Evaluating The Benefits Of Working, Despite Childcare Costs
Posted on: 12 July 2017
With young children at home, it can be difficult to afford the costs of working. During the day, it probably means that you need to pay for some kind of child care. Despite this extra cost of your workday, there are some pros as well to working.
Benefits to You
Of course you want to spend time with your young child as much as you can, but you also must consider your own well being. In many ways, keeping a job is a decision that provides you with better health. You'll continue to interact with other adults in an intellectually engaging way. You won't have your career sidetracked by child care; you'll continue to grow towards more lucrative or challenging work. And there's self esteem in earning a paycheck. If you are in better emotional health, you have more to offer your children outside of work.
Benefits to Your Child
Your child will also grow as a result of being placed in pre-kindergarten program during the day. For one, they have access to teachers who are there to help them prepare for kindergarten. Young kids need to learn how to cooperate with adults other than their own parents, and if the first time your child is left with a stranger is when they start school, it can be a tough adjustment that leaves them a little behind in school. The presence of other children in daycare is also helpful for socialization, since understanding the needs of other people is tough when a child only interacts with parents who are focused on them. With other kids around on a daily basis, young children learn to share and communicate in positive ways.
Keeping the Costs of Child Care Low
If you decide that working outside the home is the best option for your family, despite the costs of child care, you'll probably want to know how to keep costs low per day. Private care is probably out of the question, because child care centers keep their costs much lower by hiring staff to care for several children at once. Among child care centers, sliding scale fees may be available for working parents who are struggling. If you have several children who need child care, look for child care centers, like Tender Years Academy Center, that offer discounts for each child added. But, at the same time, be sure not to sacrifice quality for a lower price tag.
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