Man, I feel you. It’s insane. It’s not sustainable. We were paying a babysitter $24/hr to watch Thomas part time last year so that I could work enough hours as a contractor. I was fortunate to have a job that I could work remotely, that paid enough, and an employer that was flexible with my schedule.
What has saved our finances and our relationship is the little childcare cooperative that we found here on the island. It’s only part time, and it requires some time from us each week as a parent volunteer in the classroom, but it makes child care so much more affordable—it roughly works out to $10.50/hr.
If there’s a co-op group in your area, I strongly recommend checking it out, and if not, see if there’s a group of parents in your neighborhood that might be interested in starting one. It’s a lot of work, but it has been critical for us in not just providing safe, reliable, affordable child care, but also resources and community support.
Man, I feel you. It’s insane. It’s not sustainable. We were paying a babysitter $24/hr to watch Thomas part time last year so that I could work enough hours as a contractor. I was fortunate to have a job that I could work remotely, that paid enough, and an employer that was flexible with my schedule.
What has saved our finances and our relationship is the little childcare cooperative that we found here on the island. It’s only part time, and it requires some time from us each week as a parent volunteer in the classroom, but it makes child care so much more affordable—it roughly works out to $10.50/hr.
If there’s a co-op group in your area, I strongly recommend checking it out, and if not, see if there’s a group of parents in your neighborhood that might be interested in starting one. It’s a lot of work, but it has been critical for us in not just providing safe, reliable, affordable child care, but also resources and community support.