r/parentsofmultiples • u/Adept_Term_2186 • 3h ago

advice needed Daycare fees

How much are y’all paying to hold your kids’ spots in daycare? We are due with twins this coming March/April and want to start them in daycare of January 2028 (we did a similar timeline with our toddler but she was born in May). Our daycare just informed us that they are raising their guaranteed placement fee from $25/week to $100/week PER CHILD. So we have to pay $200 per week starting Jan 2027 just to hold their spots. On top of that, they told us that since we are “voluntarily delaying” their start date (daycare’s next available spots are September 2027 and November 2027 – unclear whether they want us to start one twin in Sept and the other in Nov) we will have to start paying full tuition when their respective start date begins to continue to “hold” the spots.

50% of the placement fee is credited towards tuition, but seriously, this feels like extortion.

My husband and I are extremely lucky to both have amazing maternity and paternity leaves, plus grandparents on both sides to help out, so we want to take advantage of that and keep them out of daycare as long as possible. It feels like we’re being punished for our timeline not perfectly aligning with daycare’s. Is this normal?

9 Upvotes

92% Upvoted

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3

u/No_Cat_No_Cradle 1h ago

Are you either in a very HCOL city or targeting a premium daycare? In my medium HCOL city and at my neighborhood daycare, we just paid a $25 application fee and were able to hold a spot

9

u/Dear_Excitement_5109 2h ago

I work 12 hour shifts Saturday and Sunday to avoid shit like this. It makes me furious. Wtf does it cost the daycare to hold your name on a list and why are they charging you $200 a week to do so?

1

u/Old_Consideration_78 2h ago

Same here, I work weekends since I couldn't afford childcare for one, let alone the 3 small children I have.

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u/42Changes 2h ago

Wait. They want you to pay $100/week per kid just to HOLD their spot for 1/28? There’s no way that’s not a scam. Unless this daycare guarantees your kid enrollment at some Ivy League school, you’re 100% being ripped off. Cause there will definitely be another damn daycare with availability 14 months from now.

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u/Dear_Excitement_5109 2h ago

This is so true.

3

u/FaceOk937 3h ago

This actually seems like a reasonable compromise. Most places won't hold a spot unless you pay full tuition.

4

u/Dear_Excitement_5109 2h ago

I think the hold fee is more to have your name on a wait list. Because once the spots become available in Nov/Sept, they are requiring full tuition.

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u/Ok-Perspective781 2h ago

We put down a deposit of half a month’s tuition. Our last daycare wanted a full month’s deposit. They basically said “we can hold it until this month, take it or leave it” as well

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u/seaturtlesunset 2h ago

We never paid to hold a spot. We did pay full tuition though when a spot became available and we voluntarily delayed start. That was to hold an actual open spot though, not to hold names on a waitlist.

1

u/twinsinbk 2h ago

I feel like this is location dependent more then multiple dependent! It seems a little crazy. We only toured one daycare in our old neighborhood and they said they didn't need a deposit far in advance. But I also wasn't impressed 🤷🏼‍♀️ we ended up going the nanny route