Our slow economy is having a negative effect on almost all industries. Daycares and preschools are no exception. Enrollment around the Tampa Bay area and the nation has seen a dramatic decrease. With parents out of work or with reduced hours the cost of daycare is one thing that parents cannot handle right now.
It’s not just low-wage earners feeling the pinch. Day care costs average between $3,380 to $10,787 a year for just one preschooler, according to the National Association of Child Care Resource & Referral Agencies.
Even before this year’s economic perils, the cost had climbed 5.2 percent between 2006 and 2007, said Linda Smith, the association’s executive director. And in every state in the country, the monthly child care bill for two children is higher than median rent payments and as high or higher than a mortgage.
Parents should not be surprised if they walk into their child’s daycare and find some of the regular children missing. Parents with a limited budget have to choose between having enough groceries in the house and childcare.
Source: msn.com
I believe I know another reason that daycare enrollment is declining as the economy worsens. Layoffs. Sure, there’s less money, but even though the cost of daycare infuriates me because it consumes 25% of my paycheck, it’s a necessary evil to have any money to pay other things. However, with my husband facing a lay-off I plan to leave him with the kids until he finds a new job. Sorry for my care center’s bottom line!!