove one car, and only ate out 1 or 2 a week, and I did not spend much money on myself or my husband.  

Preschool was a stretch, but worth every penny, 

[mommy68]

Originally Posted by The4OfUs 

I am GOBSMACKED at some of these prices.  I paid $95 a month for one kid for 2 days, 2 hours a day, and then $110 a month for the next kid, 3 years later.

me too. Preschool is so cheap where I live, more in the range of what you have posted.

[MadelynMc]

Our full-time preschool (M-F 7-6) is $1,180 per month. Sounds about right... I know there are cheaper daycares in our area, but we get a lot of bang for our buck at this school as they have year-round swimming lessons, art classes, formal PE, etc. for all ages. We are having another baby at the end of the summer, and we have definitely been crunching the numbers (cost/benefit of me working). Oh, the economics of having children.

[The4OfUs]

I think there is also a HUGE variance in what "preschool" is considered.  For us, preschool was a couple hours, a couple days a week, mainly for socialization.  I would not consider a 7am-6pm, 5-day a week, year-round offering a preschool program, even if it was for a 3 or 4 year old.  I mean, I guess any "school" done before Kindergarten is technically preschool, but holy crap that is not what my kids were getting in 2 hours a day, 2 days a week.  LOL.  

[MadelynMc]

Originally Posted by The4OfUs 

I think there is also a HUGE variance in what "preschool" is considered.  For us, preschool was a couple hours, a couple days a week, mainly for socialization.  I would not consider a 7am-6pm, 5-day a week, year-round offering a preschool program, even if it was for a 3 or 4 year old.  I mean, I guess any "school" done before Kindergarten is technically preschool, but holy crap that is not what my kids were getting in 2 hours a day, 2 days a week.  LOL.  

I get what you're saying about the hours variation, but what do you consider to be the actual difference? I consider our full-time program to be a preschool based on the curriculum, focus on Kindergarten prep, and level of organization. I dislike the term daycare, as well.

[The4OfUs]

Originally Posted by MadelynMc 


I get what you're saying about the hours variation, but what do you consider to be the actual difference? I consider our full-time program to be a preschool based on the curriculum, focus on Kindergarten prep, and level of organization. I dislike the term daycare, as well.

The preschool we used didn't have a curriculum.  It was play based.   It was free play, art (which was always optional), circle time (sing a couple songs, play a game, talk about the weather, talk about a letter/number/color, read a story), have a snack, more free play, and then go home.  That, to me, is preschool. 

There is then, in my area,  "Pre-K" for 4-year-olds, that was more of a Kindergarten prep type of thing, in that they were more rigid about the schedule and had the kids doing actual writing/working on letters/numbers/colors/shapes, but that was still only 2-1/2 hours a day, and was through the school district, not private.

I'll also mention that I HATE that Kindergarteners have to be prepared for anything.  But that's a whole other thread, and a whole other soapbox for me.  ;)

[RoadBuddy]

That sounds like full-time, daycare preschool price. Those of us who do not work outside the home will often send our kids to pre-school for 2, 3, or 4 mornings a week. Generally something like 9-11 or 12, a few days a week. Mine is $160/month for 3 mornings 9-11:30.  I've seen some as low as $120 and some as high as $350, but nothing in the 4 figure range. Some of the super-fancy expensive prep schools probably have preschools, but that's not my scene in a number of ways so I haven't priced those. The ones I'm talking about are in churches or community centers, very loving low-pressure environments.

I'm sure places like NY or SF are more expensive, this is for a big city in the midwest.

So people afford full-day preschool by having two parents who both work. Now, that would be practically my full take-home salary if I were to go back to work but I'm not in a high-paying field 

[Escaping]

Wow, I'd like to know where some of you live!! :)

The daycare/preschool we're currently signed up with (not sure if we'll go with them in the end) costs just short of $23,000 a year. That's just a regular preschool, and the price is quite typical in my area. It costs more than my mortgage and about double what university costs in our city, but our government does nothing to help... just like someone else mentioned, if you're poor, it's free, if you're rich it doesn't matter but if you're average, you just have to suck it up if you want to keep your job.

[The4OfUs]

I cannot even fathom that.  That's triple the mortgage on my 3 BR, comfortable house.  It's more than my COLLEGE TUITION was in the early '90s.  

[incorrigible]

Cost isn't even the issue here. The only preschool within 100 miles is a single Head Start preschool. If you don't qualify for Head Start, there are no other options. It's a low enough income community that most people do qualify, but oddly the families that would benefit from it most don't usually take advantage of it. The preschool is filled with kids in families that just barely qualify. The ones that are living quite comfortably by local standards. Preschool is seen as a very middle class thing around here. Poor families see it as a luxury. Well off families see it as a waste of time.

[Viola]

I sent my children to preschool for either 2 half days or 3 half days.  Then when they were 5, I sent them to full day kindergarten at a private school.  My youngest daughter is in 3rd grade, so it's been awhile, but we did not pay anywhere near the prices you are mentioning.  My memory was that it was around $360 a month for full day.

[marsupial-mom]

How do people afford preschool? The same way they afford college or private school: they prioritize, budget, save, or they get scholarships/subsidies. That's how.

[llwr]

Day-care type preschool (goddard, for example) is much more expensive than church preschool.  I paid $130/mo last year for 2.5 hrs a day, 3 days a week.  This was the cheapest (by only a little) in my area, but we were very happy with it.  Schools around here frequently have a preschool program with about half mainstream, half special needs.  It's another place to check.  I don't think preschool is a necessity.  We did it one year and DD loved it.  We might put DD2 in for 2 years because I think it would benefit her socially, but I still don't think it's a necessity.  I don't see any reason to pay thousands for it. 

[mamazee]

You know I'm fairly wealthy and I still wouldn't spend $23k on preschool. I'd hook up with friends and have playdates two to three times a week for a few hours.

I do two mornings a week, three hours each day, and it's $200 a month. I think that's expensive enough.

[limabean]

Originally Posted by Escaping 

Wow, I'd like to know where some of you live!! :)

The daycare/preschool we're currently signed up with (not sure if we'll go with them in the end) costs just short of $23,000 a year. That's just a regular preschool, and the price is quite typical in my area. It costs more than my mortgage and about double what university costs in our city, but our government does nothing to help... just like someone else mentioned, if you're poor, it's free, if you're rich it doesn't matter but if you're average, you just have to suck it up if you want to keep your job.

I think the disparity comes because people are comparing apples and oranges. Someone who sends their kid to preschool for 6 hours a week is going to have quite a price difference compared to someone who sends their kid to preschool for 40+ hours a week, you know? The price above must be for full-time care? My friend pays about $1500/month to send her son to full-time daycare (totaling about $18,000/year), so I can see how rates can reach that high for full-time care. And yet I live in the same town and pay $230/month for 2-mornings-a-week preschool, so geography has nothing to do with it, it's just the simple fact that more hours = more money. Both our rates work out to between $9 and $10/hour. 

[Drummer's Wife]

That definitely seems expensive! As for how people afford it: for us, we did different things for each kid.

#1 - we paid $350 a month for half-day Montessori when she was 3, then we kept her home when she was 4 (and homeschooled for Kindergarten.

#2 - he didn't attend school until he was 4, and it was through a lottery that we got a pre-k spot for free, half-days, and only from Aug- Dec as we moved out of state at that point.

#3 - He also didn't attend until age 4, and got into a state-funded special needs pre-k program. Half-days, four days a week.

#4 - we had more money at this point, and I wanted him into the Montessori program the older kids attended, so we paid $400 a month when he was three for half-days, and $600 a month when he was four for full-days. Now he's in Kindergarten (same Montessori program; same class and teacher from the last three years), and it's finally free for all-day.

I guess when we did have to pay tuition, we found a way to cut corners elsewhere; I dunno! Now I hate even paying for any after-school care and school holidays/teacher work days, and we finally have two incomes. I guess it's all relative to what you are making at the time - right now the thought of paying $600 a month for preschool, or twice that in childcare for an infant/toddler, freak me out! And, again, we make a lot more money than we did many years ago when we found a wayto send our oldest to preschool.

Fwiw, I definitely don't think preschool is necessary, for your typical kid. And, if one qualifies and can get a slot, I am a huge advocate for Head Start (free!), as I work for an Early Head Start program now.

[grumpybear]

Woah!!! $23K a year?!!!

[moominmamma]

Yes, to compare the question needs to be about the per-hour rate. My eldest briefly attended preschool for six hours a week, which is the norm in our area. We paid about $7/hour, or $190/month, 9 months of the year, working out to about $1700/year. It was inexpensive, sure, but if she'd been attending for the hours of full-time daycare (~ 50 hours a week, 52 weeks a year) that same inexpensive hourly rate would have totalled over $18 thousand.

Miranda

[mar123]

Where I live, the Catholic schools all start at age 2 or 3. It is typically cheaper than regular daycare and they all have aftercare programs. When my youngest was 3, we moved her to the same school her siblings were attending. We ended up paying about $400 a month for that, compared to $600-$800 for regular daycare. And you don't have to continue past pre-school if you don't want to. They also have financial assistance and it is still tax deductible. (in my state it is also deductible on state taxes).

I have two kids in Catholic high school and one in middle school, and our total cost for all three is $23K. I cann't imagine paying that for one pre-schooler.