4 Tips to Save Money on Child Care You Need to Know Now

When you have kids, you certainly know to budget for things like infant care supplies, extra food, and healthcare. But one expense that tends to catch parents off guard is child care. And if you're currently struggling to cover the cost of child care, there may be steps you can take to whittle it down. Here are a few tips worth employing.

1. Ask for a second (or third) child discount

In 2023, the average cost of a week of infant daycare was $321 for a single child, according to Care.com. And while it was slightly lower for a toddler at $293, that's still a pretty whopping sum.

But one thing you may be able to do is negotiate with your daycare provider if you have more than one child enrolled on a full-time basis. Even if your daycare center already offers a sibling discount, there's no saying you can't try to score a better one. So if the current offer is 5% off of the cost of your second child's care, you can try negotiating so you get 5% off of both kids' care if you have two enrolled.

2. See if your daycare center has a referral program

Some daycare providers offer referral programs that can put cash in your pocket (or, more accurately, result in discounted care) for sending other families their way. It pays to see if the center you use has such a program in place.

And if not, suggest one. Even if you only get $100 off of your costs per family you refer who signs up, that's still something.

3. See if you can work from home to reduce your child care hours

If you have an infant or toddler at home, you need someone to watch over them while you do your job, even if you're able to do it at home. But if your current work arrangement has you showing up to an office five days a week, try asking your employer to let you work from home on at least a partial basis.

Some daycare centers have a standard daytime rate that covers certain working hours, but parents with a longer commute might have to pay for extended care. So let's say your office is an hour away and your daycare center's "regular" hours are 8:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. If you need care from 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m., it may be available at an extra cost. If you can work from home a few days a week, it might spare you from bearing that added cost every day.

4. Look into a nanny share with nearby families

If your job is demanding and has you working longer hours, a daycare center may not cut it for you. Rather, you may need to hire a nanny to look after your child. But at an average weekly cost of $766 in 2023 for a single infant per Care.com, the cost there can be downright prohibitive.

That's why it could pay to try to set up a nanny share. How this usually works is you find at least one other family in close proximity (say, down the block or on another floor in your apartment building) whose care needs are similar to yours. You then make a schedule where you switch off having a nanny come to one of your homes and watch both of your children at the same time.

Now, a nanny might charge more for watching two children rather than one. But let's say the weekly cost for a single child is $750 and the cost for two children is $900. Even so, you're looking at spending $450 a week, which is less of a blow to your bank account than $750.

Paying for child care is not easy. But these tips might allow you to save money to some degree, thereby easing the burden.