Child Care cost

Dub13

I was just wondering how much you pay for Child Care these days...its in the media allot these days.So I have added a poll please take a sec to fill it out.

In my own situation we have decided to only have one working as we can get by with one wage,but alot of friends my age (mid 20s) could not do this as there mortgage is so big.

Lex Luthor

I think we pay €145 per child per week (2 kids). We get a 10% discount on the total then but its about 1150/month. (3 times my mortgage)

Miner

I pay €25 for a week to playschool (9am - 12.30pm, 5 days a week) and give €70 to my mother who collects him from playschool and minds him till I come home at 5.15pm. I'll loose the playschool fees in Sept though when he goes to primary.

yom 1

I pay 140 a week which works out bout 560(half my rent) a month and still have to get my ma to pick him up for an hour before i get home

I don't mind payin it because if you are goin to pay that sort of money out for anything its for the knowledge that your child is safe but he also enjoys it(he is in a creche)

I just hate the feeling that I have no money left from my wages every week after rent and childminding comes out of it cos I aint qualified yet. Roll on next summer

ArthurDent

We pay €800 a month for 10-4 for montessori for DS (4) and 2 days afterschool care for DS (6)

They've both been in the creche since they were about 6 months on part- or full time basis and I've totalled up that we've spent nearly €80000 over the past 6 years - which is just crazy, when you think of the subsidies/tax breaks or government-owned care provided in other European countries

climaxer

I'm very lucky that my Mam minds my son (2.5yrs) and I give her €100 per week at the moment but I also give her extra big presents at xmas, birthdays, Mother's day. Paid for her to go to Lourdes last year. I'd like to be able to give her more but she won't take it. Again I realise just how lucky I am.

happyclappy

Wow some of those prices are very high.€800 a month. You would need to have a high paying job for that one. We use a place in Parnell Square, quite reasonable and my girls loves it.
Not sure if the prices are for full time.Might be on their website. http://www.thechildrensplace.ie

Nevyn

We have two kids; currently in primary school.
I have been a stay at home Mammy for the last 5 years.

This is a cost, it is at least a cost of 2,000 a mnth net.
It is also a cost in stress as you have to budget carefully and not
have two cars and a forigein holidays.
But I like to think that it benefits the children better then long term
childcare from an early age. Not having a go; this was our decision.

I am now looking at trying to get back to work but it is hard to find
a childcare solution that factors in midterms and school holidays.

Wex1

I just gave up working outside the home over the summer because of childcare costs. For two it was costing me over 100.00 a week (10am-2pm) and more if I had to work extra. When the holidays came it would have doubled and between travel, lunches, tax, etc. It was nearly gonna cost me to work even 20 hrs per week! So I got broadband and started to do what I do from right here, kids are far happier, I'm saving loads of money by having time to cook properly and put the clothes on the line instead of in the dryer!! Life is less stressful, 2 yr olds speech has improved hundred-fold and bigger ones don't moan at me (too much!)

I'm lucky I can work from home - but I need to get more organised about it - has its pros and cons but on the whole I think it was the right move. Time will tell.
Downside - I stay up too late writing these posts!

unkel

Thaedydal wrote:

This is a cost

Indeed it is! Economists call it "opportunity cost". Some other people confuse expense with cost

Fair play to you that you've decided to go that way, by no means an easy or luxury option. A lot of people would think that is the best for very young children too

Unfortunately for a lot of people (especially people who fairly recently bought a house and / or people without at least 1 full time pretty high salary) this is not financially viable

Also in my experience there is not enough flexibility in the workplace to cater for parents needs. My ideal model (for todays high mortgage parents of babies / toddlers) was and still is me working 4 full days, herself working 3 full days. We would be lucky in that we could have the overlapping 2 days covered by family members

Interestingly flexibility was no problem with my (SME) employer but it was with her big Irish bank employer

sharonlarkin

I have 2 kids, 4 years and 2 years old, the only thing I pay for is playschool which is 25 euros a week. Not bad at all. Between me and my husband we always worked different shifts that allowed one of us to be with the kids at all times. He worked nights, and I worked evenings.
Then I gave up work altogether and we manage very well on his salary. But it is a disgrace what some people have to pay. And the government should do something about.
They want to encourage women in the home to go back to work. But looking at the child care costs and the wage they would be coming home with, there is very little in the difference....
I was just lucky that I was able to give up work and not have to give up anything major like cars or holidays. I only started driving so I could take my child to playschool. Mind you holidays aren't too bad either. I booked a holiday just for me and him with direct holidays to majorca, 680 euros in total.

And another thing men dont think about, a stay at home mum would work ten times as hard as anyone else in this country. I spend all day chasing after two kids, making sure they are fed properly, cooking meals, cleaning the house, doing the ironing, doing the washing, the dishes, keeping kids occupied itself can be a nightmare. Especially when the weather is brutal, that just turns them mental. My husband had to take care of the kids for 2 days on his own when I was sick, and he admitted that it wasn't an easy job. So I earned myself an extra holiday next year

kelle

I'm working a 3-day week, my mother-in-law comes over to the house and minds my 2 children, driving my son to and from school. My husband takes Mondays off to mind the kids, so we pay her E100 to mind them for 2 days per week.

sharonlarkin wrote:

a stay at home mum would work ten times as hard as anyone else in this country.
I agree with you, sharonlarkin! I did it for 2 years and only returned recently - I feel I've got my sanity back!