Child care costs are high

Debate is whirling about the cost of medical insurance, but I’m not paying attention. Instead, I’m distracted by the expense of child care. After staying home with our daughter for almost two years, I got a job offer and launched a quick search for a child care arrangement. I had to find a safe, stimulating environment for our toddler before I could settle in at my 20-hour-per-week job at a downtown office.

My quest began with a networking contact: I remembered a man from my church mentioning that his daughter was opening a small day care just off Kinnickinnic Avenue. I emailed him and for once, I was lucky. A set of parents had just canceled their reservation and my fellow churchgoer’s daughter had an opening.

My husband and I left some voicemail messages while we pursued comparisons, including a listing from the classified section of this paper.

I did find a great situation but paying for it significantly reduces my net pay. Locally, the fee for a part-time day care slot is about $50 per day. The cost doesn’t seem too painful until the totals start rolling in. Annually, my husband and I expect to spend over $5,000 for part-time child care. That’s about normal because the Children’s Defense Fund reports that the average cost in Wisconsin for a 4-year-old in full-time child care is over $10,500.

These fees seem high, and it’s not just my imagination. Child care costs here are trending high.

Child care costs are most reasonably considered relative to wages because the service is necessary when parents are employed. Wisconsin ranks ninth highest in the nation for the price of infant child care relative to wages-with child care costs consuming 13.5 percent of the median two-parent family income or 44.2 percent of median single-parent family income. That’s according to the National Association of Child Care Resource and Referral Agencies in their 2009 report.

The association also points out that child care costs are exceeding the rate of inflation. It doesn’t look good for the upcoming years because the current baby boom should keep both demand and prices high. We might expect the same locally as Bay View seems bursting with babies.

Getting a Slot

Perhaps I should feel privileged to pay a child care bill because it means we obtained a slot. Most child care centers have waiting lists; shockingly, some are years long. Local lore includes parents who registered newborns that got off the waiting list as toddlers. When I was pregnant, I had assumed the child care crunch was a problem in larger cities like New York. It turns out the child care crunch is alive and real in Bay View. Searching for child care sometimes reminds me of our home renovation days. Then, my husband or I would leave voicemail for a drywaller or electrician and get no response. Some child care centers are so busy that weeks go by before they can return a call. Then, the caller can only offer a tour and wait-list slot.

I’ve taken to telling pregnant friends that they need to get on a list-or maybe two because a backup always helps-if they plan to use a child care center.

I’m tempted to go for a poetic finish which describes the true costs of part-time work: the traumatized child or the distraught mom consumed by her child’s well-being. But that isn’t my reality. Our situation is going well and the real expense is “just” money. We should keep that in mind as we write the weekly child care check.

The author is a freelance writer and mother of one. Reach her with comments or suggestions at jill@bayviewcompass.com.

Copyright 2010 by Bay View Compass. All rights reserved.
This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.