When Babies Can Start Daycare
When to start your child in daycare is a personal decision that may depend on many factors, including:
- The length of your parental leave
- Your partner’s ability to take leave
- Your financial responsibilities
- Whether you have other childcare options, such as family members
Although infants can start daycare at 6 weeks, many experts agree that the longer you can wait, the better. This allows time for the establishment of a secure attachment with your child, complete healing of the umbilical cord, figuring out feeding and sleep patterns, and adjusting to a new life together.
Since many working parents have unpaid leave and their families rely on their income, waiting until the baby is older is not always an option.
Many daycare centers will not take babies under 6 weeks of age, and many facilities are not equipped to handle the special needs of infants born prematurely or with special medical concerns.
However, there are other ways to ensure that these newborns receive excellent care while you’re at work. In-home care providers, family members, and nannies or au pairs are all options to consider.
Worry Levels Are Increasing At Nearly The Same Rate As Costs
Compared to pre-pandemic, 62% of families express more concern about the cost of child care now while only 10% are less concerned. Of those who are more concerned about the cost of child care, 43% say this stems from child care centers having increased costs due to safety protocols, and 32% are concerned because they have had to shift to a different arrangement.
Compared to pre-pandemic, 62% of families express more concern about the cost of child care now while only 10% are less concerned.
Key Findings From The Carecom 2021 Cost Of Care Survey
New data from the eighth annual Care.com 2021 Cost of Care Survey reveals:
- The cost of child care is higher for families in 2021. 85% of parents, compared to only 72% in 2020, report they are spending 10% or more of their household income on child care.
- Hiring a nanny became a more feasible option for many families in 2021. Theres only a $14 a week difference now between the cost of having two children in day care versus hiring a nanny.
- Quality child care is only harder to come by as we begin to recover from the pandemic. More than half of American families already lived in a child care desert, and now 46% of families report that finding child care is more difficult now, compared to pre-pandemic.
- Parents are struggling to pay for child care so they can get back to work. 62% of families say they have more concern about the cost of child care now. Plus, 94% of parents have used at least one major cost-saving strategy to save money on child care in the past year, including reducing hours at work , changing jobs , or leaving the workforce completely .
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The Price Gap Between Hiring A Nanny And Center
For families who may have considered hiring a nanny in the past but were dissuaded by the higher cost, things shifted in their favor over the past year.
Theres only a $14 a week difference now between the cost of having two kids in day care versus hiring a nanny for them.
The cost gap between hiring a nanny for two children versus having two children enrolled in a day care center fell sharply in the past year. Theres only a $14 a week difference now, down from a $239 a week difference in 2019, between the cost of having two kids in day care versus hiring a nanny for them.
Tips For Choosing Child Care
How to size up a child-care situation and pick the best one.
Whether you choose a formal child-care center, family daycare, or in-home care, there are some basic things you should know and insist upon. To help you make this all-important decision, we’ve talked to mothers and other experts who have been in the child-care trenches. Here are eight ways to size up a child-care option.
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Health Insurance For Newborn Babies
BY Anna Porretta Updated on November 23, 2020
When you are expecting a child, there are many things that might be on your mind during your pregnancy. One of those concerns could be healthcare coverage for your baby. Fortunately, this is one concern you may put to rest.
If you have your own healthcare plan, you andyour child will have coverage immediately following birth. If you or yourspouse have health insurance through an employer, you will be able to changeyour plan right away, since having a child is a qualifying life event thattriggers a special enrollment period. That special enrollment period alsoallows you to enroll in a plan to get the coverage you and your baby need.
If you are looking to find a family health insurance plan or need help figuring out which type of health plan is right for you, eHealth is here for you. Compare affordable plans in your area with out comparison tool or speak to a licensed agent online or over the phone today.
Early Brain Development And Health
The early years of a childs life are very important for later health and development. One of the main reasons is how fast the brain grows starting before birth and continuing into early childhood. Although the brain continues to develop and change into adulthood, the first 8 years can build a foundation for future learning, health and life success.
How well a brain develops depends on many factors in addition to genes, such as:
- Proper nutrition starting in pregnancy
- Exposure to toxins or infections
- The childs experiences with other people and the world
Nurturing and responsive care for the childs body and mind is the key to supporting healthy brain development. Positive or negative experiences can add up to shape a childs development and can have lifelong effects. To nurture their childs body and mind, parents and caregivers need support and the right resources. The right care for children, starting before birth and continuing through childhood, ensures that the childs brain grows well and reaches its full potential. CDC is working to protect children so that their brains have a healthy start.
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Talk To Your Employer
Due to the pandemic, many companies are now prioritizing family care benefits that provide affordable and accessible child care and senior care services to their employees. From access to subsidized digital care memberships to backup child and adult care, find out if your employer offers family care benefits. And if they dont, ask for them.
Has The Number Of Children In Your Care Changed
We may need to recalculate your benefit payments based on new information when one of the following situations applies:
- your child is born, a child starts to live with you, or you share custody of a child
- a child for whom you are getting benefits no longer lives with you on a full-time basis, stops living with you, or has died.You can tell us by using one of the following methods:
When we get notification of your change in marital status, we will recalculate your CCB taking into consideration your new marital status and your new adjusted family net income.
Your CCB will be adjusted starting with the month following the month that your marital status changed.
Example 1
Terry was single and received the CCB for their two children based on her income only. In September 2021, Terry married Peter. Peters net income in 2020 was $100,000. Terry informed us of their new marital status by using My Account. We will base the CCB payments on Terrys new adjusted family net income and their CCB payments will change starting with the October 2021 payment.
Example 2
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Paying For Infant And Toddler Child Care
Limited public funding forces families to shoulder the majority of the burden of paying for child care.40 The high cost of infant and toddler care comes at a time when families can least afford it.41 New parents are unlikely to have achieved their full earning potential by the time they have children, and they face new expenses that come with having a baby.42 It is unsurprising, then, that of all age groups, children less than 3 years old are the most likely to live in poverty: 44 percent of children less than 3 years old live in low-income households, compared with 29 percent of working-age adults.43
On average, parents would need to spend 18 percent of their annual income just to purchase infant child care that meets licensing standards.
The true cost of quality infant and toddler child care is unaffordable for most families
While the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services defines child care as being affordable when it does not exceed 7 percent of family income,44 data from CAPs models find that if market rates reflected the real cost of providing that care, families in every state would pay a much higher share of their income to access infant and toddler care that meets minimum state licensing standards.The true cost of quality infant and toddler child care is unaffordable for most families
Child care subsidies are insufficient to cover the true cost of infant and toddler child care
Whats The Impact On The Workplace
Child care has also had a more direct effect on parents in the workplace:
- 74% of moms and 66% of dads say their workdays have been impacted because child care fell through at the last minute.
- In those situations, 70% have used sick days and more than half have come in late one in three moms has lost a days pay, while one in four brought their child to work.
- Only about half of parents surveyed say their employer seems to care about their child care needs.
- Just 15% of working parents say their employer offers benefits like backup child care but 86% say they wish they did.
Those percentages are consistent with the most recent National Study of Employers, which found that just 7% of companies provide child care at or near the worksite, and only 5% offer backup care for employees when their regular care arrangements fall apart.
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Paying For Child Care
You have set out to find the best child care possible. You may not be aware, however, just how much of the family budget, and your pay check, will be needed to cover your child care expenses.
In California, care for infants and toddlers costs an average of $700 per month, for a total of $8,400 a year. To find the right provider and keep your budget intact, there are a number of factors and choices you will want to consider.
Your childs age is important because infants and toddlers need more specialized care, and for centers this means more caregivers per child. Centers serving preschoolers require fewer caregivers per child, so the cost can go down as much as $150 to $200 a month.
Where you live may also affect what you pay. Rates in California may vary from county to county and differ from rural to urban areas. Monthly rates also depend on hours of care and whether your child will be receiving extended day, evening, or weekend care.
Also consider additional expenses that can sometimes raise your child care costs substantially. Registration fees, charges for care during special holidays, late pickup fees, and transportation costs can add up quickly. It will also help your budget to ask ahead of time whether your caregiver allows credits for days when your child is not in care because of illness or vacation.
Parent Tip
Previous Carecom Cost Of Care Surveys
Care.com is the world’s largest online destination for care. We connect families with caregivers and caring companies to help you be there for the ones you love.
Care.com does not employ any care provider or care seeker nor is it responsible for the conduct of any care provider or care seeker. Care.com provides information and tools to help care seekers and care providers connect and make informed decisions. However, each individual is solely responsible for selecting an appropriate care provider or care seeker for themselves or their families and for complying with all applicable laws in connection with any employment relationship they establish. The information contained in member profiles, job posts and applications are supplied by care providers and care seekers themselves and is not information generated or verified by Care.com. Care.com does not provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment or engage in any conduct that requires a professional license.
Care.com® HomePay is a service provided by Breedlove and Associates, LLC, a Care.com company.
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Whats The Financial And Familial Impact Of Child Care Costs
Although the Care.com study showed most families are spending well over the governments affordability benchmark, 70% of respondents said theyre able to afford their current child care plan. But how are families making ends meet? An all-time high cohort of parents, 84%, said they budget for child care. By that, it turns out, they mean theyre spending less on everything else:
- 31% said theyd put themselves further into debt.
- 37% stopped saving money.
- 37% stopped paying off debt.
- 44% made major budget cuts.
- 41% reduced non-child related household expenses, like eliminating gym memberships or cutting the cord on cable.
The survey also asked parents how theyre impacted, in addition to financial strain, by the rising cost of child care:
- 36% say child care costs have caused relationship tension.
- 39% say care costs have impacted family planning.
- 39% say they waited longer to have children or had fewer children than they would have liked because of the high cost of care.
According to one family in Dallas, Texas, who spoke to Care.com, the cost of care absolutely affected their family planning. We only had one child for the first nearly seven years, so only having one day care payment was a lot easier to withstand versus if we had multiple children close together, explains the mom, who is now pregnant with Baby No. 2.
What Do Parents Think Of Child Care Costs In America
According to our survey, the cost of child care is prohibitive for parents, leaving them to make hard decisions about how to best care for themselves and their families:
- 80% believe that child care could be more affordable
- 44% of parents who left the workforce during the pandemic said it was because the cost of child care was too much
- 65% agree that if child care was more affordable they would have more career options/ prospects
- 59% have struggled to pay for child care
- 35% said the cost of child care has prevented them from expanding their family
- 60% know someone who wanted to/could be in the workforce but left to look after their child
- 79% feel like todays work culture can be more supportive of working parents
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