vraiblonde said:
Ain't that the truth. People always complain about how expensive daycare is, but when you break it down, daycare providers don't make squat. You figure what, $100 a week for full-time? (I have no idea what daycare costs anymore, I'm just guessing)
So they've got 5 kids, that's $500 per week or $26,000 a year. Yet someone who's making 4 times that will complain about how expensive it is to pay someone to basically raise your kid for you 10 hours a day.
Price and the center's expenses depend on the age of the child. In a commercial center, every two children under 18-mo requires an adult, with a maximum of 4 children and 2 adults occupying the same space/room/whatever. Every 3 children 18-24 mo. requires an adult. I don't remember how many in a room.
The amount you pay for your one infant has to cover half a person's salary, 25% of the toys, supplies, equipment, electricity, etc. for a room. One of those two people is probably a 16-yo making minimum wage. The other is probably between 18 & 20 and making a little more, but not much. The center also has to pay for training for those employees, as well as insurance (maybe), social security, etc.
As a result, many centers won't take infants. Those that do, are usually losing money on them in the hopes of attracting the older siblings or keeping the infants until they are older and more profitable.
Older kids can have more to a room, with fewer staff, so centers can afford to pay more to those employees and charge a little less to the parents.
Because centers can't afford to pay their employees much, they have high turnover. That causes expenses related to training, background checks, advertising for employees, etc. It's hard to strike a balance and make a profit. And the higher turnover in staff causes higher turnover in children, because they start to act up when their favorite caregiver leaves. It's all a juggling act.
