How much do u pay for daycare?

[west]

CoffeeBoy.... NOTHING out of the ordinary here
Next time you want to report someone for something that you think is "illegal" you should at least make sure you get their name right


now why dont u make good use of yourself and GET ME SOME COFFEE

 

[foodcritic]

Hmm what the hell is that for ? ..........

my daughter is not even 3 yet, and knows her ABC's, colors, Numbers, Shapes, can tell you the contents of most of her books, aka can paraphrase the stories when she "reads" them back to you, Full Name, Address, and phone #,

Her Mom reads to her everyday .... I'd say she was developing just fine, all with out some silly state course ............

I'm not quite sure what this post was saying but what I was saying was I think that for the state to make providers take all these hours of classes is going a little over board. As a parent it is more important for my kids to be with someone who cares about them not how many hours of education she has under her belt. Book smarts does not make someone have common sense.

 

[foodcritic]

Then you may want to move to a state that doesn't have the third toughest daycare regulations in the country. You may want to move to a state where parents see things like this: http://forums.somd.com/parenting-children/130359-nanny-cam.html
and say, "That's all the parent's fault, there are no crimes committed here (which there aren't by Maryland law) and I'm ok with that."

The fact is, Maryland has been rated number 3 in the country for daycare regulations. And these regulations came about because parents made daycare decisions that turned out to have disastrous results, mostly because they didn't know better. Because situations come up when there are multiple children in a location, that don't happen in the normal home...

For example, about 10 years ago, a daycare provider on the Eastern Shore laid two toddlers down for a nap on her bed and they died. Investigators said they snuggled down in the blankets together face to face and smothered each other. Would it ever occur to you that that could happen in your home? Probably not, because for one, your child in your home would have his own bed and there wouldn't likely be another child sharing it. But the circumstances of those children's deaths lead to regulations that children need to have their own sleeping arrangements, they need to be arranged in such a way that children's faces are a certain distance apart, children under age 1 aren't allowed to have pillows, stuffed animals, crib bumpers, or anything besides the sheet and a thin blanket (no quilts) and just in case, daycare providers must have CPR training.

Last year or the year before, a daycare provider's indoor cat got out of her house. Everyone went outside looking for it, the provider, her schoolage children, the daycare kids all went out. One of the provider's older children opened the gate to the pool looking for the cat, and even though the gate had an automatic latch, it caught on something and didn't close all the way. The search for the cat went out of site of the gate, but a toddler in the daycare saw the gate was ajar and decided to check it out. She drowned. There was one regulation broken, a child under 6 must remain within sight or sound of the provider. The provider lost her license.

The mother of that child is now trying to get more regulations for daycare including prohibiting pets in daycare homes or else requiring those pets to be caged during daycare hours. Also, prohibiting pools at daycare homes, or else, requiring a full time lifeguard in addition to the provider, during daycare hours, even though current pool regulations are so restrictive that no providers can use their own pools for daycare children anyway. So far, no new regulations have come out of that incident but it's only a matter of time.

None of the childcare regulations have been made up out of thin air. They are almost all reactions to some tragedy. Despite all of them there are two groups of caregivers that are totally unregulated, care by relatives and care which occurs in the child's home (which is why there were no laws broken on that nanny cam.) Also, illegal providers (which in Maryland is defined as care by unrelated people, not in the child's home, more than 20 hours per month) are among the hardest people to catch because 1. they will claim that they only provided care that one day that the investigators showed up or 2. they will claim that every child in their house is a cousin. And the shame of it is that the parents of those children will write a letter to the licensing agency swearing to that...right up until the day their child dies because they fell asleep too close to another child or because the uneducated provider didn't know that wrapping a small child in a blanket and swinging them around, accidentally smacking them into the wall can kill them or because there were 15 other children in the house and no one noticed the baby didn't wake up from his nap and when they did, no one knew CPR or because the two years old with violent biting tendencies who was supposed to be asleep, instead climbed into the crib and bit the baby 20 times, while the supposed caregiver was watching her soaps. And let's not even go into the convicted child abusers who could be watching the kids.

But yeah, lets do away with all the daycare regulations and let's let the parents decide.

I hope people understand that accidents happen and just because someone has a license doesn't mean they are people who should be watching kids. Personally I think asking providers not to have pets in their homes is one of those regulations that is going way overboard. This is a decision that a parent should make when they pick a daycare provider. Parents need to take some responsibility in who they chose for a provider. I am in no way defending this nanny that was caught on tape (I can't even watch it - it turns my stomach) but I wondering how much research this women did on this nanny before hiring her. All I am saying is that parents should take more responsibility for their children and not rely on the state.

 

[Dymphna]

I hope people understand that accidents happen and just because someone has a license doesn't mean they are people who should be watching kids. Personally I think asking providers not to have pets in their homes is one of those regulations that is going way overboard. This is a decision that a parent should make when they pick a daycare provider. Parents need to take some responsibility in who they chose for a provider. I am in no way defending this nanny that was caught on tape (I can't even watch it - it turns my stomach) but I wondering how much research this women did on this nanny before hiring her. All I am saying is that parents should take more responsibility for their children and not rely on the state.

Of course a license by itself doesn't mean that it is automatically safe, that's like saying everyone who ever committed a crime is in jail. Some folks don't get caught. BUT it certainly weeds out the ones who DO get caught. The child who drowned, that I mentioned was at a licensed daycare...but there won't ever be any other children there. The same is true of the child who was bitten. In both cases, there were no crimes committed. The caregivers in question were not convicted of anything, but the law will prevent them from legally watching other people's children ever again. It's a tragedy for the families, certainly, but for those parents who stick to licensed providers their children are safe from these individuals.

Let me bring it closer to home...

Perhaps you recall a few years ago (there was a thread about it at the time) that a small child was found wandering down the road unattended, off Mechanicsville Rd. The child was traced back to a home child care provider. Her license was revoked for it. After a time, this person continued with business as usual. She told people that she was licensed, but she wasn't. One day one of her neighbors told one of the parents, "You need to check her out." So this parent called the licensing agency. The parent admits it never occurred to her to do this before, having taken the woman at her word. The licensing agency confirmed that the woman's license had been revoked. The woman immediately went and got her child, refusing any further payments and then waited for all the other parents to come and told them all what she had discovered. If there were no law against it, that woman could've sued all those parents who pulled their children from her care for breach of contract and won. Thankfully, no other children had come to harm.

I once interviewed a parent who had her child in a licensed home daycare. As most of you know, the law limits the number of children under the age of 2 to two children in the daycare. This parent told me that she discovered, after putting her child in that daycare, that her provider watched four infants and at times, as many as 12 total children, despite the legal limit of 8. The parent told me that there were times when her husband would pick the baby up early and discover she was still in the car seat, where she'd been all day. The parent refused to report this person despite the fact that she was violating the terms of her license, because she didn't want to be forced to find a new provider without notice AND once she DID get her child out of that situation, she didn't care what happened to other people's children. This was in Golden Beach. I don't know who this person was, but as far as I know she's still in business.

So, no, having a license doesn't automatically make a person a good daycare provider, but being subject to the oversight that goes along with the license weeds out the most obvious of the bad eggs. And having gone through the licensing process myself, TWICE, once in Frederick County and again when I moved to St. Mary's, I can tell you as the queen of procrastination and paperwork avoidance, it's not that big a deal and it's not that expensive.

I can also tell you as a parent who once put her child in unlicensed care, only to discover that this perfectly wonderful person I trusted, who seemed to genuinely care about my child, who swore to me she had applied for a license, but hadn't gotten around to finishing the paperwork, but would do so any time now, never finished the licensing process because her husband had been convicted of something that would have prevented her ever getting a license as long as he lived in the house with her.

So, for those of you who trust yourselves to choose a provider, who has never had a criminal background check, who refuses to subject their home to annual inspections, ask yourselves what are they hiding?

 

[foodcritic]

Of course a license by itself doesn't mean that it is automatically safe, that's like saying everyone who ever committed a crime is in jail. Some folks don't get caught. BUT it certainly weeds out the ones who DO get caught. The child who drowned, that I mentioned was at a licensed daycare...but there won't ever be any other children there. The same is true of the child who was bitten. In both cases, there were no crimes committed. The caregivers in question were not convicted of anything, but the law will prevent them from legally watching other people's children ever again. It's a tragedy for the families, certainly, but for those parents who stick to licensed providers their children are safe from these individuals.

Let me bring it closer to home...

Perhaps you recall a few years ago (there was a thread about it at the time) that a small child was found wandering down the road unattended, off Mechanicsville Rd. The child was traced back to a home child care provider. Her license was revoked for it. After a time, this person continued with business as usual. She told people that she was licensed, but she wasn't. One day one of her neighbors told one of the parents, "You need to check her out." So this parent called the licensing agency. The parent admits it never occurred to her to do this before, having taken the woman at her word. The licensing agency confirmed that the woman's license had been revoked. The woman immediately went and got her child, refusing any further payments and then waited for all the other parents to come and told them all what she had discovered. If there were no law against it, that woman could've sued all those parents who pulled their children from her care for breach of contract and won. Thankfully, no other children had come to harm.

I once interviewed a parent who had her child in a licensed home daycare. As most of you know, the law limits the number of children under the age of 2 to two children in the daycare. This parent told me that she discovered, after putting her child in that daycare, that her provider watched four infants and at times, as many as 12 total children, despite the legal limit of 8. The parent told me that there were times when her husband would pick the baby up early and discover she was still in the car seat, where she'd been all day. The parent refused to report this person despite the fact that she was violating the terms of her license, because she didn't want to be forced to find a new provider without notice AND once she DID get her child out of that situation, she didn't care what happened to other people's children. This was in Golden Beach. I don't know who this person was, but as far as I know she's still in business.

So, no, having a license doesn't automatically make a person a good daycare provider, but being subject to the oversight that goes along with the license weeds out the most obvious of the bad eggs. And having gone through the licensing process myself, TWICE, once in Frederick County and again when I moved to St. Mary's, I can tell you as the queen of procrastination and paperwork avoidance, it's not that big a deal and it's not that expensive.

I can also tell you as a parent who once put her child in unlicensed care, only to discover that this perfectly wonderful person I trusted, who seemed to genuinely care about my child, who swore to me she had applied for a license, but hadn't gotten around to finishing the paperwork, but would do so any time now, never finished the licensing process because her husband had been convicted of something that would have prevented her ever getting a license as long as he lived in the house with her.

So, for those of you who trust yourselves to choose a provider, who has never had a criminal background check, who refuses to subject their home to annual inspections, ask yourselves what are they hiding?

I beg to differ that getting a license is no big deal. You have to go to two orientation classes,(which are only held once a month) CPR, First Aid, get papers notorized, fingerprinted for all adults, doctor checkups for all people in our house (I have six), fire inspection, water tested, take additionally classes, get your house inspected, fill out all kinds of paperwork. It is time consuming, you do put out quite a bit of money and if you are still working very hard to fit the classes in your schedule. Then once you get your license you need to keep taking classes.

You made my point about parents taking more responsibility. If a parent does not take the time to understand the laws and does not even ask to see the license (which is supposed to be in clear view) then they are not doing there job as a parent. If I was to put my child in the care of someone else you get betcha I would be doing surprise visits and know all I could about this person before hand. All I am saying is we are becoming a nanny state and I for one am not willing to give up my rights as a parent just to make my life easier.

 

[Cowgirl]

I beg to differ that getting a license is no big deal. You have to go to two orientation classes,(which are only held once a month) CPR, First Aid, get papers notorized, fingerprinted for all adults, doctor checkups for all people in our house (I have six), fire inspection, water tested, take additionally classes, get your house inspected, fill out all kinds of paperwork. It is time consuming, you do put out quite a bit of money and if you are still working very hard to fit the classes in your schedule. Then once you get your license you need to keep taking classes.

You made my point about parents taking more responsibility. If a parent does not take the time to understand the laws and does not even ask to see the license (which is supposed to be in clear view) then they are not doing there job as a parent. If I was to put my child in the care of someone else you get betcha I would be doing surprise visits and know all I could about this person before hand. All I am saying is we are becoming a nanny state and I for one am not willing to give up my rights as a parent just to make my life easier.

If you don't care enough to go through the relatively easy licensing process, why should I think you'd care enough to go out of your way to provide proper care for my child?

 

[sockgirl77]

If you don't care enough to go through the relatively easy licensing process, why should I think you'd care enough to go out of your way to provide proper care for my child?

Ding. Ding. Ding. We have a winner!

 

[barncat]

I beg to differ that getting a license is no big deal. You have to go to two orientation classes,(which are only held once a month) CPR, First Aid, get papers notorized, fingerprinted for all adults, doctor checkups for all people in our house (I have six), fire inspection, water tested, take additionally classes, get your house inspected, fill out all kinds of paperwork. It is time consuming, you do put out quite a bit of money and if you are still working very hard to fit the classes in your schedule. Then once you get your license you need to keep taking classes.

Lot's of follks attend school for 4 + years for their career of choice so I don't see how going through the process of running a licensed daycare can be called difficult. What about folks that want to start their own business, all the paper work they must complete to get a business name, EIN # and then everything they need to apply for a business loan from a bank. If I made a career change to run an in-home daycare I could easily fit everything into my schedule. I don't see how someone who is already a SAHM could not find the time to get everything done. Most professionals continue taking classes of somesort, and if taking classes is too much of a burden maybe being a licensed daycare provider is not for you. For my job I commute almost 4 hours a day, I would love the luxury of staying home and would gladly take a class once a month, but I would never make the same income I do now so it's not an option.

 

[foodcritic]

Lot's of follks attend school for 4 + years for their career of choice so I don't see how going through the process of running a licensed daycare can be called difficult. What about folks that want to start their own business, all the paper work they must complete to get a business name, EIN # and then everything they need to apply for a business loan from a bank. If I made a career change to run an in-home daycare I could easily fit everything into my schedule. I don't see how someone who is already a SAHM could not find the time to get everything done. Most professionals continue taking classes of somesort, and if taking classes is too much of a burden maybe being a licensed daycare provider is not for you. For my job I commute almost 4 hours a day, I would love the luxury of staying home and would gladly take a class once a month, but I would never make the same income I do now so it's not an option.

Not everyone that gets a license is a SAHM at the time. What about the people who want to change jobs but can't stop working until they get there business up and running?

 

[foodcritic]

If you don't care enough to go through the relatively easy licensing process, why should I think you'd care enough to go out of your way to provide proper care for my child?

Just because someone complains of the state taking over the responsibility of parents does not mean they don't care about children. Don't put words in my mouth or just assume because I think the process is a little overboard that I am a horrible person. I just think that parents need to take the responsiblity themselves to check out their providers and not leave it up to the state. Some people want the government to do everything for them. One day we will wake up and find we have no more rights because we were to lazy in the past to care.

 

[barncat]

Not everyone that gets a license is a SAHM at the time. What about the people who want to change jobs but can't stop working until they get there business up and running?

That's what leave is for. I use it for doctors appointments, household maintenance and any other personal items that I need to take care of during working hours. If you don't have leave then you will have to plan carefully and make the most of the time that you must take off to complete the tasks required. Heck, I had a baby while I was employed at a job without any leave and I managed to stay home for 5 weeks and still get all the bills payed with the money I set aside (planning ahead).

 

[foodcritic]

That's what leave is for. I use it for doctors appointments, household maintenance and any other personal items that I need to take care of during working hours. If you don't have leave then you will have to plan carefully and make the most of the time that you must take off to complete the tasks required. Heck, I had a baby while I was employed at a job without any leave and I managed to stay home for 5 weeks and still get all the bills payed with the money I set aside (planning ahead).

OK I am done going back and forth with you women. You guys obviously want the government to do everything for you so I am done. Good Bye

 

[huntr1]

I beg to differ that getting a license is no big deal. You have to go to two orientation classes,(which are only held once a month) CPR, First Aid, get papers notorized, fingerprinted for all adults, doctor checkups for all people in our house (I have six), fire inspection, water tested, take additionally classes, get your house inspected, fill out all kinds of paperwork. It is time consuming, you do put out quite a bit of money and if you are still working very hard to fit the classes in your schedule. Then once you get your license you need to keep taking classes.

When my wife completed the process to become a licensed child care provider, she was fully employed. In fact, she was a manager and commuting 2-3 hours a day. She completed the licensing process, advertised and once she had her first client, THEN she quit her job as a manager. It can be done. Nobody ever said changing careers was easy. Nobody ever said starting your own business was easy.

If you can't get off your hind end to complete the licensing process, then why should anybody feel you'll take the time to properly care for their child?

 

[west]

I honestly think it is the parents job to check out the childcare provider before putting your child in her care, licensed or not. Even if it is someone who you "think" you know. If you have the know-how you can do a background check online, it'll only take a minute.
Maryland Judiciary Case Search
and then spend some actual TIME watching how the provider takes care of children, show up unexpectedly, call during the day to check up, ASK your child, etc etc etc.....

 

[sockgirl77]

I honestly think it is the parents job to check out the childcare provider before putting your child in her care, licensed or not. Even if it is someone who you "think" you know. If you have the know-how you can do a background check online, it'll only take a minute.
Maryland Judiciary Case Search
and then spend some actual TIME watching how the provider takes care of children, show up unexpectedly, call during the day to check up, ASK your child, etc etc etc.....

Yep. Because all children are capable of telling you how their day went.

 

[west]

Yep. Because all children are capable of telling you how their day went.

Even babies.....when u pick them up in afternoon/evening are they happy or cranky? hungry or satisfied? exhausted or wide awake?

These can all be signals as to how your babies day went, whether he/she was taken care of. Whether he was fed or not; slept all day or was played with.

 

[barncat]

Even babies.....when u pick them up in afternoon/evening are they happy or cranky? hungry or satisfied? exhausted or wide awake?

These can all be signals as to how your babies day went, whether he/she was taken care of. Whether he was fed or not; slept all day or was played with.

I agree. My little one goes to grandma for daycare and she's always happy and excited about going and has no problem giving my a kiss good-bye and snuggling with grandma or playing with her buddies. It is the parents responsibility to pay attention to things like their happiness and health and a negative reaction to daycare (crying when being dropped off, not wanting to go and poor attitude to the provider) would cause me to investigate. I know some children suffer separation anxiety and might exhibit what I would consider a negative reaction to daycare due to separation anxiety, but for my child, those would be warning signs that she's unhappy.

 

[Dymphna]

I honestly think it is the parents job to check out the childcare provider before putting your child in her care, licensed or not. Even if it is someone who you "think" you know. If you have the know-how you can do a background check online, it'll only take a minute.
Maryland Judiciary Case Search
and then spend some actual TIME watching how the provider takes care of children, show up unexpectedly, call during the day to check up, ASK your child, etc etc etc.....

Child abuse cases and complaints to Social Services aren't always reported there and it only covers Maryland. The Licensing agency runs a nation-wide check.

 

[sockgirl77]

I agree. My little one goes to grandma for daycare and she's always happy and excited about going and has no problem giving my a kiss good-bye and snuggling with grandma or playing with her buddies. It is the parents responsibility to pay attention to things like their happiness and health and a negative reaction to daycare (crying when being dropped off, not wanting to go and poor attitude to the provider) would cause me to investigate. I know some children suffer separation anxiety and might exhibit what I would consider a negative reaction to daycare due to separation anxiety, but for my child, those would be warning signs that she's unhappy.

Give my kids enough cookies and they'll be anyone's best friend.

 

[Dymphna]

I beg to differ that getting a license is no big deal. You have to go to two orientation classes,(which are only held once a month) CPR, First Aid, get papers notorized, fingerprinted for all adults, doctor checkups for all people in our house (I have six), fire inspection, water tested, take additionally classes, get your house inspected, fill out all kinds of paperwork. It is time consuming, you do put out quite a bit of money and if you are still working very hard to fit the classes in your schedule. Then once you get your license you need to keep taking classes.

You made my point about parents taking more responsibility. If a parent does not take the time to understand the laws and does not even ask to see the license (which is supposed to be in clear view) then they are not doing there job as a parent. If I was to put my child in the care of someone else you get betcha I would be doing surprise visits and know all I could about this person before hand. All I am saying is we are becoming a nanny state and I for one am not willing to give up my rights as a parent just to make my life easier.

Water check $80. Fire inspection $40. Licensing home inspection: free. You may have to burn one day of leave for each. Medical forms can be filled out based on your regular annual check-up at no additional cost. CPR & First Aid class free for daycare providers through St. Mary's Hospital, offered evenings and weekends. Orientation classes free and offered in the evenings. Join the local Daycare professional association for $20-$25 per year (depending on county) and get 20-26 hours of free training per year....in a hurry and can't wait to take classes once per month? There is a grant through College of Southern Maryland that offers some classes for $10 each for 2-3 hours and the Childcare resource center charges $15 for 2 hours.

Total cost of a daycare license: $140 - $235. Charge for one week of care for one infant: $150 - $225.

Plus it is possible to get up to $400 from the state to reimburse for additional training, plus up to $1000 per year from the state for going above and beyond training requirements. Plus most providers can write off approximately a third of their mortgage, property taxes and utilities as a business expense, in addition to things like training, inspection fees, new toys, art supplies, etc.