Childcare Options

Transcript

Erin's gonna talk about our in home day care options. Joel's gonna talk about school age children, and Kelly's gonna talk about day care centers, because they all have children that are currently in these different options.

Let's go ahead and get started, Kelly.

Cool. Yeah. So, also, just to kind of point out before we do jump in, there are other types of child care, that we aren't gonna cover in this chat, but, just throwing this on the screen so that you guys can kind of look into that and see what options might be best for you and your family.

Erica, so do you wanna kick us off with our first Yeah. Question?

A hundred percent. Okay. So our first question is, can we just talk a little bit about the typical cost of the different child care options? I think that's probably one of the biggest questions that people have is how much does it cost, what's the typical price.

And, Kelly, do you wanna start with the day care centers?

Okay. Sure. Yeah. So, the cost is gonna vary by location, you know, obviously. So the national average is anywhere from one thousand to fifteen hundred dollars per month, per child, and can get as high as two thousand dollars per month in higher cost of living cities, like San Francisco, New York, Chicago.

So for day care centers, which is kind of what I'm here to represent, the cost is also going to depend on the age of your child. So, infants is gonna have a slight premium, than it is gonna be for you to get care for your toddler.

And then the price is gonna continue to go down, the older your child gets. So, anywhere from, I think, maybe ten to fifteen percent less each month, for each age that your child goes. So that's something to keep in mind as well.

And for, I guess, the national average or the Ohio average, I should say, is around twelve hundred and fifty dollars a month for a toddler between the ages of two and three. And that's close to what I pay as well.

So, there's And kind of what does that look like for day care?

Like, so people know, like, what happens on it what what does your day look like with Sophie? Like, you you take her there.

Well, I wanna give, the other the other people a chance to kind of weigh in on the cost so that this can really help people compare and contrast, like, the different options. But, I do think we have some questions later on about what that day looks like, what all of that stuff includes.

Another thing I just wanna say, before I let Aaron kinda chime in is the cost could also change, a little bit depending on the services that are included.

So for me, I know that my take my day care offers all of our meals and snacks, and they also offer the wipes. We have to, supply our own diapers, but, it's really helpful to have them be preparing the meals.

And that gives us a lot of, just free time back to not be preparing that. But, would love to hear kind of Erin's point of view on what her experience has been with in home day care.

So I first wanna define in home day care. I know when I first looking at childcare options, I was a little confused on what all of them meant. So in home childcare means I drop off my son to someone's home and their other kids there, like a day care center, but it's in home.

So my son is a year and a half, and he has been at two different in home childcare, with, one the first one was about thirty dollars a day, and now he's in one fifty dollars a day. So the difference in the two so the first one he was in did not provide any meals. So that meant I brought breakfast, his lunch, his snack, his milk that he drinks. He's a year and a half. So I brought all of that. So what he's in now is fifty dollars a day, which is different, but she provides his lunch and a snack. So I only bring breakfast, which is really nice.

And she's very structured too. So you're paying for kind of what you're getting. So she has a structured nap time.

Maximum she has is about six kids a day, depends on the day. And she's really, really flexible, which is great. So, if I need to change around some days, she's really easy to work with.

Or if I need to swap out a day, if you have to guarantee most in home childcare. So say you wanna do three days when you first initially work with them. If you miss a day and say you were off work and you wanna spend a day with your child, you typically have to pay that day. So that is one thing about in home child care because it is their full time job.

It is a guaranteed day that you have to pay for. So that's one little downside, but other than that, it's very, very flexible. And about in Ohio where I'm located outside in the suburbs, can be anywhere from thirty. I've heard up to, like, sixty, seventy.

Totally depends on what they're offering and how many children, that they have each day as well.

Erin, I'm gonna pause you for a second because a lot of the question we're getting is about, is this her child, or is this for, like, if you have three kids, you pay the same amount?

And Yep. It is her child. What Kelly's talking about is for Sophie, and Erin's talking about the same thing as just her child.

So what I have one selling, and it's just for him.

Yep. So, I know each kid childcare in home is different too. I've heard of some that my friends go to that if you have two kids, you get somewhat of a discount. It could be, like, five, ten dollars off, but each child is a different price. So if I had two kids, it would be fifty dollars for one kid, fifty for another. That's a great question.

Erin, do you know what that comes out to monthly, by chance?

I do not. Yes. I'm sorry.

Okay.

So I guess it just depends on the number of kids.

Calculators out.

Yeah. The number of days that you have.

Just two or three days. So around four hundred, five five hundred dollars a month. Yeah. Okay. So it is a little bit of a cheaper option.

But I know day care centers, like, where Kelly Donner goes, has more educational programs involved. So that's another pro of a day care center.

Yeah. So, also, just to clarify, for, like, a day care center in Ohio, it is around, one thousand two hundred and fifty dollars to upwards of one thousand five hundred dollars per month, depending on the age of the child. So, yes, I did say, it could be as high as fifteen hundred dollars a month, for a toddler aged child.

And then it's also going to like, we do have some part time options with day care centers similar to, what Erin's talking about, but it is a little bit more strict. I I don't think you can really pick and choose your days.

The day care centers have everything kind of oriented around their schedules and their staffing, and children ratios.

So even, if we can't show up past ten AM at our day care center, because they're relying on that child count to plan the rest of their staffing needs for the whole day. So if we're gonna be late, coming in past ten AM, then we have to have a doctor's note. That's another thing to just consider. And then, if we pick up a minute past pickup time, which our day care closes at six, I know others are open later, but they do also charge a fee if you're, showing up late to pick up your child. So, yeah, I would love to give Joel a chance to kinda weigh in as well on the cost.

Kelly and Erin, you guys are this is amazing information. I know I've seen so many comments from people about their children, and, obviously, our children are the most important thing in our lives. And so this is a really important topic. And Joel's gonna cover the school age ones. I've seen some questions about can I leave my kids at home alone? And so we're gonna talk more about that. Let's dive into it, Joel.

Yeah. Absolutely. So just for so I'm Joel. Hello, everyone.

I have, right now, my son is in high school, but he's been in the public school system for seven years already. So we've, you know, we've gone through a lot, our family just, you know, navigating the school system.

You know, I'm gonna step back a little bit so that so that people understand, like, because, actually, the first thing that people ask me is, like, how does the school system in America works? So first thing that I think people had to understand is, so there are public schools and there are private schools. Right? And it's the same thing here in America. But most of the time, you're gonna land in public schools because ninety percent of schools here in America are public schools. Now, of course, depending on your you know, it's your own personal choice if you wanna send them to private school, for a variety of reasons. But most likely, you, your kids are gonna, you know, end up in in public school, which is amazing.

The public school system works, think about it like territories. So if you look if you go back to the map of the US, the the map of the US basically divided into territories, and that's what we call, like, the school districts.

So anywhere you live in the US, you're gonna fall into a certain school district. And in that school district, there are gonna be schools for your kids beginning from first grade, of course, up up until to twelfth grade. So first grade is usually around six or seven years old depending on the state. Here in here here in Ohio, it's seven years old. And then, like I said, it goes all the way to to, twelfth grade.

You will also hear, like, how it's called if there's elementary school, there's middle school, and there's high school. Now, which grades fall into which sometimes differs by state. But here in Ohio, elementary school is first first grade up to, fifth grade, and then middle school is six to eight, and then high school is nine to twelve. Now like I said, most likely, your kids will, you know, will fall into a certain public school district.

And then the cool thing since we're talking about cost, mine is actually the easiest for school age students because, pub the public school system is practically free. So like I said, you land on a location. There's a school district that serves that. Automatically, they're they'll take in your kids, and they're gonna provide education practically for free.

Why do I say practically? Of course, there are still certain costs that, that you'll probably pay, like, throughout the year. Like, things like I've seen, fees, like technology fees. So, this is a small fee for, like, you know, when when the school gives out, like, updates the iPad that the the kids use.

They'll they'll maybe charge you maybe fifty bucks for the whole year for technology fees.

Sometimes certain subjects, like, I've had my son, doing some work in his, engineering class because he's in high school now. And then they went on a field trip. So some so, of course, you're gonna pay some cost for that field trip. But the basic instruction, so math, English language arts, social studies, science, you know, the the core subjects that they need to learn, those are those all come for free.

And there are other things as well that come for free. Like, the the food that they get at school is also free because there's food in the cafeteria. They just, you know, line up every day during recess, and they get the food there. And then the coolest thing that I found, especially when we were when we just moved here to the US, that was really helpful, Even the busing system.

So the school bus. Maybe when you search the US, sometimes one of the images that you see is that big yellow, yellow striped school bus. That is truly an American thing because all those public school districts that I told you about, like I said, ninety percent, right, of the US, those are all served by the school bus. So you don't have to worry about how the kids get to and from the school.

So, those are also part of, like, what's provided. You don't pay for that. And, yeah, your your get your kids get picked up in the morning.

The times of school varies, of course, by state, but it ranges around school starts between seven thirty to eight thirty.

Like I said, varies by state, and then ends around two thirty to three thirty.

That's pretty consistent.

What differs as the grade level changes are the breaks. The younger the kids are, there are more breaks. Because as we know, you know, kids, you know, have a a little shorter, attention span, so they need more more times to recess, more times to get out, and, you know, have, physical education, PE.

So the kids the the breaks are more often for younger kids. But then as they go to high school, like my son right now, they basically have one break, lunch break. That's it. So it's like it's basically a like, a a job already that that they that they go for for six to seven hours. Yes.

So I'm gonna I'm gonna pause you just for a second. You're giving us so much great information. I think some people feel like it's almost like a fire hose because there's just so much good information you're sharing. We had a couple questions. So Mhmm. The first one was, is kindergarten a part of the public school system?

Yep. Yep. Yes. Yes. It is. Yes. It is.

Yeah. Preschool and then kindergarten. Mhmm.

Yep. Preschool and kindergarten are also part of it. There's they're a little bit different, though, just in terms of, like, the times. Their their their their school times are for shorter.

Again, it differs. Sometimes it ends at twelve, one, thereabouts. Okay? So it's not, like, four to five hours tops. They're gonna be in school.

Their curriculum other curriculum are different, of course.

Right? Because, they're they're Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.

Yes. Their their attention spans, again, much shorter.

Yes.

The other question Jia had was, does the school bus go to your house to pick up your kids and then take them to school? It's a great question.

Yep. That's a great question. Well, the the the school districts will try their best, of course, to literally pick up your kids in front of your house. But but take notice, of course, like, in in the in a school district, there's, like, thousands of people.

Like like, from from first grade up to twelfth grade. So they will, make the logistics works, basically, in in such a way where your your kids will like, my kid has never walked more than two blocks to get to to to his school bus. So two blocks is like what? I would say around a hundred, hundred fifty meters.

So, they never walk more than that to get to to the school bus. You know? Sometimes you get lucky. They literally dropped it off, like, running front right in front of your door.

So, usually, during summertime, they will get of, to get out a survey to all families in the school district just so, you know, just to know where everybody are. And, from there, they get the the, bus basically, the bus route, and the bus time is when your kids will be picked up. But, again, I've been I've been in my kids have been in school system for seven years now, and, that is probably the best thing that that we we take advantage of, the busing system. Because all of you all, like, that are watching here, like, are gonna be working.

Right? You're you're you're you're, you you're gonna be in full time work. You're gonna be out of the house. So you're always think you're thinking about, like, how do I how do my kids get to school?

So that that answers your first question. And then, like I said, they pick you they pick they they pick the kids up, bring them to to bring them home. So, another thing that I wanted to talk about as well is, like so the schedules I talked about the schedules, it it ends at two thirty and three thirty. Some of some of y'all might ask, like, okay.

First thing, I think I saw one question already a while ago. Like, can my can I leave my kids alone, like, in in at home? So Big question. Yeah. That that that is a good question.

Every state, again, is different.

You know, just looking up Ohio, they they not they don't actually prescribe a certain age for, you know, for someone to be left alone in the house. They have some certain questions, though, some guidelines that basically talks about, like, the maturity of the kid. Right? And and how he can, you know, take care of him or herself, in terms of, like, you know, feeding, you know, just making sure that the house is secure.

So they leave it up to the parent, but, of course, because you know your your kids best. I would tell you, though, that, my kid, you know, I started leaving him at around age twelve, and that's around, like, middle school. So that's, some, the age that I was comfortable with. There are some states that there's prescribe an age.

I know, like, Illinois prescribed this, says there it's, the kid has to be twelve. And then if the kid has a younger sibling, they have to be at least high school, which is, like, fourteen, fifteen to be able to take care of the the younger kid. So just make sure to search for that in in you know, for for every state. But, yeah, it's you you'll know your kids more, and, in in in that regard.

Now And for my for my, Joel, just and yours were probably the same when they were younger than twelve. So they would go to, like Aaron has an in home day care. Yeah. Mine would go before school to someone's home, and then the bus would pick them up. And then after, they would go to someone's home. And then I would pick them up from that person's home after work. So they still had before and after care until they were old enough to get off the bus by themselves and be alone.

Yep. Exactly. That was I was actually going there because Okay. It's not about the schedule.

Right? So so you would you you'll think about it, like, three o'clock, they end. So how what do they do after three o'clock? I get off at work at five.

Right? So there are after school programs that the school the school district themselves provide. So, usually, these after school programs happen in the school. So school bell rings, everyone goes home except for a certain group of people who would stay after school.

Sometimes they'll do homework. Sometimes they'll just, you know, go to the library and read books. For younger age kids, they will have maybe playtime, but there are options.

Always, like, when you find out where you all are gonna be living and working, always try to find out first the school district that I talked about. Find out what that school district it, which school district covers your area. And then from that school district, you will find all sorts of information from for, before school and after school programs. And Yeah.

It completes the whole day, basically, that, you will reach a point when you just bring your kids to the bus. They they go to school. They go after school, and you pick them up after, after school. And it becomes like a routine, and you'll get you'll get the hang of it as, you know, as the years go by.

Joel, I'm seeing a a few questions about and I don't were your kids, when you immigrated here, were they they immigrated and started school? How was the school system for them integrating from coming from the Philippines, for example? Because I'm seeing some questions from people about their kids coming and how that works in the public school system, if people support them, and that kind of thing.

Yeah. That's a great question. So just in terms of academically, it's not too, not too different in terms of, like, the major subjects. Right?

There's math, English language arts, science, and then social studies. So there's those there's two three main things. In certain states, there will be, you know, specific things that they will talk about, like, and especially as they grow older. Like, I remember in Illinois, they had, like, Spanish required for middle school, so those things will come.

So it's not too different in terms of the instruction. Now, maybe you would ask, like, what if my kid has, because I saw a a question as well of, like, in terms of, like, English language. Right? If my kid doesn't have, like, that strong core of English yet, and then he comes in, and if the the instruction is, of course, in English. In in in most schools, there is already an English an ESL.

So it's basically a subject that helps, bridge that gap for people who are not native English language speakers. So you you get that. Again, that's for free. You just you have to let the school district know that, hey. My kid needs help in terms of, like, the English language.