This is closer to what we have in the Twin Cities, we pay $605/week for a 3 year old and a 10 month old. Daycare in Iowa is so cheap.
Ankeny Childcare question
- Thread starter mj4cy
- Start date
This is closer to what we have in the Twin Cities, we pay $605/week for a 3 year old and a 10 month old. Daycare in Iowa is so cheap.
You may want to look at this site for some good information/state reports on daycare centers. Because they are newer, My Learning Safari and 2 For U in Ankeny are not in here, but looking through the 2 for U in WDM might be helpful.
https://ccmis.dhs.state.ia.us/ClientPortal/ProviderSearch.aspx
https://ccmis.dhs.state.ia.us/ClientPortal/ProviderSearch.aspx
We go to Generation Next (2nd and Oralabor) and Newborn to 2yo is $242/Wk, 2-3yo, is $212/wk, and as you go up by years it drops $5-7bucks/week IIRC.
We looked at the only on White Birch Circle by the car wash and just looked dirty and not well kept and had more newborns/teacher than required by State Law so immediately turned us off...it was only $25/wk cheaper I think than Generation Next I think but not sure as it was 3 years ago.
I would definately go and visit the places and you'll get a good feel for it once you are in there walking around.
I'm with others in that two kids in Daycare is enough because it will soon be $450/wk.
We currently take our daughter to Child View. Although it is a little out of the way, we love the people there. We started our daughter there, and then had a friend move to town that wanted to be a stay at home for her 3 kids, so we pulled her out at the age of 2. Needless to say she is back in there at the age of 3, and we won't go anywhere else. Even if we just break even, it is crazy how much my daughter loves it there. I would highly recommend there if you are looking.
Don't count on it - you will find out there are other things that eat up the money you are spending on daycare.
Thanks to those that provided feedback. We are honestly 50/50 still and completely torn!
option A is right by our current house, and is a few hundred bucks cheaper over the course of the year. Seems like a no brainer right? Well we are thinking of moving sometime next spring and option B is not only on my wife's way to work, but could be closer to where we might have a new house. But then again its hard to predict the future. So part of me says go with what works for now and figure out the future later...the other part says to try to plan ahead.
option A is right by our current house, and is a few hundred bucks cheaper over the course of the year. Seems like a no brainer right? Well we are thinking of moving sometime next spring and option B is not only on my wife's way to work, but could be closer to where we might have a new house. But then again its hard to predict the future. So part of me says go with what works for now and figure out the future later...the other part says to try to plan ahead.
If it's only a matter of a couple hundred bucks over the year and both are within a reasonable distance, go with your gut feel after visiting both. And try to visit both unannounced because you will get a better feel of how things operate when they are not expecting visitors during the day. Just avoid that 11:30ish to 2ish nap time.
Overall, having peace of mind while they are there and you are at work is worth the extra few miles of driving and a few extra dollars if that's the way you're leaning.
Look ahead at the rooms older than your child as well. One of the daycares I was looking at had a great setup for the toddlers but the older preschool area was a disaster. I didn't want to have to pull the kiddo later, so he didn't even start.
Last edited:
good feedback! Honestly, we have a good feel about both, so that is tough to decipher as well.
Interesting. I have had both good/bad experiences with in home day care. It took 3 tries until we found an in home care that we loved for my oldest (now 8 yrs old), and we have stayed with her to this day. When he was ready for preschool we had him go to a daycare facility where he had a good experience.
IMO if you can find someone great, an in home experience until the age 3-4 (depends on the kid) is great for kids. They get more attention/nurturing, which I think they need at that age. Like I said though, every kid is different, and every family has different needs. A daycare center is nice, b/c they never have days off, schedule is always the same, and typically longer hours of operation.
Then there are some other things to take into account. Ask what types of things they do and how often they take the kids outside of daycare for activities. Like my current daycare takes the class on a walk to the library every Monday for each kid to pick out new book for the classroom. They have days in the summer they go to the pool. His old daycare would take regular trips to places like the fire station, retirement homes, etc. Be prepared to pay extra for some of these at certain centers but the kids always have a good time.
Take a good look at what the kids do on a day to day basis in the class room. Developmentally, it's huge if the teacher isn't just winging it.
Great ideas! We just decided to go with the one that's closer to our house right now. It was slightly cheaper, had a great reputation, seemed to have good curriculum, and life can change fast, so decided to do what's best for us now and not a couple years down the road.