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Post Info TOPIC: child care questions
Kari


Dooney & Bourke

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child care questions
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What types of child care situations do you guys have?  There are so many options, big daycare centers, in-home daycare centers, friends/family, etc...I am getting overwhelmed with choices.

First of all, my community has over 1-year waiting lists to get child care for an infant (who plans that far ahead?).  I recently learned of a woman I know who had a child in February and has decided not to return to work.  She wants to find another child to keep in her home for extra income.  I really like her and trust her completely, but I don't know what my obligations are.  She would not be working in my home, so I don't think I would have to treat her as a household employee...she would be an independant contractor.  If I want to claim a child care credit or use a daycare spending account, she will have to report her self-income to teh IRS correct?  What if she chooses to not report her income and I choose not to claim the tax credit.  Would I be doing anything illegal? 


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Teresa


Kate Spade

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Well she needs to go through the process of becoming a licenced daycare provider first. Has she done this? It takes awhile.  Also, if she doesn't report her income, depending on how much it is annually, she could be doing something illegal.  I'm not sure if YOU are necesarilly.  I would definitely make sure she goes through the process of becoming a licensed daycare provider, though.

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cahabo


Kate Spade

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I've pretty much tried all types of child care. I've done a day care center, in-home daycare, and family.

My daughters both caught nasty colds soon after I put them in the day care center. I also felt like the youngest who was barely over a year old at the time didn't get enough attention.

I really hated the in-home daycare. It was the only place I could find at the time that could take both my daughters at their ages. (Finding places that take infants can be difficult). I think they broke a lot of the rules/laws. They kept a bunch of cats and dogs in their home during hours. There was pet hair EVERYWHERE! So much about that place I did not like. I'm sure there are good ones out there though.

The best for me has been family. I mostly have my brother take care of my girls. I also use my mother. They aren't licensed, but I know and trust them (and they're cheap!). If I were to use someone I didn't know as well I'd at least have a background check done.

Can't be much help of the tax and legal matters. I have an idea, but I don't want to give wrong information!

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ayo


Coach

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For the first year we had a live-in sitter with us. It was great because my daughter was getting all the attention she needed and it was convienient not to have to drop her off and pick her up.
The way it goes is that if you report it (because you get tax credit for child care) she will have to report her income as well otherwise she'd get into trouble and vice versa.
When Jola turned 1 we took her to "school" I essentially wanted a place where she could socialize with other kids as well as be mentally stimulated.
The downfall of this is that she is ALWAYS catching stuff..but it's ok it will either happen now or when she is older. She absolutely loves it and it's hard to pull her away from there.

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Tati


Chanel

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ayo wrote:

The downfall of this is that she is ALWAYS catching stuff..but it's ok it will either happen now or when she is older. She absolutely loves it and it's hard to pull her away from there.


True! With my 2nd child, I got to stay home with him. As soon as he went to Kinder he was always sick! But now that he's in 1st grade its not so bad. Plus, kids can catch anything from anywhere. Like visitors coming over, you guys visiting others, etc.
I just make sure that when my kids come home from school the first thing they do is pretty much wash their hands.



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blink


Coach

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I found an in-home daycare on my own neighborhood street.  Even though she only watched a few kids, most of them had older school age siblings, so my boys each got sick quite a few times when they were babies.  It just comes with the territory.

She wasn't licensed at first, I didn't really care because I got to know her as a friend anyway.  Later one of her clients complained that she wasn't licensed to the state, so she did become licensed, and then told that mother she couldn't watch her kids anymore.

I was sending my baby part time, and it was cheap so I didn't report to IRS, each childcare situation is different.  But my advice is to pick whomever you feel will give your child the best care and attention, not base it on money or licensing.  I know my caregiver held and nutured my babies when they cried.  Some daycares will just leave your baby in a play yard or a swing to "cry it out" all by themselves!

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travelgirl


Kate Spade

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blink wrote:

I found an in-home daycare on my own neighborhood street.  Even though she only watched a few kids, most of them had older school age siblings, so my boys each got sick quite a few times when they were babies.  It just comes with the territory.

She wasn't licensed at first, I didn't really care because I got to know her as a friend anyway.  Later one of her clients complained that she wasn't licensed to the state, so she did become licensed, and then told that mother she couldn't watch her kids anymore.

I was sending my baby part time, and it was cheap so I didn't report to IRS, each childcare situation is different.  But my advice is to pick whomever you feel will give your child the best care and attention, not base it on money or licensing.  I know my caregiver held and nutured my babies when they cried.  Some daycares will just leave your baby in a play yard or a swing to "cry it out" all by themselves!


I agree with this!  I was lucky that my aunt watched all three of mine when they were infants.  When they were toddlers I put them in their current daycare and this has worked well.  They are now 5 and 6 and they go to the same school as they did for preschool.  I LOVE their daycare.  They have taught my boys all kinds of things (they can name all the bones in the body, they say and point to every country, continent and ocean on the map, they have taught them all kinds of stuff about science, etc) and they taught them how to read!  The thing is that it is a random, privately owned, small daycare.  I heard about it through word-of-mouth but would have never thought to check it out otherwise.  The owner is a member of the local school board-it is all good there. 

I also loved having my aunt watch them when they were small.  She was not licensed and I paid her "under the table" but of course, since she was family, I trusted her and she nurtured my children everyday they were there.  With my oldest boy (now 13), the daughter of the minister of our church (a mom herself) watched him.   My husband and I had moved 3 hours away and I was in a bind trying to find childcare.  We lucked out with her too but the minute I met her, I knew I would love her.  If you have a church, you may want to ask around there for caregivers.  Most of all though, TRUST YOUR INSTINCTS.  Check out as many options as you can but pay attention to your intuition and you will find a good caregiver.  I know it's so hard!  Good luck!



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Kari


Dooney & Bourke

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ayo wrote:

For the first year we had a live-in sitter with us.

Did you pay her as an "in-home employee" and withhold taxes and everything?  I get so paranoid about not following the tax laws.  I definitely don't want to have to worry about getting audited or paying a bunch of fines or fees.

I guess I need to talk to an accountant.



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