{"items": [{"author": "Kitty", "source_link": "https://www.facebook.com/jefftk/posts/692650630462?comment_id=692652312092", "anchor": "fb-692652312092", "service": "fb", "text": "sadly insurance and liability are HUGE contributors to the cost of childcare and can be prohibitive to a parent who is staying home with their own child to take on someone else's.", "timestamp": "1413322912"}, {"author": "Jeff Kaufman", "source_link": "https://www.facebook.com/jefftk/posts/692650630462?comment_id=692654338032", "anchor": "fb-692654338032", "service": "fb", "text": "@Kitty: Wouldn't that also mean hiring a nanny would be cost-prohibitive in general?  But that's something people seem to do and for 2+ kids it's cheaper than daycare centers.", "timestamp": "1413323814"}, {"author": "Kitty", "source_link": "https://www.facebook.com/jefftk/posts/692650630462?comment_id=692658509672", "anchor": "fb-692658509672", "service": "fb", "text": "hmmmm i'm not sure ... i do know that nannies work differently ... but i'm not sure HOW differently. i think having them come to your own home to take care of your own children makes a difference. Maybe it can fall under your own homeowner's and health insurance at that point? but yeah i'm not sure. i've only peripherally been involved in childcare.", "timestamp": "1413325556"}, {"author": "Patricia", "source_link": "https://www.facebook.com/jefftk/posts/692650630462?comment_id=692661578522", "anchor": "fb-692661578522", "service": "fb", "text": "Presumably you don't need additional insurance for your own kids in your own home.", "timestamp": "1413326432"}, {"author": "Ruthan", "source_link": "https://www.facebook.com/jefftk/posts/692650630462?comment_id=692662910852", "anchor": "fb-692662910852", "service": "fb", "text": "Former nanny here!  If I were watching 3 infants, I'd expect to be paid substantially more than $10.33 an hour, and the cost of living here is a lot lower than it is in MA.", "timestamp": "1413327026"}, {"author": "Ruthan", "source_link": "https://www.facebook.com/jefftk/posts/692650630462?comment_id=692664587492", "anchor": "fb-692664587492", "service": "fb", "text": "I suspect that demand, insurance, and administrative overhead account for a significant part of what makes center care so expensive.  Also, at least some are for-profit.", "timestamp": "1413327873"}, {"author": "Celeste", "source_link": "https://www.facebook.com/jefftk/posts/692650630462?comment_id=692664757152", "anchor": "fb-692664757152", "service": "fb", "text": "The difference is that a nanny watches your kid in your home. Your own home doesn't need to pass state inspections or be insured. But if you take other people's kids into your house than your house has to be inspected and insured like a childcare center.", "timestamp": "1413327923"}, {"author": "Ruthan", "source_link": "https://www.facebook.com/jefftk/posts/692650630462?comment_id=692665326012", "anchor": "fb-692665326012", "service": "fb", "text": "I've also observed that a stay-at-home parent usually takes on a larger share of household management tasks, which would become more difficult to accomplish with more children to care for (especially before the children are old enough to keep themselves entertained.)  Maybe the solution is to reassign chores back to the working parent until some kind of free time equilibrium is reached.", "timestamp": "1413328328"}, {"author": "Mycroft", "source_link": "https://www.facebook.com/jefftk/posts/692650630462?comment_id=692672057522", "anchor": "fb-692672057522", "service": "fb", "text": "Captive audience, charge as much as you want.  Some friends did the calculation a few years ago and found that forgoing one salary cost about the same as day care, and decided to do it primarily because they had more control over the conditions.", "timestamp": "1413331916"}, {"author": "Jeff Kaufman", "source_link": "https://www.facebook.com/jefftk/posts/692650630462?comment_id=692672222192", "anchor": "fb-692672222192", "service": "fb", "text": "@Mycroft: How is it a captive audience? Are there large barriers to entry?", "timestamp": "1413332063"}, {"author": "Mycroft", "source_link": "https://www.facebook.com/jefftk/posts/692650630462?comment_id=692673305022", "anchor": "fb-692673305022", "service": "fb", "text": "It's the client that's captive, not the provider.  The providers can collectively charge whatever asinine amount they want, knowing that most people will find a way to pay it, no matter how difficult it is.  Ambulance companies do the same.", "timestamp": "1413332641"}, {"author": "Jeff Kaufman", "source_link": "https://www.facebook.com/jefftk/posts/692650630462?comment_id=692676688242", "anchor": "fb-692676688242", "service": "fb", "text": "@Mycroft: With an ambulance it's an emergency and you can't select on price.  With daycare you can choose between places based on cost, and if existing daycares are charging way above cost then it's worth it for new daycares to enter the market.  Which makes me think there are either (1) costs I'm not aware of (ex: insurance) or (2) barriers to entry (home daycare regulations).", "timestamp": "1413333484"}, {"author": "Josh", "source_link": "https://www.facebook.com/jefftk/posts/692650630462?comment_id=692680196212", "anchor": "fb-692680196212", "service": "fb", "text": "I don't know the answers offhand, but my employer might. :^) Browse http://www.care.com/ if you're bored...", "timestamp": "1413335880"}, {"author": "John", "source_link": "https://www.facebook.com/jefftk/posts/692650630462?comment_id=692693793962", "anchor": "fb-692693793962", "service": "fb", "text": "I don't think ambulance costs are a good analogy because of the craziness of medical care payments in this country. For example I received a bill for an ambulance trip I took  (not an emergency) this summer that said the charge was $2,870 but the insurance company settled, paid $362, and I paid $50.", "timestamp": "1413343715"}, {"author": "\u00c9mile", "source_link": "https://plus.google.com/100019455996021532206", "anchor": "gp-1413385174557", "service": "gp", "text": "I suspect that what you're missing is people's unwillingness to do more work. They're only looking to break even, not to make a profit, so the thought of taking in extra kids never crosses most people's mind. Also, certification is required in many places to open a daycare, even an home-environment daycare, and the hours spent getting those might seem too costly to new parents.", "timestamp": 1413385174}, {"author": "Nina", "source_link": "https://www.facebook.com/jefftk/posts/692650630462?comment_id=692791458242", "anchor": "fb-692791458242", "service": "fb", "text": "Lots of overhead to run a free standing center.  I was a family childcare provider for over 10 years.  Makes much more sense from a cost containment perspective. I am alll about family childcare.  Smaller ratios and no turnover of employees.", "timestamp": "1413427900"}, {"author": "Kenny", "source_link": "https://plus.google.com/114009563726046237939", "anchor": "gp-1413746421293", "service": "gp", "text": "My wife just floated me this idea.", "timestamp": 1413746421}, {"author": "Philip", "source_link": "https://www.facebook.com/jefftk/posts/692650630462?comment_id=693537318532", "anchor": "fb-693537318532", "service": "fb", "text": "How about childcare co-ops?  No business insurance, no state inspections, just parents taking turn watching each other's kids:  http://www.frugal-mama.com/.../how-to-start-a.../", "timestamp": "1413993912"}]}