The minute my daughter was born, I knew that I would do anything to keep her safe. That I would pay any amount of money to ensure her needs were met, to keep her healthy, and make certain she grew up in a safe environment.
Even if I didn’t have the funds available.
When we found out that she had a peanut allergy, that feeling tripled.
We were lucky to have already had her placed in a daycare that was peanut free and aware of the dangers of introducing nuts into the environment. They took care to ensure there was a safety plan in place should she ever be exposed or require her EpiPen, and had an emergency contact form filled out and posted.
We had been to training sessions to teach the daycare teachers how to use her medication and had endless discussions regarding what to look for should she react.
And then there’s the actual daycare itself.
They love her.
They encourage her growth and they foster independence. They take pictures of her and do crafts regularly. They save them all up and creating scrapbooks to surprise the parents with at Christmas.
They love her.
But it comes at a cost.
This cost I have written about at length. It’s a battle I have been fighting for a long time and, unfortunately, I am not winning.
The Ontario government does not make families and middle class Ontario residents a priority. My letters to the Members of Parliament and the Ministry of Education have fallen on deaf ears and I have received nothing but form letters in return.
We are going into debt in order to keep our daughter safe.
Ontario offers a subsidy for residents who qualify based on their gross; our gross income is too high. I have attempted to explain in several letters to the Ministry that I do not earn my gross pay. I have also tried to discuss the possibility of them changing their assessment criteria and making living expenses part of the intake measures, making it easier to see where an applicant’s money is going, and why middle class parents cannot afford daycare.
I was informed they had done this before and people did not like their finances looked at.
So the cost of daycare continues to rise and the Ontario Government continues to pay for those eligible, while those of us who aren’t must go into debt because we are assessed based on money we don’t even bring home.
And no one is listening to the families who need the help the most.
How are the rising costs of daycare affecting your family?
This is an original post to World Moms Blog by Multitasking Mumma of Canada. You can find her on her blog, Multitasking Mumma, or on Facebook and Twitter.
Photo credit to EdenPictures. This photo has a creative commons attribution license.
I can empathise with your situation although I live in the UK. Although we do get child tax credits for children attending paid for and registered childcare, which is means tested,the cost of that childcare has risen substantially. With childcare here at a premium also, finding quality daycare is difficult and once you have a place it would be heartbreaking to remove your child once there.
My four year old will be attending our local state school in september and both my husband and I are looking forward to being much better off!
I can empathise with your situation although I live in the UK. Although we do get child tax credits for children attending paid for and registered childcare, which is means tested,the cost of that childcare has risen substantially. With childcare here at a premium also, finding quality daycare is difficult and once you have a place it would be heartbreaking to remove your child once there.
My four year old will be attending our local state school in september and both my husband and I are looking forward to being much better off!
My heart goes out to you: such an awful position to be in.
For us it’s not so much the cost of daycare which is the problem, but the cost of food – we grow the stuff (damn it) and many Kiwis are struggling to put healthy food on the table at the moment.
My heart goes out to you: such an awful position to be in.
For us it’s not so much the cost of daycare which is the problem, but the cost of food – we grow the stuff (damn it) and many Kiwis are struggling to put healthy food on the table at the moment.
As a Toronto-based Mom I am completely on the same page as you. Even with the small subsidy I got from the City of Toronto for my older son based on his special needs, I was paying an absolute fortune, and when I had both of the boys in daycare the cost was just crippling. It was by far my largest monthly expense. Now I only have my younger son in an after-school program and the cost of that is *still* through the roof. I am in the same boat as you. We earn too little to be able to afford it, but too much to qualify for reasonable assistance.
As a Toronto-based Mom I am completely on the same page as you. Even with the small subsidy I got from the City of Toronto for my older son based on his special needs, I was paying an absolute fortune, and when I had both of the boys in daycare the cost was just crippling. It was by far my largest monthly expense. Now I only have my younger son in an after-school program and the cost of that is *still* through the roof. I am in the same boat as you. We earn too little to be able to afford it, but too much to qualify for reasonable assistance.
I’m so sorry you’ve been fighting this battle for so long with no end in sight. It’s just awful that the government doesn’t see the issue for what it is, and extend the assistance they need to. I hope that you continue advocating this cause for your daughter and so many others in your situation – someone must hear this soon!
I’m so sorry you’ve been fighting this battle for so long with no end in sight. It’s just awful that the government doesn’t see the issue for what it is, and extend the assistance they need to. I hope that you continue advocating this cause for your daughter and so many others in your situation – someone must hear this soon!
Sounds like governments all over the world are the same! I live in South Africa and am in a similar situation. We don’t qualify for any subsidy in school fees or healthcare because we supposedly earn too much!
The author of the bestselling book “Rich Dad, Poor Dad” (Robert Kyosaki) says that the “middle class” will soon cease to exist. There will be a world clearly divided between rich and poor. The scary thought is that most of us are being driven to the “poor” side of the spectrum by our governments’ discrimination!
I wish us all the luck needed to win the Lottery!! 🙂
Sounds like governments all over the world are the same! I live in South Africa and am in a similar situation. We don’t qualify for any subsidy in school fees or healthcare because we supposedly earn too much!
The author of the bestselling book “Rich Dad, Poor Dad” (Robert Kyosaki) says that the “middle class” will soon cease to exist. There will be a world clearly divided between rich and poor. The scary thought is that most of us are being driven to the “poor” side of the spectrum by our governments’ discrimination!
I wish us all the luck needed to win the Lottery!! 🙂
I certainly can empathize with both the cost of daycare and the peanut allergy. All of my kids are in public school(in the US) now, but it still costs an arm and a leg to keep them occupied for 3 months in the summer. I also wanted to share a bit of good news – my son was diagnosed with a peanut allergy at 13 months. With the help of great daycare providers and school staff, we were able to keep him from peanut exposure for 11 1/2 years. Last Friday, his allergist gave him the peanut challenge and declared him no longer allergic! It’s rare, but it does happen that they sometimes grow out of it. Good luck with your challenges!
I certainly can empathize with both the cost of daycare and the peanut allergy. All of my kids are in public school(in the US) now, but it still costs an arm and a leg to keep them occupied for 3 months in the summer. I also wanted to share a bit of good news – my son was diagnosed with a peanut allergy at 13 months. With the help of great daycare providers and school staff, we were able to keep him from peanut exposure for 11 1/2 years. Last Friday, his allergist gave him the peanut challenge and declared him no longer allergic! It’s rare, but it does happen that they sometimes grow out of it. Good luck with your challenges!
As a working mom with no relatives nearby, I can certainly empathize with the cost of childcare. While I absolutely love love love the center they have both attended, when both my girls were in childcare at the same time, I wondered if working was really worth it just to keep my position and my foot in the professional world….my monthly paycheck was paying childcare tuition. Now that my oldest is in Kindergarten in a public school, I’ve felt a load off only paying one childcare tuition, but as HumanRightsWarrior states, I am realizing it is going to cost an arm and a leg to pay for summer camp. No easy answer 🙁
As a working mom with no relatives nearby, I can certainly empathize with the cost of childcare. While I absolutely love love love the center they have both attended, when both my girls were in childcare at the same time, I wondered if working was really worth it just to keep my position and my foot in the professional world….my monthly paycheck was paying childcare tuition. Now that my oldest is in Kindergarten in a public school, I’ve felt a load off only paying one childcare tuition, but as HumanRightsWarrior states, I am realizing it is going to cost an arm and a leg to pay for summer camp. No easy answer 🙁
I have children with allergies including mustard, nuts and chicken. I have 3 girls and struggle with funds for school and healthcarte! We all can just keep doing the best we can for our kids!
I have children with allergies including mustard, nuts and chicken. I have 3 girls and struggle with funds for school and healthcarte! We all can just keep doing the best we can for our kids!
This may be a silly question, but how much does childcare cost around the world? In Norway, where I live, which is known for being a very expensive country, I think that childcare is quite good value. We pay about £200 per month, which compared to our other costs is quite good…
This may be a silly question, but how much does childcare cost around the world? In Norway, where I live, which is known for being a very expensive country, I think that childcare is quite good value. We pay about £200 per month, which compared to our other costs is quite good…
Without subsidy we pay over $1000 a month.
With subsidy Ontario residents can pay as little as nothing depending on their gross income.
That wasn’t our case though. With Subsidy we were still paying close to $500.
Without subsidy we pay over $1000 a month.
With subsidy Ontario residents can pay as little as nothing depending on their gross income.
That wasn’t our case though. With Subsidy we were still paying close to $500.