How many here use Daycare for the kids????

[BUD]

And how much does it cost you a week???Well,most of you know our little girl have learning problems at school but she is doing better and doing the best in the class!!!Now here is the problem.I quit the part-time job and went back to full-time retail at Wal-mart and making good money.Then my wife got a job there making $2 more than me,so we are doing pretty good right now.Now my little girl has to go to my wife mother house 4 days week,and my parents will NOT help at all.They are still living in the 1950's and 1960's and want have nothing to do with our daughter.My mother saids"You made your bed now laid in it",!!!My father told us to find a teenager and pay them $6 a hour.But that would = out to 30 hours x 6=180x2=$360 ever two weeks!!!That's over half of my pay check.
Now Daycare was a thought but only one problem is my wife works sometimes to 11pm at night and Daycare closes at 6-7pm at the latest.I have checked with alot of places and they cost around $120-$200per week!!!!But the problem is they close earily around here.
Finally Me and my wife have thought about me going back to part-time but part-time at Walmart I keep my pay and work 3 days so my wife can work the shift that is need in the dept.Plus in the summer the manger over the Dept told my wife they get the most overtime in the whole store(65-80hour per week).So how do you guys do it or did it ??????

[jasons2k]

We are expecting and we have looked into many day cares are around the area. We checked the state's website that lists all the day care inspection reports, etc. We finally settled on a day care run by a local church. It costs $750/month + any additional expenses (bottles, food, diapers, etc.). The price drops a little after 18mos. I think. That's pretty "on-par" with the costs in our area. Our local Primrose was about $800/month.

I'm sorry to hear about your parents' attitude. True, kids are NOT inexpensive. But they should realize by not helping, they are just harming an innocent child.

[gtalum]

We just put our three month old in day care. It's $175 per week. It seems like a lot, but when you do the math on what they provide, it's not bad.

The cost will drop to $125 per week when she turns 1 year old and moves up to the toddler class.

[angelwing]

Those prices are cheap! My hubby's nephew has 3 kids in daycare and for one it's $1200.00/month!!!!!! I could never ever afford that, this in one of those times I'm glad I don't have kids, sigh

[nholley]

My eldest who is now 6 was in day care for about 18 months. Originally she was with my sister-in-law but as she got older we wanted a more structured enviroment for her and somewhere that she could start doing more educational activities. If I remember we paid around $800pm but it was well worth it. She developed well and it was a huge benefit when she started school.

Remeber one thing...you will get a lot of the daycare costs back come tax time. While this still means you have to outlay a large amount of money upfront you get a nice surprise in April!!

[TexasStooge]

When I was little, my mom took me to a Day Care center...because she was working there. It was all well and good until a staff member burned the interior of the building to get insurance money.