Having trouble swallowing the cost of daycare for 2 - Page 2

[DCMama01]

Yea, DC is always in the top 3 most expensive cities to find childcare. We were also on the waitlist for the current daycare for 16 months. It's only affordable because its run by a church that subsidizes the rate will below market rate (which is $300-350 per week) in DC.

[SolaSola]

I hear you. We pay $1400/month for our daughter.  Its about half my paycheck. 

[cristeen]

Yeah - at this point this is why I still SaH, even though I'd like to be going back to school.  We can't swing even PT childcare costs.  Here you're looking at almost $1000/mo for 3 half-days a week.  We can't swing that, and with #2 on the way, it's even worse.  I'd have to be working FT just to pay for daycare/preschool, I wouldn't be bringing anything home, and I couldn't go to school.  I'm just hoping that DS' autism dx means we can get him into subsidized preschool when he turns 3 (which we wouldn't qualify for without the dx). 

[greenmom4]

It's bad enough during the year, (one in FT daycare, 2 in after school), but I'm petrified of what it will cost during the summer.  This will be the first year that we will need to have all 3 kids in FT care in the summer, and I think it's going to cost about $2300/month. 

It's difficult to find college kids or even high school kids because most that come home end up working at the Lab, which pays a good $18-20/hr and they can get college credit for.

I know it will get easier as the kids get older but, it's really, really painful right now.

[liberal_chick]

Yeah, we'll have one that'll need care this summer too.  I told dh we might as well just hold about $1200 out of his bonus and put it aside to pay for it.  We're eeking out the $190/wk right now, but there is NO WAY we can afford $290 all summer. Just...no way.