How are those costs so out of line? I don’t see anything to untoward about those costs except that they fail to mention discounts for additional-child(ren) in the same family and the costs for the same type/age of care seem to vary wildly by area of the county. This can be remedied by finding a childcare situation near work if one lives in an area where it tends to be pricier. Or vice versa.
How do these costs reduce a parent’s wage to .30 on the dollar (unless they have 3 or more children who are not yet in school all day)?
In addition, the tables are only for private daycare. It doesn’t mention programs such as Headstart (preschool and pre-K) and DASH (afterschool care) whose costs are tied to the family’s income. Also, it doesn’t mention the Y’s own afterschool programs and the fact that they send free buses to almost all the elementary schools to pick kids up afterschool.
CAR, what about your “professional” friends who made more than $80K per year? How is it that they end up with .30 on the dollar in net wage after daycare expenses?
I’m at a loss as to how it is presumably not worth it for supposedly skilled, “professional” parents to hold down a job.[/quote]
Um…I’ve never said the costs were out of line, only that they were on the low end. A woman who makes $80K+/year (and that would likely be the lowest-earning spouse) is not likely to have her child in the Y’s preschool or after-school program. It also mentions the on-site and “home-based” (where kids are taken to a caregiver’s home) prices. I used the lowest rates. There is no mention of sibling discounts, so you’d have to look into that yourself.
Additionally, a person earning $80K would have much higher clothing, food, and other costs, including childcare (most people earning that much would not be able to pick up their kids by 6:00 p.m. every day, and they would probably have to arrange for morning care, as well). The tax hit would be much higher, as well. And if a person is earning $80K/year, and assuming that it’s the lower-earning spouse, it’s highly unlikely they would be driving a $20,000 car (all expenses included) for 8 or more years.
The link to the Y’s after-school program is in the original post. That’s where the ~$800/month comes from. I added no other costs for transporting them (if necessary) to after-school care; the cost is only for the after-school portion of childcare.
As for Head Start (and other similar programs), the income eligibility for a family of 5 is $51,005 or lower. A second income of $45,000 would make this family ineligible in almost all cases.
You can look up the different zip codes for the YMCA, but their prices don’t differ all that much based on location. Not enough to make it worthwhile for the second spouse to work outside of the home, and it would still be a negative income in most cases.
You’re really stretching with your examples of daily bus-riding, brown-bagging, PX-shopping, “choosing” an employer’s location, etc. Most college-educated mothers earning a decent income will not be doing any of those things. My numbers are on the VERY conservative side. The reality would prove my point even more.
And if you can’t see how these costs would reduce a person’s income by 70% or more (even though I painstakingly broke it down for you), then I can’t help you.[/quote]
Wow, just wow to the italicized quotes. While $80K is not an entry-level salary, it’s far from being an “upper middle class” salary. Some paralegals actually make $80K. Yes … in San Diego.
Women making $80K don’t need any better clothes or groceries than women making $40-$60K.
I must be missing something. I’ve seen VERY high paid professionals and managers bring their own lunches most workdays and drink their coffee from the office coffeepot. LOTS of workers … 50-60%? (yes, even “professionals”) drive older vehicles (worth <=$10K) to work. That doesn't mean it's their only vehicle. But it's the one they drive to work.
The YMCA accepts both market-rate children AND sliding-scale children for their child care programs. Almost all daycare homes (and certainly the Y) have morning care as well. Some will make your kid's breakfast and at some of them your kid has to bring his/her own breakfast but they will prepare it. Is there something wrong with a licensed daycare home? I've worked past 6:00 pm many times and got someone else to pick up my kid(s). It's called planning ahead.
The Y's vans bring kids to school in the morning also ... even kindergartners. They send an early van to go get them after school ... before the older students are released for the day.
The wheel was invented long ago for the working parent, CAR. You speak here as if you believe "(semi) professional women" are somehow "exhalted" above lowly worker-bee women because they make $10-$30K more. If truth be known, even the women who make $100K+ are just like us! Unless they have to show up in court, have a speaking engagement or a meeting with a politician, they wear the same clothes, go to same gyms and exercise classes and put their kids in the same daycare situation as a lowly $40K “worker bee.”
LOL …
Agree about the Head Start eligibility. But I want to add that many heads of households fall into this range and it is a great benefit for these families.
