Childcare isn’t typically cheap. Nobody wants to leave their children alone for long stretches, but sometimes the rigors of modern life make it impossible to be with your young ones every day. Families where both parents work or where there is only one parent present need to organize childcare. In the past, older relatives would have looked after children when the parents were not around, but this is rarely an option because so few people live with their elders. Although there is no foolproof way of getting childcare completely free, there are some avenues to explore if you want to keep it affordable.
Mutual Aid
Parents that group together to pool childcare responsibilities save a great deal of money and time searching for childcare professionals. As you progress on your parenting journey, it is highly likely that you will have made friends with other new parents who are in a similar situation to you. If you trust these people, consider pooling together and forming a mutual aid childcare group.
If the group is large enough, then there will more than likely be at least one parent free to look after the kids. It is not an entirely free system, but payments are reciprocal: everybody pays back into the system by helping with childcare when they are able to. The downside of this system is that one person might get stuck looking after lots of children. You don’t want to start kindergarten accidentally!
Make Use Of Government Grants And Resources
Childcare is a great expense if you don’t have a mutual aid group or relatives to help you out. Fortunately, some states offer childcare grants and assisted payment plans. These resources vary from state to state, so you’ll have to do a little bit of digging on the official government website to find the right help.
Some parents are entitled to special benefits for childcare. Military families, for instance, qualify for help from the government. Military childcare fee assistance programs are funded by the department of defense and help active personnel look after their kids whilst they are deployed or away for training.
Use A Directory
Childcare directories and price listing sites have recently started to flourish on the internet. Much like vehicle price comparison websites, these new childcare directories match your needs with childcare providers’ offers before showing you a list of what is available. This allows you to really compare prices and resources in a way that was extremely hard to do when visiting individual daycare sites. It is now far easier to avoid
Speak Your Mind