Daycare Cost - Keller,TX

Updated on April 11, 2013
S.H. asks from Keller, TX
23 answers

Sorry guys this is kind of a personal question, but I'm just wondering what everyone pays for childcare? We have an 18 month old daughter that goes to an in home babysitter full time 5 days a week during the school year and 4 days a week during the summer. Our son, who is 7, goes to the same babysitter twice a week during the summer. My husband is convinced that we are paying too much but I'm not sure. What seems like a reasonable amount to pay?

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C.L.

answers from Fresno on

In Fresno California- I pay $1200 a month for 2 kids (1 & 3) for a small in-home daycare, which includes breakfast and lunch. That is on the cheaper side- normally it is $700-$800 per kid.

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R.J.

answers from Seattle on

This is a really regional thing:

In Seattle for 40hrs per week:

Average group infant & non-potty-trained toddlers = $1600 per month. For potty trained toddlers & young children = $1000 per month.

Average 1 on 1 infant & toddler care = $2500 - $3200 per month

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T.B.

answers from Dallas on

Hello, I'm an In Home Childcare Provider in Keller.
It does depend on where the Provider is located. How centrally located she is to where most people work. Easy access.
It, usually, is based on how many years experience she has.
It is also based on what Centers charge so we can be in a competitive price range but still be paid for the specialized, one on one care your child receives.
Then we look at what curriculum we offer. The amount of space for the children to play in like the back yard. We do have more space than the average provider here.
Individual reputation of each Provider which is based on word of mouth through out the years.
We, my dh and I, have been full for over a year.
I've been in the Childcare business for over 28 years. Of those years I've owned my own In Home Childcare for 18 years.
In Roanoke I've seen where Providers charge 90.00-100.00 per week per child. It may be because it is so far out but you must understand that you get what you pay for.
There is a Keller Childcare Association website. (KAFCC) Providers have emails you can check out. We each charge different prices. I BELIEVE they range anywhere from 160.00-225.00 per week Some charge full price for two and some charge a % break. Some have one week vacation and some have two. Some follow the School District calendar. We only need 20 hours in Childcare and Developmental Studies per year, not counting hrs for First Aid and CPR Training. Some of us are trying to raise the amount of training hours required by Texas. I know belonging to two different Associations I can get just under 60 hrs per year. Not counting self instructional trainings. Here in Texas infants are 0-17 mo. Once they turn 18 mo they are toddlers. At age 5 they are considered After School agers.
Keller is a growing town and you can see how fast it is growing when you look at the School Districts issues for space. Childcare is a MUCH needed industry.
As far as a "Star Program" that must be a Oklahoma thing?
I've not seen anything like that through the State of Texas website.

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T.B.

answers from Austin on

Hello In response to daycare cost, I am a provider in Texas, I think home base provider should up there price, we do way more then the norm. We are flexible and the parents know this, so they use that to there advantage, but we need to set boundaries to, because we have families and lives to. So we should charge just as much as center base. At any given time we have children from 6:30-6:00 no parents works those hours but you better believe there child is there and some times pass those hours. We help way more then the center base child care facilities. We give date nights, week-end care etc. So we should charge 1000.00 too.

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S.B.

answers from Kansas City on

we pay 175 a week for an excellent in home daycare that does preschool and things.

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H.D.

answers from Dallas on

My children go to/will go to Merryhill Preschool in Keller. The infant will be $189 for 3 days a week and my son who is 4 will be another $130 for 3 days a week.

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J.B.

answers from Atlanta on

This is one of those that REALLY depends on where you live. Generally, smaller towns and in-home daycares are far less expensive than licensed and accredited daycare centers, preschools or nannies in larger cities. We pay $2000 a month for a 4yr old and a 20m old for a nanny who comes from 8-5:30 M-F. This is actually a deal in Atlanta for in-home nanny care. Usually it's $12-$15 an hour at least. Our 1/2 a day preschool that we use costs $270 per month for 3 half days per week (9:30-1:30). I know to people where I grew up, which is a very small town, this all sounds astronomical, but it's not for Atlanta.

If you're in a small town (not sure where Keller, TX is -whether it's a suburb of a large city or what), then the daughter's care should probably be around $300 per week and the son's twice a week -maybe $100?

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P.Z.

answers from Columbus on

I paid $35 a day for both my kids, a 3 and 4 year old. Drop off was at 7:15 and picked up by 4:45. Also, I am in Ohio so not sure if that affects prices.

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D.G.

answers from Dallas on

To get an idea of what prices are, call around to area daycares and check prices. They should tell you over the phone. Almost 2 years ago when my youngest was in daycare / preschool we paid @ $800 per month. He was 4 at the time. That did include meals, snacks, learning ciriculum, and a couple of other activities.

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L.O.

answers from Sacramento on

Depending on your location, prices will vary greatly. I would call some of the daycare homes as well as centers and get some price quotes to see what the going rates are. With that information you will be able to see if you are in fact paying on the high side or if you are right on target. I am a licensed in home provider located in Sacramento, CA and for infants I charge $150 per week for full time care and $125 per week for toddlers. (an infant is a child under age 2 and a toddler is age 2 and older)

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K.P.

answers from New York on

I pay $840/ month for full time childcare. This includes breakfast, lunch and two snacks as well as great activities and superior care!

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G.B.

answers from Tulsa on

Child care rates are based on a STAR program. The more STARS a facility has the better they can be paid. You can get a license with only 1 star but cannot get a contract with DHS for them to pay you money for some until you have at least 1 1/2 STARS. A regular child care center wil have either 2 or 3 STARs certification.

The following link shows the pay rates that the State of Oklahoma will pay for a child. A center may charge more, of course, but this is what the state will pay for the child for a low income family. I think Texas rates are higher but this is just a general answer to your question.

(Blended and daily rates don't apply to you) Blended and daily rates has to do with paper work the state fills out and that is based on whether the child goes year round or just through the school year. One way they pay the same every day regardless of whether the school age child eats a full meal plus 1-2 snacks or if they just have after school snacks. The other way they pay more on days the child is out of school, it is better because you get more money for those days to pay for the food and extra staffing.

Since you are in the vacinity of Fort Worth I will say you are in an Enhanced area which means pay rates are a bit higher.
For an 18 month old child:
In a 1 STAR Center the pay is $15.50 daily
In a 1+STAR Center the pay is $20.25 daily
In a 2 STAR Center the pay is $27.75 dai;y
In a 3 STAR Center the pay is $32.75 daily

For part time school age care the pay rate is:
1, $11.25 daily
1+, $15.00 daily
2, $16.50 daily
3, $18.25 daily

This is a link to Oklahoma DHS pay scales that they pay for kids to attend child care.
http://www.okdhs.org/NR/rdonlyres/2E81F###-###-####-487B-...

C.M.

answers from St. Louis on

I am in Southern IL but I pay right over $1000 for two (10 months and almost 3) for five days full time. This includes breakfast, lunch, and two snacks. I provide diapers and wipes and formula.

N.G.

answers from Dallas on

For my two daughters (3 & 6), we pay $1200/month for full-time childcare for both. This is considerably less during the school year when my 6-year-old is at school all day.

For an 18-month old (who probably isn't potty trained), day care would be more like $180/week. For the 7-year-old daycare would be probably closer to $25/day for part-time.

For an 18-month old, an in-home sitter is more like $125-$150/week, for a good one with provided meals. For a 7-year-old it should be closer to $80/week or $20/day for part-time or drop-in care.

A full time nanny would be close to $15 an hour for both children, depending.

The price should generally go down the older she gets, as she is potty trained, etc.

C.C.

answers from Fresno on

We have paid between $900-$1600/month per child for the 0-2 age range, and $###-###-#### per child older than 2. Child care costs a fortune, but what can you do? It's not an area where you should skimp!

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J.K.

answers from Gainesville on

Our day care goes by month, and for three days a week it's $1,200 for two kids: one 3.5 year old and a one year old. For full time it wouldn't be that much more, considering, maybe $1,400 I think. It works out to about $5 per hour per child of availability, although I don't end up getting the kids to school as early as I'd like. It is a lot, but our day care is slightly higher than most others I visited, but less than $10 per week higher, so at the top of the normal range, I'd say.

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M.H.

answers from Dallas on

Hi, I pay $537 a month for my 3 yo at a pre-school. Tuition includes breakfast, lunch, snack and Stretch-n-Grow. We first put her there at 18 months and the price hasn't changed much.

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J.M.

answers from Dallas on

I am in Garland (DFW area) and our 10 month old son attends an in-home daycare for $155/week and that includes all meals and diapers. When we started looking for daycare (son was 6 months old) the prices varied for in home care - one lady was $195/week and you had to bring your own diapers and wipes. Another was $175/week (same deal). If we went to a franchised daycare - the prices started @ over $200/week. I think we have an excellent deal.

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K.P.

answers from Dallas on

I am in Carrollton and Pay $100/ week per child (I have 2) this includes meals for my toddler and wipes. I have to provide diapers formula and baby food for my youngest. Search the state website for in home registered daycares and call a few to get an idea of their cost and then decide if you might be paying to much.

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D.W.

answers from Indianapolis on

A lot depends on the location and the quality of care.

We pay $390/week for full time day care at a licensed facility for a 4 year-old and 2 year-old. We were paying as much as $425/week when we had an infant and 2 year-old (that included our discount for multiple children).

Our day care has to provide reduced rates for indigent families, but I don't know what they are.

Friends who have done in-home day care in our area generally pay $25-$35/child/day.

S.K.

answers from Kansas City on

I'm not in TX and I am an in-home provider. I charge 120 per week for one child and 200 per week for 2. My understanding from posts like these is that TX daycare is very expensive. I am very curious why that is?! Is the cost of living in TX very high?

Just for comparison sake... In my home I provide 24 hour care, flexible schedules, computer learning that covers every single subject imaginable, early reading and 2 full-time caregivers for only 6 children total including our family children. These children enjoy a step between babysitting and daycare center type learning. I've been a provider for 24 years. I don't believe in strict schedules. I do believe in flexible routines the children can count on. I spent about 20% of my income on food and 20% of the income on toys and another 20% of the income maintaining the home which we use ENTIRELY for care. We live on about 40% of the income received. We do have children on every shift allowing us a liveable income, but we never take any time off outside of Thanksgiving day and Christmas day. My parents do not always fully understand how much we sacrifice for them. But I appreciate them and most of them do appreciate us.

If your husband thinks you are paying too much, you might be. But it's very subjective and if you asked your provider to give you a general breakdown of costs, she'd probably be willing. I know I'd LOVE for my parents to understand how little of what they pay me actually benefits me directly.

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J.P.

answers from Austin on

Austin is expensive in regards to daycare so I think you are going to get a huge range of answers. For my 2 1/2 year old we pay $700 for full-time daycare which includes meals and a wonderful curriculum to help prepare them for school. My daughter loves the school and the teachers as do I and so it's worth the extra cost.

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E.L.

answers from Dallas on

I have a 4 year old in Pre-K and a 5.5 year old in Private Kinder at Primrose and pay $1500.00 a month.

That includes lunch and 2 snacks (NO breakfast). They follow Keller ISD curriculum (one grade ahead) so I am satisfied with where they are although I think it is pricy. They also enjoy nice field trips i.e. Incredible Pizza, Cowboys Stadium, Bowling, Skating, etc during the summer with transportation.

Good Luck!
E.

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