Affording child care and preschool in the new economy

Child care centers are experiencing lower enrollment as an economic trend takes hold of centers nationwide. Parents are pulling their kids out of child care in record numbers to save money or to deal with issues arising from the recession. In its place, many parents are relying on a network of family members and neighbors to watch their kids.

With child care (for one child) costing on average $6,700 a year, parents facing job loss or slashed hours at work tell child-care providers that something has to go.

To tackle this problem head-on, some daycares are introducing new services to stave off falling enrollment. Centers are offering parents flexible and half-time care programs and are watching kids on a drop-in basis if the parent has a job interview or temporary job.

Even more, some centers are going to a 24/7 care program to serve parents who needed to take on a second job because of the economy or work late-night shifts. Parents are out of work and don't have the same 8 to 5 type of job. It is nice to see centers allowing the parents to create their own schedule. This type of service reduces parental stress over finding childcare, which in turn reducing stress on their children.

Still many other parents are turning to home curriculum products like Play2Learn to keep their children up to speed when they can't afford care. It's important for a child's development to maintain a structured-learning environment at home. Parents can easily do this and feel good about being their child’s first teacher for a fraction of what it costs to send their child to a childcare center.