VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. — When I hear from parents, one of the most important things they mention is child care—mainly the cost, but also how to find the best facility and what to do if there is a waitlist.
As we are almost a month into the new year, I wanted to check back in to see what the landscape of child care looks like now.
That is where I connected with Tabitha Darrell of Little Achievers in Virginia Beach. As we walked around her newly expanded facility, she said, “Child care today looks totally different than it did 10 years ago. It looks different from even five years ago with COVID.”
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As centers rebounded after the pandemic, we did not see many new ones open, even though more families were looking for care. That is according toChild Care Aware of America, an organization focused on improving child care in Virginia.
Darrell points to the biggest shifts she has seen in the industry.
“One of the biggest changes, I will say not just for myself, but probably just all centers in general, is just the changes to health and safety,” she said. “Coming back [and dealing with] classroom changes, ratio changes [and] staffing changes. [There have just been] so many changes across the board.”
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Though one thing that seems to stay the same is the escalating cost.
“Child care is a national crisis,” said Mom, Hailey Schmucker. Schmucker is one of countless families trying to balance work and care for her 10-month-old daughter, Bennett. She recently moved back home to Maryland to be closer to family, but says she still needs help.
“Even if you do have family support, a lot of our parents aren't retired yet [and] they're doing a full-time job [so we lose their help in watching our kids during the day]. So, in that sense, 1,000% [child care] is going to be the most expensive thing that you're going to have to pay for.”
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Although 2024 statistics aren't out yet, Child Care Aware found that in 2023, it cost $11,659 to place a toddler in family care and $12,158 to place an infant in family care.
That price jumped to $15,583 for a toddler in center-based care and $16,397 for an infant in center-based care. The report found that when compared to other household expenses, child care often has the highest price.
I asked Darrell, as a businesswoman, how she finds the balance of cost.
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She said, “That is a really good question. I'm still trying to find the balance sometimes because I find myself, especially as a mom—a working mom—leading with that versus the businesswoman hat.”
Being a smaller center, Darrell tells me she has more room to accommodate families, though she understands there is no easy answer.
“We try to be flexible with our parents, as well as do what works best for us as a business model,” she said. “With the expansion of our facility, we have the capacity for more after-schoolers and more full-time after-school children.”
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With current staffing and more space, Little Achievers can take on 20 more children this year. Darrell encourages families to consider more than just cost.
“I think the first thing that's really important is trusting your intuition. How do you feel when you walk into a facility? Does it feel inviting? How are the children interacting? How are the staff and teachers interacting with the kids?” Darrell said.
The moment you learn you're expecting a child, it is important to get on a waitlist.
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Cast a wide net when looking for facilities. A good rule of thumb is to have a top three, along with three to four backup options.
Once you find the ones you like, make an in-person visit to get a firsthand feel for the environment.
