With the growing female-labour participation, child-care is greatly accelerated. But what remains the biggest mystery for parents is: why does daycare cost so much when childcare providers make so little?
Dual-earner families face challenges while raising their kids. Therefore, it becomes essential for such parents to be put under excellent child care.
To support parents, Kidzville Learning Centre provides the best Daycare in Surrey and a learning environment for your child. For many parents, it’s not a choice but a necessity mandated by financial need or career demands. Kidzville aims to offer peace of mind by creating a comfortable atmosphere with enough structure to provide a feeling of security for each child.
The childcare industry is highly regulated and has to constantly train new workers to meet regulatory standards. Coupled with this, educating a toddler costs more than buying a car in Canada. In some cases, it costs more than the sum spent on a child in high school. Not to mention, Childcare providers collect an exorbitant fee from parents to pocket the big profits. But it seems so. It may not be true at all. It is easier to assume that a childcare center is gouging parents, but it is not logical. To understand the economics of child care, let’s take a closer look at the factors that add up.
Due to high-quality care, the average family in the United Kingdom ends up spending about 10% of their income on childcare. A few preschools in the state charge too much, as the fee collected is proportionate to the amount spent on children. Also, more manpower and equipment are required to run preschool and childcare programs than for higher classes. From furniture to play equipment to pre-school books, everything is very expensive and has a lifespan. Henceforth, schools and centers need to replace things often. From the syllabus to the sanitation standards, the sum spent on conducive activities is also large.
Subsequently, caring for young, vulnerable children carries a lot of liability and comes with many regulations that cover everything from staff training to space and insurance. This doesn’t even include unregulated operational costs like food, toys, and marketing, and sometimes these costs are incurred in legal lawsuits by parents. Despite skyrocketing tuition prices, overhead costs, and staff wages, many child care centers and home care providers are struggling to keep the lights on.
So, what factors are driving the cost of childcare?
Keep reading to get a peek at why childcare is so expensive.
Caregiver-to-child ratio regulations :
The dynamics of this industry are different compared to other businesses, as adding clients straightforwardly increases revenue. But in childcare, you can’t take on many children unless you hire more employees. Many states require a ratio of one caregiver for every three or four babies. This alone is a significant cost factor in childcare, hence the quantity of staff can hamper your ability to make money operating a childcare program.
Location
While the location is a major factor, it is important to provide a safe location for the clientele. Any rented center in a building spends a portion of its income on that property. Hence, it is incredibly important for a daycare provider to locate somewhere where they deem it safe. Some families might be willing to drive a few miles away just because they trust that daycare provider. And few will trust their children to a center located somewhere that is close to heavy traffic, pollution, or high crime zones. Plus, because many states require a certain amount of square footage per child, it adds up to a considerable price tag.
Regulatory complexity and legal counsel
As you might imagine, the childcare industry is highly regulated and strictly ensure safety. Additionally, one complicating factor is the lack of uniform standards to give clarity on what exactly you need to do as a provider in your area. Consequently, navigating complex regulations with high liability left providers to interpret local and state regulations. Childcare businesses are highly vulnerable and carry serious liabilities. Few may even assign a budget for legal counsel to help them avoid a lawsuit in the case of murky situations.
Insurance
Another hefty cost a childcare programme faces is liability insurance. The first thing to remember is, that this insurance does not cover any damage the children may inflict on the premises or cover injuries sustained by your employees. Not only this but also daycare providers need to buy additional insurance to cover all their bases.
Employee recruitment and training
To understand where your child care fee goes, you need to see the staffing and training requirements. As the brain of a young child naturally develops, a highly skilled and trained teacher with the proper equipment is required for each child. Therefore, prestigious childcare facilities spend a certain amount on selecting, attracting, and training their applicants.
The increasing cost of fixed expenses
A few costs drive childcare providers nuts and cannot be controlled by them. For example, considering the rising cost of food, maintenance, equipment, and toys can also become fairly regular expenses. In the same way, there are other miscellaneous costs which make up around 5%, like curriculum, paper, cleaning, art and craft supplies, etc.
Marketing costs
As the icing on the cake, all the above expenses would go in vain if child care providers can’t draw in enough customers. Hence, it requires them to fairly advertise with notice or an ad in a local newspaper. Furthermore, circumstances can cause a fluctuation, such as loss of income, families moving or withdrawing. Moreover location obstacles, and, of course, children ageing out of certain programs can also lead to losses.
An eye to the future
At first, the expense of childcare is undoubtedly a debilitating feeling. But regardless of this fact, parents must focus on the fact that teachers are providing great care to their children. But one thing is certain: Parents are willing to pay any price for high-quality childcare options where their children can thrive and learn social skills. Parents seek safe environments, stimulating educational activities, and individual attention for their children.
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