Budget Child Care: Low Cost Child Care Options

Dropping a child off at the nearest good day care center seldom amounts to “cheap” child care and therefore parents need to explore their options for low cost child care. There are a number of ways in which you can provide cheap child care for your kids. You must research the availabilities in your area to reach a balance between affordability and quality of the care provided.

• Formal day care center :  These places will usually be listed and are fairly expensive. However, they are mostly trained well in providing care and help your child’s interactive skills.
• Not-for-profit daycare center :  These places also have a fairly well-trained staff but are slightly cheaper than formal day care centers as they receive considerable amounts of government aid.
• Daycare Homes :  These child care homes are much smaller than daycare centers and care is usually a family run business by experienced individuals. They are usually more affordable and are probably well suited for those looking for budget child care.
• Family care :  This kind of child care is an informal arrangement made with family members or friends. The quality of such care is usually lower as the individuals are inexperienced at formal child care. However, it is very affordable child care and makes one feel safer.
• In-home Care: As a low cost child care option, a part-time babysitter can be hired on an hourly basis to care for your child at home. This is more convenient and an affordable child care option for you.

Budget Child Care To Reduce Child Care Costs

Budget child care is becoming an increasing concern amongst parents as a good low cost child care option helps them to cut down on heavy child care expenses. By keeping these small factors in mind, you could find it more affordable to provide child care your kids:

• Family care : Keeping your children within the family members for child care such as with grandparents or relatives can be much cheaper and a good affordable child care option. It also gives you peace of mind and flexibility of timings.
• Student care : Hiring a student from a nearby college is a good source of cheap child care. These students work for much lesser than a local daycare center and fit a low cost child care budget.
• Arrange swaps : Cheap child care is required by all families. Coming up with arrangements to swap kids according to your schedules with neighbors would be more affordable for everyone.
• Save on taxes : The government allows numerous tax deductions for child care. You can take advantage of the Dependent Care Tax Credit or the Dependent Care Account to make your child care more affordable.
• Switch schedules : By switching around your schedules with your spouse you can co-ordinate to have someone stay at home with the children more often and stick to your child care budget as well.

Avoid Low Cost Child Care Dangers

While cheap and affordable child care is attractive to families on a tight budget, parents must not sacrifice the safety and wellbeing of their children for the sake of finding a cheap child care option. When choosing a low cost child care option, it is essential to ask some important child care questions and avoid some basic dangers:

• Avoid start-up budget day cares as they may be inexperienced.
• Research your cheap day care center well.
• Avoid young and irresponsible students as a cheap child care option.
• Lay down strict rules if you leave them with family or friends
• Inspect the place thoroughly before leaving your child in someone else’s care

Child care demands are increasing while the costs keep rising. It is therefore essential to keep all these tips in mind to make cheap child care more affordable for your family.Low cost child care options are not impossible to find but before you jump at the temptation of a cheap child care option, make sure you do your research well enough so you can leave your child in their care.

There are many excellent child day care centers with well trained staff, then there are ones that are well below standards, so it is important that you look deeper before committing yourself to one.

Day care centers are costly with some being more expensive than others so it is worth calling them and making an appointment to go and take a look around and ask any questions that you have. A good day care centers will have nothing to hide and will let you walk around freely where you will be able to see first hand the activities and talk with staff members.

The cost of day care for your child

Day care centers for your child are costly and prices vary with the bigger and well established centers charging more, day care in big cities will usually cost more than in smaller towns and most day care centers will bill you monthly but some will offer a discount if you pay for a years childcare in advance.

If your child is under the age of one year then you will often be charged more than for an older child and a lot of the centers will give no discount for holidays such as the Christmas break, you will usually still be charged for the month even though your child wasn’t there.

The advantages and disadvantages of a day care center

There are several advantages of your child attending a day care center as opposed to having a nanny, but there are some disadvantages as well to consider.

Mixing with other children in the day care center as opposed to being on their own at home is a plus as this will help them develop among other skills, sharing skills for when they attend school.

A good day care center will be able to provide various activities and a wide range of toys suitable for their age, as well as giving them the opportunity to take part in singing, dancing and story telling activities.

Another benefit a child day care center has over a nanny is that they can be more reliable, that is if your nanny is sick then you would have to make other arraignments where as the day center has plenty of staff at hand.

The disadvantages are while your child is able to mix with other children they are also more prone to catching childhood illnesses from other children. Your child will also not get one on one attention as they would from a nanny but on saying that a good day care center should have enough staff to ensure that proper attention can be given at all times.

Thing to consider when choosing a center

• Choose the location of the center wisely; would it be better for you if it was close to work or home?
• Would you be happier with a smaller or larger child day care center?
• Look into all the possibilities, ask the advice of friends who have children in day care, usually your Doctor’s surgery will have information on day care centers in your area.
• Once you have a few names then call them and make an appointment for a visit to talk with them.
• How do you feel about the center, after having visited it go with your feelings.
• Remember to ask about policies including, do they change activities regularly, what is the child/teacher ratio, what are their policies regarding safety and first aid.
• Once you have a short list narrow it down, the day care will probably give you names of parents of children who are attending and you can use these as reference. Call them and ask them questions.
• Take your child for a visit to the day care center, see how he/she reacts and feels in the place, do you think they would like it.
• If you have special requests can they meet your needs.
• What if any emergency plans do they have, for example if you were running late in picking your child up from day care.

Whichever form of child care you choose to take, be it a day care center, nanny or baby sitter there are several very important questions that need to be thought about or asked before choosing who to leave your child with. Listed below are just some of them:

• What is the ratio of carers to children, are there enough carers?
• Do the carers seem happy in their work?
• Do the children in the center seem happy?
• Are the children encouraged to talk with the carers?
• When a child acts out what is the carers response?
• Is the care center in good order?
• Does the care center look bright and cheerful?
• Is the equipment in the center in good repair, is it safe?
• Is there a list of daily activities, does the list include things such as quiet time, rest and story time?
• Is the nappy changing area clean and well sanitised?
• Does the care center have a menu on show and if so is the diet a healthy one?
• Are menus given to parents beforehand and are there choices?
• Does the food that is given actually match what’s on the menu?
• Are the toys suited to the age range of the children?
• Are the toys within easy reach?
• Is there protection around play items such as slides and swings?
• Is the outside play area fenced off?
• Are the premises safe, do they have an alarm system on the main door or can just anyone walk into the center?
• Is there any rock, ditches or uneven surfaces in the outdoor play area?
• Are children encouraged to wash their hands after using the bathroom and before eating?
• Do the children have easy access to clean towels and toilet paper?
• Do carers wash their hands when moving between groups of children, before handling food or feeding the children?
• Do the carers wash their hands after touching any bodily fluids such as wiping a runny nose or treating a cut?
• Does the center use disposable paper towels which ensure that each child uses his own towel?
• Is any medication that children take safely locked away and does it each have its own label clearly printed on it stating the name, age and address of the child?
• Are there separate sinks for food preparation and cleaning and hand washing?
• What kind of first aid policy does the center have?
• Does the center have carers that are trained in first aid and hold certificates?
• What is the center’s policy in case of emergencies?
• Does the center keep up to date information on names and addresses of all the children who attend?
• Has any of the staff had training in how to deal with a problem child?
• What is the centers policy regarding bullying?
• How do the carers chastise any bad behaviour?

Leaving your child with strangers for the first time is hard for the mother, it can be an emotional time especially if this is the first time that you will have left your child for any length of time, for some children entering childcare can be a stressful time too.

The first day is always the hardest and tears can often be expected from both the mother and the child. Some children take longer to settle down than others it all depends on the child.

There are however steps which you can take to make the transition a little easier for the both of you, for if your child is more settled when you leave them it also makes it easier on you. Below are some helpful tips to make the transition easier:

• Sit and talk with your child about attending child care

It can be helpful if you sit quietly with your child and talk about them attending the day care center, explain to them that they will be taken good care of and they only have to ask the carer if they need anything.

Explain to them that you are not leaving them forever, try and find an easy way to associate the length of time you will be away from them to something they can relate to.

Give them plenty of reassurance that you will always come back for them and try not to let them see any anxiety in you, try and make it sound like an adventure. Explain fully the type of activities they can take part in while they are there and point out that they will make friends while there.

• Read your child a story or watch a video on day care centers

There are several books available which you can read to your child about attending day care centers, these are story books with pictures that the two of you can share, some of them have flaps your child can lift which makes the whole process fun.

It is also worth paying a visit to your local library as you might be able to borrow books. Pick up a video on child day care centers and watch it together explaining if necessary what is happening in the video and how it relates to your child.

Before your child attends the day care centers pay them a visit together

Having chosen the day care center, take your child with you and spend a little time there, most day care centers will offer you this choice automatically and it is worth taking them up on it. This gives your child the chance to explore his/her new surroundings and meet the carer’s and the children who attend the center.

Go with a positive attitude because children pick up on their mother’s feelings and if you are showing signs of apprehension then your child will pick up on it. Who knows your child may surprise you and leave your side the moment you get there.

• When the day comes be prepared to stay for a while with your child if necessary

If your child is really upset when the time comes to leave them it may be necessary to stay with them for a short while until they settle down, different nurseries will have different policies regarding this and it is worthwhile finding out the policy of your chosen day care center beforehand.

Some carer’s think from experience that sometimes it is better for the parent to just walk away and leave the child even if they are upset. This might seem cruel but most times it is surprising how quick your child will settle down once you are out of sight.

Others think this method is unfair on the child and the mother and will ask that you stay with your child for a short time until they have a chance to settle down.

You may be concerned about the level of attention your child receives during their stay at a day care center, especially if the center is a popular one running at full capacity. Your child could also be very quiet and not one to push forward which can often be a problem especially if the center has three or four particularly boisterous children. So how do you know your child won’t get left out and miss out on activities?

What you can do to help your child

Before your child attends child day care sit down and talk with your child, explain where they are going and who will be taking care of them and make sure that they understand that they can take part in any activities they want and play with any toys they want just as they would at home.

Explain to them that they will be around other children of the same age and encourage them to make friends, talk with your child about sharing and playing with other children make it sound exciting.

Take your child to the day care center before they are due to start and spend the day there together this way you can see first hand the centers routine and the various activities they provide for children.

Walk around the center with your child and point out various areas within the center such as the reading corner, explain to your child that this is where stories will be read and that they can pick books from the shelf to look at.

Most day care centers have an area for water play; this is usually a large shallow sink where children can play together with toys such as water wheels and funnels and is usually a very popular activity. Encourage your child to put on an apron and roll up their sleeves and join in the fun.

Day care centers will usually have tables set out with various activities such as crafts; building blocks and colouring take your child to each table and show them what the center has to offer explaining that they can take part in each of these activities during their stay.

Encourage your child to make something for you. Talk with the head carer and find out if they have set times for activities and if the child has to take part or can they do something else if they prefer.

What the day care center can do to help you and your child

If your child is not very good at mixing with other children or is a very quiet child then make sure that the staff know this beforehand, a lot of children who are quiet will often come out of their shell while in child care once they have settled down and have got used to being with other children.

Staff will watch a child who isn’t mixing and is reluctant to join in activities often pairing them with a child of similar nature, they will quite often take a child and encourage them to try something different from the usual activity, or activities will be on a scheduled basis, for example 15 minutes at the water activity then moving on to others.

All children should be encouraged to take part in various activities throughout the day and will also be taught the value of sharing with others.

What can I do if I think my child is left out?

Talk with your child about their day at the center; ask them what they did during the day, what they played with. Ask them what the story was about and what they painted or made. If you suspect that your child is missing out on activities then talk it over with your child’s carer, usually children are given the same carer and it is the carer’s job to ensure your child takes an active part in all activities.

Express your concerns that your child might be missing out on activities, quite often young children forget what they have taken part in during the day and this could be the case with your child. If you have any concerns and are not happy then ask if you can sit in on one or two sessions to observe your child during the day and encourage them to move from activity to activity while you’re there.

Having a family member as the carer for your child during your absence can provide benefits all round, you know the person and you know your child will be safe and well looked after, also cost is kept down as putting your child into a day care center can be very expensive.

For this type of arrangement to work out however both party’s must be happy with the arrangement. If the relative is not a parent themselves you should also consider if they are fit enough to take care of the demands looking after a child can have.

The relative can either look after your child in your home or their own home, but if they choose to look after your child in their own home be sure to make sure the home is safe for a child.

The pros of having a relative look after your child

• A family member will love your child almost as much as you do.
• Your child will probably feel more at ease with a relative than a stranger.
• If using a grandparent or mother then they will have had years of experience in looking after children.
• They will be more flexible.
• They will live locally.
• Your child will be in familiar surroundings.

The cons of having a relative take care of your child

• If the relative is elderly then taking care of a young child might become stressful or tiring for them.
• They could have different ideas regarding discipline, toilet training, sleeping and homework and may not see things your way.
• Their home might not be child proof.
• If your employer contributes towards child care costs then the costs might not cover using a relative as a carer.
• Informal arrangements can often cause problems between families.
• If your relative is older they may not be able to take part in activities with your child.
• If the relative has problems with eye sight or hearing due to age then they may not be as fully aware of dangers.

Don’t expect them to child mind for free

Don’t take a relative for granted, just because it is a family member that is looking after your child doesn’t mean they should do it for free. Sometimes it is wise to draw up an informal contract with a relative, you should talk about how many hours they can look after your child, time they need to themselves, anything they are particularly worried about for example if your child takes medication for a problem such as asthma.

Talk about money and offer them a fair set amount for taking care of your child and insist that they take it, take into account how much a day care center would cost you when offering them money and point out how much they are saving you if they feel bad about taking money from you.

Points you should make clear to a relative

• Make sure they are aware of any medical problem your child has and how to deal with the problem and giving medication for example in the case of an asthma attack.
• Make sure they know how to get in touch with you in an emergency.
• Point out if your child sleeps with a favorite toy or pacifier.Make sure they know how to change a young baby, if the person is older they may not be used to disposable nappies.
• Make sure they know if your child is allergic to any foods.
• Make sure they are not too lenient with your child, grandparents often have trouble saying no.
• Keep checking to make sure they are not doing too much, child care can be tiring on an elderly parent.
• Once in a while go over any informal contracts that you may have agreed upon to make sure conditions are still right.
• Make sure your relative knows how you prefer them to handle any chastisement .

All child care day centers should by law provide your child with a diet that meets certain standards of a child’s nutritional needs. By law every day care provider has to meet certain standards regarding menu planning, food preparation, food safety and nutritional requirements.

The center should also be able to provide a safe and pleasant environment at meal times and they should also promote healthy eating habits. It is also important that you let the day care center know of any special food requirements your child has for example, if they are allergic to any food or foods which are known to cause problems with hyper activity in your child.

What you can do to ensure your child receives the correct diet

• Does the day care center have a menu posted up that you can look at.
• Does the center offer your child a choice of meals or a set meal.
• Does the center provide you with a menu to take home.
• Does the center have a snack shop, if so what choices do they have.
• Does the center take part in schemes such as providing your child with one free piece of fresh fruit or vegetable per day.
• Does the center give milk to drink or fruit juice.
• Does the snack shop offer salt and sugar free sweets and crisps.
• Does the center order in food or cook it on the premises.
• Are the children encouraged to eat fruit and vegetable with their meal.
• Does the center promote healthy eating habits.

The main menu

Some child care day centers invite parents to help in making the choices for the menus and hold special meetings for this, parents are not only encouraged to take part in choosing a healthy diet for their children but are also provided with information regarding the diet and menu the day care centers provides.

It is important that you do play an active role in any program that the day care center may offer as often this is the only way of finding out what foods and nutritional programs the day care center has to offer.

Guidelines

Meals and snacks provided by the day care center should meet standards set out and meet certain guidelines:

• Children who attend day care for 8 hours or more should be offered at least one main meal and 2 snacks throughout the day.
• Food should be offered at intervals which are no more than 3 hours apart.
• Meals should provide adequate servings from the milk, yogurt and cheese group, meat, poultry, fish and egg group, vegetable group, fruit group and the bread, cereal, rice and pasta group.
• Food should consist of no more than 30% of daily energy from fat.
• Less than 10% of total daily energy from saturated fat.
• Less than 300mg of cholesterol.
• Limited use of sugar and sodium.
• Every child should receive sufficient servings of fresh or frozen vegetable and fruit every day to ensure they receive enough vitamin C.
• Whole grain products should be included to ensure the child receives enough dietary fiber.
• Raw unprocessed foods should be used whenever possible.

It is essential that both parents and child care providers are equipped to deal with any emergency that may arise during the time you are separated from your child. The care provider must known how to contact you and you them should any emergency crop up such as your child being taken ill or getting hurt or if you are going to be late picking them up or if someone else has to pick up your child other your yourself.

What the child care provider needs to know

Whichever choice for child care that you make be it a day care center, babysitter, nanny or a drop in center they will all need to have contact information from you should an emergency arise while your child is in their care.

The basic information they need at the very least will be

• A contact number for you and if you work then your employers phone number too.
• A secondary contact number in case you cannot be reached, this can either be a spouse, relative or friend.
• Any illnesses your child has such as asthma or epilepsy.
• Any allergies your child has such as an allergy to certain food types or bee stings.
• Any medication that your child needs on a regular basis such as asthma inhalers.
• Your full name and address.

Emergency procedures for falls and illnesses

A day care center will have an emergency procedure in place for such things as falls, illnesses and emergencies within the building such as fires.

If your child has a minor bump or cut then it will be dealt with by trained staff in the center, if your child suffers a more serious accident while in their care then they will contact you via the contact number asking you to come and fetch your child home, if you are not available then they will use the secondary contact number.

On the odd occasion your child suffers an extreme accident then emergency services will be called while contacting you and you will be advised to meet a staff member at the accident and emergency room. If your child should fall ill while in day care they will be attended to by the nurse on hand and you will be contacted to come and fetch your child.

All day care centers will practice on a regular basis fire drills and prepare children for the sound of the alarm by turning practice into a game while still making sure every child knows the importance of the alarm.

What you need to do in an emergency

You need to make sure you know the day care centers emergency plan for cases such as fire for example if they have to leave the building then where is the meeting point for picking up your child?

If you are going to be late picking up your child because of an emergency then make sure you give the center as much warning in advance as you can.

Also make sure that if you are going to be late then the center knows you are still going to be collecting your child and won’t be sending someone else.

If you are going to have someone else collect your child then make sure the staff knows who you are sending, tell them their full name and very often it is wise to set up a password for a friend or neighbor to use and staff can ask this person along with their name for the password.

This protects the day care center from letting your child go with just anyone regardless of whether the child knows the person and mistakes cannot be made.

Choosing which type of day care for your child is a hard task for any parent but more so for those with very young children and babies. It is essential that you are totally satisfied your baby will receive the proper care and attention a young child needs in early development.

Most day care centers will take babies from around 3 months old and will have a special nursery area away from older children in which to care for your child.

Depending on the size of the day care center they will provide two or three special carers called nursery nurses, they are able to provide care for babies constantly on a personal level and the room will have equipment and have to meet standards needed for caring for younger children and babies.

Are you worried about losing the bonding element?

The first few weeks of your baby’s life are when bonding takes place and as very few centers will take a baby under the age of 3 months and you are entitled to leave from work deciding to put your child in child care usually won’t cause a problem with mother and child bonding.

Finding a safe secure nursery for your child

Babies will be looked after in a nursery which will usually be away from the older children, this ensures that older children cannot accidentally step on a younger child or cause them unintentional harm.

It also will provide a very young baby with a secure place to sleep without too much disturbance, there are several things you should look for in the nursery part of a day care center, such as:

• Check for hazards – These could be things such as electrical cords dangling, wall sockets that aren’t protected , broken toys or small toys, toys with small parts that may become unattached.
• Toys that are safe for a baby or young child to chew on for example make sure they are made of nontoxic material.
• Very young babies are kept safely from older children especially if your baby is old enough to just start crawling.
• The area where your baby will crawl or toddle is well protected with no furniture which have sharp edges.
• There is clear access to the cots provided by the nursery for staff to attend your child.
• There are no toys, pillows or quilts in cots with very young babies.
• The nursery staff know how to put a very young baby down to sleep in a cot.
• The changing area is clean and safe and that staff never leave a child unattended while changing.
• Emergency plans are well laid out and the staff know how to contact you or another member of your family should an emergency occur.

What the nursery will need to know

• How to contact you in the case of an emergency.
• Who will pick your baby up from nursery if it is not you.
• Any medication your baby is taking or has taken within the last few weeks.
• Any illnesses they have had.
• The nursery will need to know if your baby’s immunizations are up to date.
• If you are bottle feeding or breast feeding your baby, if breast feeding then you can express the milk and store it at the nursery for feeding times.
• If you prefer your baby to have a pacifier or not.

All nursery nurses provided by day care centers are fully qualified child carers and will have passed checks made by the criminal records bureau, they are often older carers and many of them will have brought up children themselves.

The nursery nurse will keep in close contact with you at all times ensuring you don’t miss out on any aspect of your baby’s development.