Child Care in Washington: Costs and Ideas to Save Money

Child care tops the list of expenses for families in Washington. Second in cost to your mortgage payment,it costs more than a year of State College tuition. Thats just for one child in daycare. Over 1/2 of children under the age of six in Washington have working parents. Chances are that parents have more then one child needing daycare. Although most daycares offer a discount for sibling enrollment you may not find a daycare with openings for more then one of your children. Add daycare commuter miles to your work day,additional fees for late pickups on top of child care costs ranging from $8476.00 yearly for full time infant care and $6648.00 annually for your four year old plus registration fees and you may find your self hiding from the stork.

The median working family annual income in Washington is $54214.00. Over 1/2 or 59.12% of children under the age of six in Washington belong to working parents. If the stork has already blessed you or you can not get your name off the storks list here are some ideas that you can afford to check out. If you currently pay daycare costs and file income tax check out the Child Care Tax credit. Try to enroll all of your children in the same daycare. Sibling discounts will save you money. Ask your school district if they have paid full time Kindergarten or Pre-school. Apply for ECAP programs. Check out private schools. I found private full time kindergarten fees in Washington as low as $275.00 per month. The YMCA in Yakima,Washington listed its child care fees as $480.00 per month for 12month-2.5yr olds and $455.00 per month for children ages 2.5-5yrs. It also listed a $50.00 registration fee per child. Check your local chapter of YMCA for their fees.

The National Association of Child Care Resource and Referral Agency offers a wealth of information about child care. Local want ads have private Nanny-babysitters under work wanted. Grandma may be an option for your children. Consider living near family or having a mother in-law apartment when house hunting. If you have older children who can assist with child care your local Library offers classes for babysitter training. If you are low income apply for daycare assistance at the DSHS office near you. Check out daycare resources before you move to a new neighborhood. In Washington many towns are tourist towns and can only cover daycare needs for residents. It could mean a big commute or a waiting list. Shared custody may be an option. I have that very situation. My ex works graveyard shift. I have my twins from 10:00pm until they leave for school at 8:30am. My children enjoy being with either parent and being at home. If you can work out the social aspects you can save alot of money on daycare needs. I hope theese afforable daycare options save you some money. Perhaps you will leave your name on the storks list after all.