Frustrating childcare situation

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I did see that you sent that message. I’m not sure where you live, but there is a surplus of early childhood education teachers who can’t find work in their field.
 
Really? I hadn’t heard that. Our two PreK teachers have both been at our school over 20 years, so they probably don’t have many connections with the recently graduated. One of our special education teachers is trying to convince her daughter who is about to have a baby in a month or so to call me for next year. She works for Goddard School as an teaching assistant, even though she is certified. She was hoping she would be promoted but it hasn’t happened after three years. Apparently she can’t bring her baby there for free either and her mom is trying to convince her to take a nannying position so she can make more money and be able to breastfeed. She just lives down the street from me, so that might work out really well, but obviously not until next school year.
 
When we were looking for respite care for me, we put the word out a local teaching colleges. At first, we didn’t get too many offers. After the students saw what opportunities they had, they took our offer. Just a thought.
 
I’ve actually attepted to see if there is a website for something like this at our local colleges, but in every case, I was directed to a good old fashioned bulletin board somewhere on their campus.
 
I used to teach preschool and quit precisely because they pay little, health insurance is poor- and admin doesn’t help us help the children. The rules are ridiculous and the kids aren’t happy. I realized I would never take my own children here, how can I support the industry and continue working here? Not only that, but like you- I was struggling w childcare. 😦

I live in a city where it would cost me $560-ish a WEEK to enroll my 3 year old and soon to be born infant in childcare. I quit, because I barely made that much in TWO WEEKS. My family is currently in dire financial straits because we need a second income- but NO job pays enough for childcare. It’s outlandish. I don’t know how anyone affords it without some type of government aid- which I don’t qualify for because we are just above the allowable income for said supports.

I am also three classes away from finishing the main portion of my degree program… and needing to begin student teaching. I want to be a teacher too. 🙂

But… I just have no idea how I’m going to manage student teaching when I can’t afford childcare. So I have my schooling on hold at the moment.

I really feel your pain. In an ideal world you could just ask family for help, but I imagine you don’t have access to that. Neither do I. My family all lives out of state- we are still living in the last city we were stationed when we were military.

I will be praying for you. Pray for us too! Childcare in this country is the worst.
 
Allegra said:
claimed that no one
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A lot of us are qualified teachers and we care about the kids. It’s unfortunate that preschool is PAID like day care…but they charge parents tuition like it’s private school. :confused: It’s very broken…
 
My parents live locally, but all are still employed full-time. They can only help with childcare occasionally in a pinch. I wonder if you found another mom who works nights that you could trade childcare with? They could watch your children while you student taught and you could care for theirs while they worked night shift and or weekends? I’ve seen a lot of single moms make that sort of arrangement on the childcare connection pages I use. Another idea is a nanny-share, where one nanny takes care of two families’ children at the same time and the families split her wages. This works the best when each family only has one or two at the most, or when some of them are in school during the day. I agree that it’s such a huge problem and sometimes takes a lot of creativity to make it work.
 
At the school where I work, our preK teachers are paid on the same scale as all the rest of the certified staff. Each classroom has a para as well and they are paid the same wages as the rest of the paras. Most of the students are there for free because they qualify for early intervention.
 
Of course, when I say “free”, I mean “free to the parents”. The state pays their tuition.
 
I called the college placement office who gave me the name of the chair of the education department. This was after the bulletin board failed for me.
 
Sigh. The lady that seemed like such a good candidate called and said her son has had some medical issues come up and will need surgery, so she won’t be able to do the six weeks for us. I’m out of candidates. I did go and look at another childcare center, and they were much more reasonable about apples and naps. They said the kids had to be on the cot for 30 minutes due to state law, but they would let them look at books or color if they wanted and if I was okay with it. I’m still a little concerned about this new place because the child to teacher ratio seems a little high. But their facility is much nicer than the other place I went.
 
We had another interview with a new nanny. She doesn’t have a lot of experience, but she seemed very nice and interacted well with the kids. She has an 8mo girl, so right at that age where they aren’t as demanding as a newborn, but won’t get into my china if she takes her eyes off of her for a second to change a diaper. She has a month-long trip to Mexico planned for mid-May, so our six-week time frame works perfectly for her and she isn’t likely to bail on us if a long-term position becomes available. We’re going to check references and have her come for a date night next week.
 
So, I went and spoke to another daycare center today. I told them all the concerns I had and they seemed really willing to be flexible. This center is owned by a husband and wife and not a corporation. Their main teachers have been with them for 2 to 5 years. (They’ve owned the place for 5 years.) Their facility is by far the nicest I’ve ever been in. They even have a gym for the kids to play in when it’s raining. They were willing to work with my little guy and let him eat an apple if he couldn’t swallow what they were serving. (The teacher said they put a bowl of fruit out anyway.) Plus they will give him some extra milk if he doesn’t eat the lunch. They have a plan for my daughter’s toileting needs. And their nap requirements are laying down for 20 minutes (state minimum) and they can have books or soft toys at that time. If feel a lot more comfortable with this place, even if it is out of the way. And their tuition is way less than what the other place asked. I wonder if having a corporate brand name doesn’t come with some considerable overhead? I think we’re going to try this place for the six weeks. If they like it, I might consider their two-day preschool program for my kids next year.
 
Update! It’s been two weeks in the daycare and it seems to be okay. My girl still won’t nap but she’s allowed to have books and Calico Critters (whatever those are) while she sits on her cot for 20 minutes. My boy naps some of the time but they keep him in the toddler room during nap time and he reads in a crib. The rest of the day, they have him in the preschool room because he is one of the “more verbal 2yos” and plays better with the older kids. (I hope that isn’t daycare code for “he beats the crud muffins out of the other 2yos and needs older kids to keep him in line.”)
 
thank you for the update! It’s always nice to know how these things turn out.
 
Yes, especially since I know some of you guys have been praying. It’s encouraging to hear how God works things out!
 
Allegra said:
Update! It’s been two weeks in the daycare and it seems to be okay. My girl still won’t nap but she’s allowed to have books and Calico Critters (whatever those are)
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They are little figurines. Adorable but expensive. Like stupid expensive for what they are.
Allegra said:
(I hope that isn’t daycare code for “he beats the crud muffins out of the other 2yos and needs older kids to keep him in line.”)
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No. Early talkers tend to “need” to be with children who are speaking at the same level so long as those children understand that child needs more patience. Children who are around other non-talkers as a group all day tend to develop regressive behaviors to compensate for the lack of attention they are getting because they do speak. Your daycare is smart.
 
He’s not really an “early talker”. He’s actually been accessed for a speech delay not too long ago. From what I’ve seen at pickup. 5 out of their 8 2yos appear to be of middle eastern descent. I suspect that their language is “behind” only because the teacher doesn’t speak the same language they do. At any rate, I’m fine with it as long as the older kids don’t pick on him.
 
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