Rollercoaster Ride Seeking Childcare

Ring. Ring. Ring. Ring. Ring. Ring. It’s no answer. It's 820 in the morning and I’m looking for my little sister. She was going to watch my children so I can go to work. I have to punch the clock at 855am. I decided to go to her house. Maybe she doesn’t hear the telephone ringing or the ringer is off. Knock. Knock. Knock. Knock. Knock. Knock. No answer. I’ll try calling again no pick up. The bottom of my stomach dropped to the end of my toenails. I started to panic. This can’t be happening again. It's 845am and it's imperative I make it on time to work. Hell, I must make it to work. I have 3 call-offs. No one is dependable to look after my children. Another call off or tardy I’m fired on the spot. I’m a single parent, with no real family or friends except my little sister, and I think she is tired of me too. How will I take care of my children with no income? I can’t lose another job due to the lack of a support system.

I know my sister is mad because I can’t pay her much. I make $9 hour, work 40 hours a week, and my take-home pay is $600 every 2 weeks. I know $75 a week is not barely enough to care for 3 children. The truth of the matter after I pay all my bills, I’m struggling to buy groceries, and maintain gas money for 2 weeks. I'm a real example of living paycheck to paycheck. What will I do without my sister's help and no job? I can’t get state assistance for childcare. I’m working and not considered as mandatory. I will go on a waiting list. After communicating with other parents who receive childcare assistance some of them were on the waiting list for at least 1 year before they got approved. That’s too long.

I drove to my job drowning with tears to talk to my supervisor. A complete meltdown to my boss I started to reason with him as if I was on let’s make a deal game show. If I find a reliable daycare today could I please keep my job? I explained to him as a single parent my job is my lifeline without it I’m useless to my children. I’m a really great worker and I loved my job. I am more than grateful for having employment! He miraculously agreed and allowed me to find a daycare.

So overjoyed with excitement I got right to it. My smiles quickly turned back to tears, when I started calling around asking for prices, and they were at least $450 a week or higher! I couldn’t afford it. My life was so unreal at this point with devastation. I didn’t give up. I made a promise to my supervisor, myself, and my children. The first #daycare I find that is #affordable and kid-friendly I’m enrolling my children. To my avail, I called #Jeffries24HourChildcare and talk to the manager. When she gave me her #budgetprogram prices she told me the qualifications. I screamed at the top of my lungs, started crying, my prayers had been answered, and she had 3 slots left. After googling the location, the website, all of the pictures she had of her daycare children online I knew this daycare would be a great fit for me and my children. Thank goodness I still had some money left over. Yes, I will struggle for a while but my boss did tell me I could pick up extra shifts if need be. Mrs. Houston told me her daughter runs TeenyBop Baby Sitting Club. Marie doesn’t charge much if parents need to work overtime. To my excitement we rushed over to #Jeffries24HourChildcare, the daycare was amazeballs, and kid-friendly at its best! It was bright, bold with colors, so much for the children to do, and I literally had to drag my children out of the daycare. I paid my $165 for the week of 3 children. That is $65/per child and when you have multiple children its $10 off per child. It was still enough time in the day for me to sign up for the childcare waiting list. I applied immediately. I was so overjoyed that I kept my employment and found reliable daycare for my kids all within a #24hour period. The best part my kids love it!

Free Tips to Finding Affordable Child Care

Child care can be expensive depending on the job expectations the parent is seeking from the child care provider. It's more appropriate to reduce child care responsibilities by creating a less stressful environment for a child care facility.

Examples:

Ø Limit the number of daily hours you need a child to attend daycare. Nothing else better in the world than your child care provider/worker showing up the next day refresh ready to care for your children.

Ø Reducing the various job descriptions parents give child care providers to perform and make it easier for the provider. Stick to the most important niche which should be caring for the child 125%.

Ø Give yourself a reasonable budget a week or month on what you have available to pay for child care. Keep positive and think all daycare facilities are not costly. You still have some child care providers, who aren't fancy, and just want kids to be kids (like me lol). I'm a parent myself so affordable and great is a lot of my likings. That's why I created a program that is designed to assist working parents. Mon-Fri, 8 hours a day (only), $65/per child/ 16months & walking/ a week, with a multiple child discount. Typically if it looks expensive then it’s usually an arm and a leg. Contact family, friends, or neighbors if you need more hours to ask for their assistance. Don't put too much on them. Caring for children is a lot of responsibility. Not asking for much a couple of hours a day will get you further than all day.

Ø Negotiating is a great quality to have but not when it comes to caring for your children. You have potential clients who will call a daycare ask to use their services, don’t have the money before the child start, and will not be able to pay until 2 weeks’ payday. 95% of es require money before services. The reason for this is because the parent can use the services and not pay when the time comes.

Ø If it's on the internet doesn't mean it’s accurate. If you’re hesitating to inquire or give a daycare facility a chance due to statements listed on the internet you may pass up a phenomenal facility. If you don’t know where the misleading information came from, it's uncertain, just ask the provider about what was spoken about the daycare. If the child care provider is open & honest then they will answer the questions happily easing the parent's mind.

Ø Driving outside your community/city to find reliable child care isn't a bad idea. In fact, as long as I've been in child care I cared for many children whose parents lived in surrounding cities. Best believe you’re going to pay for convenience, large establishment, and/or many child care workers. When seeking other areas it can definitely work in your favor. Just like employment. Most people work out of their city or even state to seek great employment. It's the same when it comes to child care.

Ø If you have reliable transportation drop-off and pick up on time reducing transportation fees unless parents absolutely need it.

Ø All providers love parents who drop off on time/not early and pick up on time/ not late unless the parent wants to pay the fee for the inconvenience to the daycare facility.

Ø Purchase children supplies otherwise daycare will charge parents. Bring children necessities diapers, bottles, pull-ups, wipes, changing clothes, formula, food if children eat certain meals (must be cooked & prepared already).

Ø When calling around ask daycare do they have an affordable program for working parents who don’t have a large income.

Ø Volunteer your services to reduce employee costs (not to care for your own child/children).

Ø Donate supplies to daycare therefore facility can cut back on essentials for daycare children. Examples: food, cleaning supplies, donate working/safe toys, etc.

Ø Ask the provider do they offer a multiple kid discount. Daycares will knock off $5/10 per child if the parent has multiple children to enroll.

Ø Imperfections are the findings of any and everything in an imperfect world. No need to focus on non-important conditions. As a provider, I lost count on missing bottles, sippy cups, socks, shoes, toys, etc. Some of these same lost findings are the same ones that disappear at home.

Ø Focusing on daycare arrangements set up by different organizations(example path to quality) stating it’s a great daycare if the facility operates under the path to quality guidelines is simply not true. Every daycare is unique in its own way. All daycares do not have identical structures, beliefs, goals, missions, etc. This is what identifies daycares from one another. The most important is state license, any writes ups, probations, and if the child care provider has experience in caring for children in a business manner.

Ø Daycare should not be considered as a school. It is a place where children learn different ways of life. If you’re looking for educational teachings it’s only best to enroll child/children into a school. Children will learn through play in a smaller setting and you have educational fees.

Ø Call your local child care development program in your county and ask what’s needed to apply for free child care assistance. This program is for the parents who are under income guidelines when it comes to providing for their families.

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