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After you have decided what you can pay, decide the location of care that would be best for you. Do you want it close to your work place? Or would you rather have it closer to home? Remember, there may be times when you cannot pick your child up and you have to ask someone else to get him/her; and keep in mind those middle-of-the-day fever phone calls.
Think about the kind of environment in which you’d like your child cared for. There are many options for child care; however, the most popular are nannies, family daycare or large group care facilities called child care or child development centers. Learn the benefits and drawbacks of each:

Benefits and Drawbacks to Nanny Care

Benefits and Drawbacks to Home Daycare

Benefits and Drawbacks to Child Care Centers or Child Development Centers

Wondering what to look for when looking for child care?
Check out our list of things to look for and ask about when looking for child care.

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Choosing child care can be a daunting task. While it seems child care centers and homes should be meticulously regulated, the National Association for Child Care Resource and Referral Agencies has found that in many states, little to no official oversight is required.

If it is time for you to choose a child care center, we recommend that you first check your budget to know the kinds of tuitions you can pay. Depending on your area and the kind of care you choose, you can expect monthly infant care rates to be between $700 and $1200 (or even higher). This number will decrease as your child ages. The reason these numbers adjust this way lies mainly in staffing. Each state has “ratio” requirements which require a certain number of teachers per a certain number of children (for example, 1 teacher for every 4 infants). For obvious reasons, more teachers are needed for infant care than are needed for preschool care. In addition, if your program offers one crib per infant, they may not offer part-time tuitions for infants as they cannot split that space and time between your child and another child. Home daycare settings often cost less, but keep in mind that they are also less regulated. In some states, a home daycare provider can care for up to 8 children before even being required to report that care to any official regulators.