Help me think of child care alternatives.

[Renee in NC]

I was told last week that my daycare (for 2 children) would be going up to $2000 per month soon. We already pay $1454 for a 1yo and a 3yo. This is not something we can really afford (it has only been 2 weeks) and it isn't what I want for my family. Currently, we drive together to save on gas money as well - it is 27 miles each way.

 

My dh and I own a business together. It is necessary for both of us to work in order for this business to thrive. We do have a room located in our business where they can stay, but it doesn't work well (we tried it and the baby cried non-stop and I didn't get anything done anyway.)

 

My time is flexible (somewhat.) It is very, very hard on my dh if I am not there and we are busy. There are 2 other employees (a mechanic and a driver.) I am it for office help (except our driver keeps up with the parts ordering, too.)

 

Aside from helping customers, I do all the accounting, marketing, and administration. Replacing me would be hard (and wouldn't really save any money. I would also like to spend more time with my dc - 11 hours per day in someone else's care is not what I want.

 

Any ideas?

[Jenstet]

Can you have a mother's helper or even a nanny. I have a friend who has a sitter come in while she works at home and just for the extra help. It took awhile for the kids to get used to her being home but not "available".

 

That's a tough situation. Daycare is CRAZY expensive.

[Jill- OK]

...putting the $1500 you've been spending towards daycare into hiring someone part time to do some of your work? Do you think the kids would be better in the room in the office if you weren't there all day? (Meaning, if you were there and working for a short amount of time, rather than all day, would they handle being there with you better?)

[Jill- OK]

...I'd also try to figure out what absolutely has to be done in the office, and what could be moved home, and done in between naps, or even after Dad is home for the day.

 

I hope you find a solution.

[EarleneW]

DH and I own a business as well. Luckly our office is in our basement. And honestly, we just hired someone that we really didn't need to spend the money on, but sort of had to. Until last week it was me and him. Is it possible to have someone come in and take care of the kids in the extra room at the office. That way the kids are still there with you, yet you are not taking care of them. Thats what we did, and just had them upstairs. You can set up a tv/vcr in there and have toys, ect.

I found our nanny by posting on craigslist and interviewing from there. I specified exactly what I was looking for and what I was willing to pay. I got TONS of responses.

[Renee in NC]

I tried this. I only had one reasonable response and she ended up being a FLAKE! She came one day, called in the next, came the third day, and then left a message on the answering machine that she wasn't coming back.

 

All the other responses I had were not acceptable (most seemed to be people who simply needed to apply for x number of jobs per week or something) or they never showed up for the interview.

 

I might try this again, though.

[Renee in NC]

I guess your options are to

 

1. find less expensive daycare

 

2. Use the daycare money to pay someone to do your job even if you don't save any money the family benefits

 

I know you bring to the company a lot more than someone to wait on customers and do the accounting but hiring in help may still be the best option.

 

How about turning that extra room into your home away from home. You work when the kids are napping and then hire extra help for part time when you are with the kids. Certainly not ideal but it could work for a while until there is more cash flow for a full time person (or a full time nanny) /second car/ move closer to work.

Less expensive daycare doesn't really exist, especially for a 1yo. There are one or two other centers, but the cost is about the same (for lower quality care) or they don't take anyone under 3.

 

We have two cars, but the extra gas was killing us. This is still less than we were spending before (we were spending $1300 per month in gas and another $750 on a PT babysitter.)

 

Moving closer isn't going to happen - the housing costs are way more than we would ever be able to get a mortgage for!

 

My dh says I can cut back to 2 full days a week if I want, but then I would have to find child care for those two days (which may be harder than full time care.) This might be the best option, but very hard on him.

 

Thanks for the suggestions - I think the general principle applies!

[Renee in NC]

BTW, I did advertise for a FT nanny at one point and all the responses wanted $30K per year with benefits (we don't have benefits.)

[Claire]

I would advertise for one or more mother's helpers to take care of the children in the room you have inside the business. These could be teen-aged homeschoolers looking for extra money, or college students who can arrange their schedules for certain mornings or afternoons. It could even be siblings in a homeschooling family who could trade off on the work, or work together.

 

Are there any parks nearby? If so, you could invest in one of those multiple-child strollers that daycare centers have so that the mother's helper could take them to the park.

[Legomom]

My husband and I have our own business. Outsourcing the accounting may be an option that would cut down some of your time. A bookkeeping service has the benefit of 1) not having to hire an employee 2) not having another person working onsite (computer, space, etc).

 

I do the bookkeeping for our business and we have started using Quickbooks Assisted Payroll. $50 per month and they file all of your payroll tax reports as well as your payroll tax deposits, so that has been helpful. If you have a Costco membership, there is a discount available.

 

When my sons were 4 years old (twins) my husband had a bed in his office and he would lay down for a 15 min nap with them. They would fall asleep for a couple of hours and he would get up and work again after 15 minutes. Don't know if something like that would work in the extra room in the office. Then maybe have a middleschooler come in after school to keep them entertained for an hour or two after nap. Is there any public transportation in your area so that you could work 1/2 days?

 

I swap babysitting with a mom down the street who is going to school online.

 

I also babysit for one of our employees one day per week so that she can work. I don't charge her, but I feel that I am making a contribution to the business by freeing up her time so that she can work. (She is a highly skilled outstanding employee). She doesn't want to take her son to daycare but feels fine about leaving him with me since I am homeschooling and it is just me and my two boys here. I just incorporate him into the day with some preschool stuff, playing etc. The additional benefit for me is that my kids have someone to play with.

 

We have had success with hiring my niece and my stepdaughter to babysit in the summer. I feel that we get a double benefit because they are developing family relationships as well as having someone to care for them while I am working.

 

The bottom line I guess is that I have had to be very creative and flexible in this process to avoid standard daycare. The great thing is that we are viewed as a very family friendly business. (I won't tell the story about the time I had a client come in and we had to have a meeting while my twins were wrestling quietly in the corner of the office....).

 

Good luck in your business.. being self-employed is great, but it is a huge committment!!

[Renee in NC]

I am actually an accountant! I am sitting here working on a few tax returns I have left. The accounting duties are fairly easy - I could do them all in 8 hours or less per week. It't the rest of the stuff that takes time - marketing, inventory management, and all the little details/phone calls/letters I handle.

 

Dh firmly believes that he can handle the customer end of things if I will just come in 2 days a week and keep up with the "paper." So, I am going to try finding a nanny for 2 days per week to come to the store. It was hard before, but a "non-flaky" nanny may help it be a smoother option.

[Legomom]

Me too -- an accountant I mean. Also working on taxes today! Your plan sounds like a good one. My stepdaughter recommended the book the E-Myth to us and it was really helpful regarding running a business.

[Danestress]

It seems to me that if you go with the "two full days a week" option, you might be able to find a Mom in the area who would be willing to do home daycare for just two days. Maybe you should advertise that in different places where Moms might be. I could see someone not wanting to make the commitment to full time in-home daycare who might find that two days a week pulls in a little extra money without being such a major commitment. And then you could actually really WORK those two days without the distraction of having the children around.

[Joanne]

How "big" is the homeschooling community where you are?

 

Maybe a mature preteen or teen would be able to help you at home or at the business?

 

Can you swap/barter with another homeschooling family? I've noticed that as homeschooling grows, there is a higher number of homeschoolers who need flexible options for many reasons. Some have standing medical appointments with only one of their kids, for example.

 

Do you have a homeschooling skill to use in tutoring in exchange for childcare?

 

{{Many hugs}}

 

Your life would be "hard" at this point regardless of specifics. Dealing with work issues and children under 5 is hard. (I used to own a daycare and I watched my clients. I worked outside the home, and although I could take my kids, it was HARD.)

[Renee in NC]

How "big" is the homeschooling community where you are?

 

Maybe a mature preteen or teen would be able to help you at home or at the business?

 

Can you swap/barter with another homeschooling family? I've noticed that as homeschooling grows, there is a higher number of homeschoolers who need flexible options for many reasons. Some have standing medical appointments with only one of their kids, for example.

 

Do you have a homeschooling skill to use in tutoring in exchange for childcare?

 

{{Many hugs}}

 

Your life would be "hard" at this point regardless of specifics. Dealing with work issues and children under 5 is hard. (I used to own a daycare and I watched my clients. I worked outside the home, and although I could take my kids, it was HARD.)

Thank you Joanne!

 

The homeschooling community near our store is fairly large, but when I had advertised it there before, I only had one response - a mother who was contacting me to see if it was a situation she wanted for her homeschool graduate daughters. I thought that was a little weird - she wanted to come visit and interview me! Ummm, no thank you.

 

If I am going to work those 2 days, I would need someone 7:30-5 at the store or 6:30-6:00 here at my house. It would be better at my house because I would need no distractions in order to get my work done in those hours.

 

This might work.