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balor123 · Joined: 08 Mar 2008 Posts: 1204

Does anyone know why daycare is so expensive in MA? I can find plenty of articles stating that it's the most expensive in the US but none explain why. This year the centers in and around Waltham are charging $18k - $25k per year and one center told us to expect it to rise 5 - 10% next year!

Dorchester Grandma · Guest

My daughter who lives in Cambridge watches a toddler for $12 an hour. She had advertised on Craigslist for the position. She has a toddler close to the same age and her home is childproof. She brings both children to play groups, the playground etc. She has a degree in early childhood education.

The child's mother is so happy to have a competent and caring person. You might try advertising on craigslist. Of course you would want to go to the person's home to see if it seems safe and maybe conduct several interviews. Just a possibility. Smile

showgunx · Joined: 14 Jul 2005 Posts: 60

Grandma,
$12 x 8hours x 5days x 4weeks = $1920 per month

This is exactly what balor123 is calling expensive.

john p · Joined: 10 Mar 2006 Posts: 1820

What did you eat a calculator for lunch or something?

Dorchester Grandma · Guest

I see what you mean. My daughter watches the little boy part time since the parents work different hours and makes anywhere from $150 to 250 per week. Her friend goes to the parents' home and gets paid $15 per hour.

I used to babysit for 50 cents an hour. Of course that was about 1960 Laughing

balor123 · Joined: 08 Mar 2008 Posts: 1204

If your daughter worked with the same ratio as most of the good daycare centers around here, then she'd be making $1920 * 3 = $5760 / mo. Not to belittle the work that she does, but that's more money than I made living in the greater Boston area as an engineer with 3 years experience and a graduate Ivy League league degree. I realize that child care centers have other costs - benefits, rent, insurance, food, etc - but it can't be that much. I would also expect those centers to be lowering the first rate somewhat since I'm guessing most parents won't move their kids for a few years afterwords if possible, like a loss-leader. Hopefully it isn't this price already with this factored in. I think it must be due to lack of competition given the lack of supply in this area and I'm guessing that there is regulation involved which is the cause since otherwise there would be a lot of such businesses moving into the area. Whatever the reason, I'm certain that someone is making a lot of money off these centers - whether its workers, owners, or insurance.