A recent study stating that Minnesotans pay a lot for childcare wasn’t news to
parents of young children. In our state, where monthly childcare costs can rival rent or mortgage payments, the type of care a parent chooses for his or her child often comes down to dollars and cents.
“Other factors include accessibility [including location] and the parents’ work schedule,” says Sue Molstad, who manages the resource and referral department of St. Paul-based Resources for Child Caring, one of the state’s 19 locally based, nonprofit agencies that provide childcare referrals to parents and coordinate training of childcare providers. “We strive to ensure quality care of children by educating parents about quality care,” Molstad says.
Narrowing the field
Where do you begin? To the uninitiated consumer, the choices can seem bewildering. A good way to begin your search for childcare is asking friends, neighbors, and coworkers about the care they’ve chosen for their children. Talking to others may give you a feel for costs and local options. But don’t rely solely on this anecdotal method: What works great for the neighbor with school-age kids may not be the right choice for your newborn. And, as Becky Lien of St. Paul, whose 2-year-old son is in home-based care, says: You can’t always trust people to be objective; it’s human nature to want to believe your child’s care situation is ideal. “No one is going to admit their child’s not in the best place,” says Lien. Checking references (and with licensing authorities) are musts in locating safe and nurturing care.
A good place to start is by considering which of the four main types of childcare suits your family. From least to most expensive (though costs vary), these are:
“Kith and kin,” or childcare offered by family members or friends in either their home or the child’s. Parents may choose this care because they feel that friends or family will provide their children with loving care, and they feel comfortable that the caregiver shares their values.
Family daycare, childcare offered by a provider in her home. In addition to being relatively inexpensive, this type of care may attract parents because of the smaller, family atmosphere. Children of different ages are cared for together, so siblings needn’t be separated.
Childcare centers care for larger groups of children, usually separated in rooms according to the children’s ages. Parents often cite the reliability of care, facilities, reputation of the program, and state regulation as reasons for choosing centers.
In-home childcare, offered by a live-in au pair or a live-in or live-out nanny. This tends to be the most expensive type of care, and it is chosen by parents who want their child to be cared for in their home, according to their rules. Parents who work nonstandard hours may also favor this type of care.
Once you’ve gotten a feel for the types of care, a good place to find out about specific programs and options is your local childcare resource and referral agency (see sidebar). These nonprofit agencies maintain up-to-date lists of licensed daycare homes and centers.
Parents speak: Why I chose…
A daycare center
When Deb Olson of Edina adopted her first daughter, she knew that she wanted a childcare center. Though she spoke with several centers over the phone, she only visited the center run by her employer, Fairview Health Services, because the center seemed ideal for her family’s needs.
“My daughters were adopted as toddlers, and were used to being with larger groups of kids,” she explains “Also, one of my daughters had sensory issues, and I wanted someplace that would work on those issues. I also felt there were more checks and balances, more accountability when there was more staff.”
Olson also knew someone who worked at the center, and was able to get the inside scoop. Overall, she says, she is very satisfied with the care her girls have received, but adds, “Anytime someone else is caring for your kids, there are times when you wish things were done differently. But kids learn eventually that different things are handled differently by different people.”
Most importantly, Olson says, “The teachers are fabulous. There’s almost no turnover. All of them are quite educated and experienced. The program is very literacy-based; there’s a great deal of diversity.”
The negatives? “In general, centers don’t open early enough for working parents; that’s an issue for me. I wish I knew more about what [my daughter] does all day – young children aren’t able to give you a picture of [that]. Sometimes the administration can make minor problems worse by glossing over problems, not owning up to them, and [telling me] how they’re going to address them. And they keep scheduling activities that parents are expected to come to, during working hours. It’s kind of like they forget they’re providing daycare for kids of working parents. It’s hard for the kids when the parents can’t come,” Olson says.
Family care
When Becky Lien and her husband started looking for care for their then-infant son, they considered both family and center-based care. “Economics played a part,” Lien admits, “But we also felt as though we wanted to entrust one person with our baby. We felt like if we couldn’t find a good fit with a home daycare, we’d consider a center.” After interviewing several homes and centers, they placed Sander, now 2, in a home daycare. “We really liked the provider, and there were lots of positives… but ultimately it did not work out,” she says. “Sander had acid reflux and was a little tougher to care for than the other infant at the home. It was a very busy, active place, lots of 2- to 4-year-olds.” After a few months, the provider felt the arrangement wasn’t working out, and Lien started looking elsewhere. Though the first provider changed her mind, “We had already started the ball rolling” with another provider, and Sander is still at that home today.
Lien learned from the experience. She has good things to say about both providers. “Both seemed to know a lot developmentally about children,” she says. “It’s nice, as a newer parent, to be able to ask ‘stupid’ questions – ‘Have you ever seen this behavior?’”
Both providers were college-educated. “This was a factor in choosing them,” she says. Lien also looked at the food served (fresh fruit and yogurt vs. boxed macaroni and cheese), whether or not children were confined to a small area or had more of the house to move around in. “And we used our gut instinct,” she says.
Lien got a list of referrals from St. Paul-based Resources for Child Caring, and used a list of questions she found in the Star Tribune. One thing she’d do differently is check references: Instead of talking only to current clients, she’d speak to former ones, too, reasoning that time might provide some helpful objectivity.
In-home care
When Susan Parsons of Minneapolis started looking for childcare, she knew she’d have to be creative. As an airline flight dispatcher, she permanently works the second shift, so traditional childcare arrangements were out. “I’m not from this area, so I didn’t start out with a network,” she says. Though she considered nannies, many wouldn’t consider caring for her children on weekend nights or holidays, when she often works.
It was a family member who recommended that Parsons consider an au pair (an international visitor, generally a young woman aged 18-26, who comes to the United States for about a year to live with a family and care for their children).
“My sister-in-law is European, and she talked fondly about au pairs in France,” Parsons says. Au pair care can be surprisingly affordable: It’s averaged about $240 per week ($140 per week plus an up-front fee), plus room and board, for Parsons’ two children.
The Parsons family has hosted four au pairs: two from South Africa, one from Poland, and one from Brazil.
All but one have been great experiences, according to Parsons. “The positives are, you have the same person every day. Your child’s at home, you don’t have to take them out in the cold or pick them up at night,” she says. “The cultural exchange has been wonderful for us, especially since we’re a multicultural family. We’re able to learn about different countries’ histories and cultural customs, and incorporate them into our home. It’s great as a single parent to have another set of arms in the home; they’re not on duty 24 hours a day, but if it’s an emergency, they’ll pitch in. And on vacations, the au pair comes along. The bad part is when they have to leave at the end of the year.”
Most au pairs are placed through agencies that do the screening and background checks. In addition, parents interview prospective au pairs over the phone. “You can talk to them about your lifestyle and see if it’s a good match or not.”
