Hi,
I'm a mother of a 3 yr old and a 3 mo old. I had planned to return to college in the fall to take the last 5 pre-requisite courses for nursing school (which I had hoped to begin Fall 2008). However, I just found out that the courses I need to take are not offered at night, so I would need to place both children in daycare. This is going to run about $7200 per school year. Because we are not prepared for that expense yet, I have to decide on the following: Do I wait until the girls are both in school (another 5 years)? Or do I roll daycare expenses into my student loans? I have been unable to find a daycare situation that allows part time attendance, other than the onsite school daycare. However the youngest they will take is 18 mos and that will not work for my 3 mo old. I really hate to wait another 5 years as I have been planning this since before I became pregnant with my youngest daughter. But I hate to add that much expense to a student loan that is already going to be big once I finish nursing school. What should I do?
Thanks for all your responses. After much thought, I've decided to put off school until my youngest is in school herself. Until then I will save $$ to avoid getting loans (or as big a loan as I would need now).
If you lived anywhere close to me, then I could watch them for you, for a lot cheaper I might add. I live in the Woodlands. Just message me if you happen to be in my area. Good luck.
There is a church by my house in League City that allows alternate scheduled childcare. Their name and number is as follows:
Christus Victor Lutheran Church & Children's School
###-###-####
I am a nurse. Go to school, we need you :-) Have you looked into taking the clases that you would need online? That might be a great option for you with little ones. I finished my BSN online with my kids and it worked great!!
Don't you have a mom that can possibly help you out ?
There is no way around day care expenses, either you will have
to wait till there in school for no day care, or find someone possibly who could come to your home, for a cheaper expense on day care, being you have a 3 mo. Old day care for some unknown reason is very expensive for them, the smaller they are the more $$ they are. What about have your husband find a night job, and he could day care during the day.!
A.,
I say keep on going. I am going to school for nursing. I stoped going 9 yrs ago to get married and then kids came. I'm just starting back. I'm taking online classes which helps out alot. I was able to get a loan that helps with child care. Hope things turn out great for you.
Good Luck,
J. A
I go to school full time, my youngest was 5 weeks when I returned. It is really hard, I have the oldest in pre school and my mother keeps the youngest. BUT, have you looked into private homes. Before I made the arrangements I have now, I had someone that would keep them for around $75 a week just for the hours I was in school. I also figure in some child care expenses into my loans. It would probably take searching but usually private homes are going to be cheaper and more flexible with those situations.
Also, I know the University I attend offers lots of classes online, check with the school you were going to attend. You could go to the school and see what they offer just to knock some of it out. You have to be careful with some of the online schools (like Phoenix and all the 1000's of other ones that have popped up) out there though cause the credits actually aren't transferable and would be a waste of money. I found this out the hard way.
do you have a head start program in your district? If you do that would at least cover the 3 year old and they have a similar schedule to school. I had my son in head start when I was in nursing school. It iwas a life saver. Other wise, if you cant find someone in your family to help or something through others you know then I would roll it into your student loans.Yes it will make it more expensive but you need to get your license and you can pay it off faster than scheduled to reduce interest.
C.
A.,
I recently spoke with a director of a daycare who told me to try to get NCI for my 3 children. Since spouse is working full-time and you will be attending school maybe you should try that. Contact your local WorkSource to see if you would qualify. Sometimes they offer assistance where you pay some and they pay some but, some help is better than none. RIGHT! Unfortunately because of my income I didn't qualify for either but, that's okay.
Good luck!
If I was in our situation I would wait until your youngest is old enough to go to the day care on-site. In the meanwhile save money for the daycare and read up on your courses. I assume you are planning on SAC but are there any other school you can go to to finish your pre-requisite course like PAC or Northwest Vista. Just a thought. Also do they offer the classes on-line.
Another thing to look into is a home-based daycare or another SAHM that may need the extra cash.
I applaud you for going back to school- I don't have the energy to even think about it right now.
Hope this helps and good luck,
Leti
I am going through this right now also. I am a student trying to finish my bachelors degree with a four year old and a 7 month old. After looking into daycare in my area I discovered it would cost almost $1100 a month for both of them. But then I found a really good online program to go through. It is Keiser College and they are based out of Florida. I do everything completely online without leaving home. They only require me to log on 3 times a week for twenty minutes. This has been a lifesaver and now I will be done a lot quicker and it is a lot easier. Also there classes are only 30 days long so you only take one class at a time, you just have a new class every month. Here is there site if you would like to check it out.
keisercollege.org
Wow, that's a hard decision. My son attends Lakewood Private School on Tues and thurs. It's $165 a month. Good luck.
J.
A.,
Why do you have to choose between this fall and 5 years from now? I think there is some middle ground here. Could you wait 1 year and start saving for the extra cost of daycare now? By then your youngest would be old enough to go to the on-site part-time daycare, too. Also, if you are full-time there are significant tax breaks for the costs of daycare that will greatly reduce your overall expense. Other options you might consider are finding a part-time caretaker in your home a couple of days a week or seeing if you qualify for any kind of grants or other funding.
I am a grad student with a 4-year-old son so I understand the choices that you are making, and I applaud you for going back to school. Good luck!
A.
If I were you, I would continue on and get through school. But I would also search around and try to find something else for daycare. Is there a family member or a neighbor that could help you out? I'm not sure where you are located, but my girls go to a daycare that is flexible and allows part time attendance. It is in the Woodlands though, so not sure if that is far for you. Maybe you could also check at school to see if anyone offers childcare. Good luck and congratulations for finishing your education!
I have in-home child care. Call me at ###-###-####.
Depending on what time your classes are, you could look into a Parent's Day Out program at a church. They are usually 2 days per week for several hours (mine is Tues. and Thurs. from 9-2). They usually take babies from very young through pre-school age. If there is a Methodist, Episcopal or Presbyterian church in your area, you could check into it to see if the days and times would correspond with your school days. It's much cheaper than daycare although the times are shorter, but it might be an option for you if the days and times work out.
