re: Is there really a big difference in daycares?

We toured a few different daycares and hated them all. Toured a Mother’s Day Out and the experience was night and day. We tried a “regular” day care over the Summer and we only kept our kid there a couple weeks before going back to private sitters over the Summer.

Its crazy how much all of these daycares are. It seems like when I was growing up, people just went to someone's mom who watched a bunch of kids (I say a bunch, I guess 5... 6 kids) and there would be like 2 or 3 different houses in which the mom babysat.

We had a neighbor who babysat kids. Every day when I got home she would be outside with kids running around waiting for their parents to come pick them up.

Thinking about it, I can think of 3 houses within less than a mile from each other that all babysat kids.

But today, if someone tried to do this... its because they can get paid with cash then there is a chance they might be an addict. Or they have a new boyfriend livng with them every few months who don't work so he is also home when the kids are there and there is no telling what kind of heros she is bringing in.

Oh yes. You pay for what you get.

I will pay for the best I can afford for the most precious person in my life. This ie not the place to cut corners.

There are absolutely some that are a gigantic waste of money and they can charge what they do because their clientele either doesn’t care or is willing to pay just to be at the “in daycare”

On the other end some of the cheap ones I would never ever send my child there because it’s that scary

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How do they justify 20-50% price differences? Any horror stories or testimonials? They all seem to do the same thing and I can’t imagine a 1 year old having significant delta in experience.

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Please, please, please tell me that you’re not planning to pitch this to your wife.

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There are absolutely some that are a gigantic waste of money and they can charge what they do because their clientele either doesn’t care or is willing to pay just to be at the “in daycare”

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Pooh Corner in Houston. It has the perception of helping kids get into St Johns/kinkaid so it is very much in demand

only keeps the kids 830-2, costs $2k a month.

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How do they justify 20-50% price differences? Any horror stories or testimonials? They all seem to do the same thing and I can’t imagine a 1 year old having significant delta in experience.

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ohh you sweet summer child you.


you need to go find out for certain (not just ask), if:
1) do they accept financial assistance of any form? (called CCMS or Head Start in Texas)
2) do they have a curriculum?
3) do they provide meals?
4) do they provide diapers, wipes, formula, etc?


if the answer to #1 is Yes. Just walk out the door and scratch that daycare off your list.


Then if the answers for questions 2-4 meet your personal standards, go up there for a tour. Not on a Friday afternoon or a weekend Open House. Nope, trot your arse up there @10AM on a Wednesday. And see the conditions. Is it clean? Are the kids being taught anything? Are there TVs on? Is the Director actually on campus that day?

Pretty huge difference between good church preschools, good daycares and bad daycares, IMO.

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only keeps the kids 830-2, costs $2k a month.

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24k a year and someone can only work part time during the day so that they can get the kid lmao.



The real goated setup is a corporate daycare that's subsidized by your company and is located on campus.


cheap as hell (relatively), highest quality of the 4 daycares we've used by a large margin, and the only time they weren't open is when the office was closed anyway.

Man I miss that place lmao.