Hey everyone,

I know that most of you all don't have kids yet but for those of you who do and live around the triangle still, could you all please recommend a decent daycare provider? I already have the state assigned ratings for all the area daycares but I would like to narrow down my choices by personal recommendations.

Also, please let me know what the average costs are around here. (Everywhere I look online tells you about the programs but doesn't mention the costs.) I've already been to the NCSU Childcare Provider directory and so I know which places offer NCSU students discounts. I know in Fayetteville a 5 star child development center runs around $115 a week, but I've heard through the grapevine that prices in Raleigh are as high as $225 a week.... I sure hope not.

Thanks!

1/2/2006 8:38:10 AM

This is why I'm glad that I'm an Indian.

I'll never have to drop a cent on daycare when we have kids.

1/2/2006 8:56:39 AM

Does that mean you're sterile?

1/2/2006 10:20:15 AM

Quote :

"Affordable Infant Daycare in the Triangle Area?"

ahahahhahahahahahah

GOOD LUCK

My brother and sister in law found out they'd save more money having her stay at home and raising the children while they're really little, than having her work at the school like she was doing. I mean, maybe they would have netted a little more, but not nearly enough to justify putting them in daycare.

I'll try and ask them what kind of prices they encountered. I just remembered that they were way too high for them.

1/2/2006 10:36:05 AM

Why even have kids if you're going to get someone else to raise them?

1/2/2006 2:50:51 PM

Quote :

"Why even have kids if you're going to get someone else to raise them?"

because taking kids to a daycare is a lot better than leaving them alone at home to eat toothpaste and fry in the stove.

1/2/2006 2:56:06 PM

It's not about having someone else raise your children. It's about me being able to go to school to become a veterinarian and help support my family with a decent living so that I can provide for my kids... not that it's any of your damn business

1/2/2006 3:32:04 PM

i am sure that you can get someone on tww to babysit for you.....

1/2/2006 4:12:03 PM

That's kinda scary, don't you think?!?!?!

1/2/2006 4:23:06 PM

If you can't have a parent there with them to raise them and can't afford them anyway because you're a student - don't have them to start with. It's not fair for a child to have it's primary emotional bond with a stranger. Not to mention day cares are giant petri dishes that will keep the kid sick which isn't fair to the kid either.

1/2/2006 4:50:28 PM

Get off your high horse. Just because a woman isn't around the house working as a housewife doesn't mean she's anything less of a good mother. Besides, maybe you should do a little research. Research has shown that while working mothers get less time with their kids, the QUALITY of time spent with the children is higher than stay at home moms. Ever thought that maybe a mom who works is happier and thus a better parent?

1/2/2006 5:12:00 PM

Mer....don't argue with these people....it isn't worth it

1/2/2006 7:03:23 PM

Yea get off Merediths nuts. My wife and I had our son early and she stayed home for the first year and a half to two years. It was pretty good for my son, but it was hell on her. She just didn't like being cooped up at home all the time. Now her mom lives nearby and she stays home, so it was a perfect match for us. She watches our son during the day, my wife works a 30ish hour a week fulltime job, is MUCH happier (she was borderline depressed from being home and having semicabin fever) and has made enough at work that we were easily able to qualify for our mortgage.

Unfortunately whether from school, work, financially, etc. not everybody has that option, and indeed luxury, to stay at home. I support it, but I also know that now when Jessica is home, she spends more time productively with our son than when she almost loathed him because he was a large part of the reason she was "stuck" at home. It might seem strange that a woman would think like that, but post-partum depression hits a LOT of women after childbirth.

So when is the baby due Meredith? I hadn't heard anything about. Congrats BTW!

1/2/2006 9:29:38 PM

I think I saw somewhere that it was due around Valentine's Day

1/2/2006 10:11:15 PM

The professor in my lab pays around 240/week, and is esstentially paying for the location.

The lab tech takes her daughter to Clayton (she lives like 10 min from the daycare) and it is a lot cheaper. I don't know if that is an option for you.

They were looking at hiring a live-in nanny from a service because it is cheaper for 3 kids on a monthly basis. Also, there are very strict rules on when there kids can go in with the sniffles/light fever. I swear the technican's child is always getting sent home because she is "too sick" and she has to leave to pick her up.

1/3/2006 12:05:23 AM

Well we are deciding on a place to move in either Lillington, Sanford, or Fuquay. Since my husband's stationed at Ft Bragg but will be PCS'ed to Ft Gordon for about 8 months starting in May, I will be the only one to take care of things at the house with the exception of the weekends when he will drive back home. We haven't picked a place yet because as you all know, rental property management places only rent like 1-2 months ahead of time for houses. (We can't do an apartment with all the pets we have.) With any luck, we will be able to live in one of those places and find a daycare close to the house that is cheaper than Raleigh.

The only other God sent solution would be to keep him at Method Child Development Center on the corner or Trailwood and Avent Ferry or Country Sunshine on Avent Ferry just because they are so close to school. I've heard that Method is about $600 a month which doesn't sound too bad but I am not sure if they've gone up on prices since becoming a 4 star facility. Although beggars can't be choosers, I'd like to keep him in at least a 4 star facility or a 5 start facility provided that the prices aren't too much terribly more than a 3 star. I refuse to take him to a 1 or 2 star place as all they pretty much do is meet the basic state requirement for having a center open.

1/3/2006 10:08:42 AM

Well I am going to chime in here.....assuming a normal enviroment it is without a doubt better for the child to have a parent around....however having said that it alot of times comes down to dollars. If you have a good enough job then day care is a great option, and the interaction with other kids is good too. But if you are just working to pay for day care then you have to question that. My Wife has her own business and works from home, and I work from home 3 or 4 days a week so we are lucky in that regard.......but like someone mentioned it can be tough being home all the time. We make sacrifices for our kids, but they have to be top priority.....and they are worth it.

1/6/2006 9:17:27 AM

I DON'T KNOW WHERE THIS THREAD WAS GOING BUT JUST AN FYI......MOST OF THE GOOD DAY CARES HAVE A WAITING LIST SO I WOULD GET YOUR NAME ON THE LIST MONTHS BEFORE YOU PLAN TO HAVE YOUR CHILD IN DAY CARE...PUT YOUR NAME ON SEVERAL.....THE PRICES RANGE ANYWHERE FROM $600 A MONTH TO ABOUT $1100 A MONTH...THE AVERAGE BEING ABOUT $800.....WE HAD MY SON IN A 3 STAR DAY CARE THAT COSTED AROUND $840 A MONTH (THOMAS ANNE NURSERY)....I DEFINATELY RECCOMEND (SP?) THAT ONE.......I THINK THERE ARE ONLY AROUND 3 OR 4 FIVE STAR DAY CARES IN THE AREAD....THERE ARE A BUNCH OF THREE STARS BUT THE FIRST ONE WE HAD HIM IN (PAM'S DAY CARE) $680 MONTH WAS AWFUL....WE EVENTUALLY PULLED HIM OUT OF THERE BECAUSE HE KEPT GETTTING SICK....I ACTUALLY KNOW A LOT ON THIS ISSUE SO FEEL FREE TO PM ME WITH ANY QUESTIONS

1/6/2006 10:01:58 AM

caps is really hard to read.

1/6/2006 11:34:00 AM

Quote :

"WE EVENTUALLY PULLED HIM OUT OF THERE BECAUSE HE KEPT GETTTING SICK"

Like father, like son. I have to imagine his weren't VD related though.

Shit, this isn't chit chat

[Edited on January 6, 2006 at 12:38 PM. Reason : f]

1/6/2006 12:38:23 PM

The rating system is not the best way to judge a program. My mom has worked in early childhood education for quite a while and could tell you horror stories about 5 star facilities. I sent you a PM about a good place in Lillington.

I babysat/nannied in college and made a good deal of money. When are you due?

1/8/2006 6:41:47 PM

I'm due Feb 13 but won't need a place to keep him til August 1st.

1/8/2006 8:14:05 PM