Depending upon your child's age or needs, you will have a variety of options for long-term child care. Unfortunately, child care costs can be expensive. Costs for full-time care can range between $125 and $650 a week, depending upon the type of care, your location, your children's ages or needs, and other factors.

Each choice has its pros and cons, both financially and personally. Since you'll want to weigh the choices before selecting one that will work best for your children and you, presuming you have the luxury of time, it's wise to explore all the options three to six months ahead of when you'll need it.

Considering Your Options

Before you narrow down your choices, it's important to take stock of your situation, including your children's ages, personalities, needs, and your location, flexibility, and all the factors that can enter into the decision about child care. Here are the primary factors you'll need to consider when selecting day care:

• Your children's ages: Many day care centers will not take children under the age of three months; others require children to be potty trained. Once your children are in school, you may find after-school programs that will reduce your costs substantially.

• How many of your children need day care: Day care centers may offer reductions for families with two or three children in their care. Or you may select family day care for a toddler and an after-school program for your school-age child.

• If they have special needs: If you have a child with special needs, child care will likely cost a premium. Nannies, au pairs, or full-time babysitters may be your best option.

• Your work schedule: If you work locally and have a traditional eight-hour schedule, day care centers may meet your needs. If you commute long distances or frequently work overtime, home-based care may be your only choice.

• Your budget: If you're like most people, you will need to create a realistic budget and find the best option available within your price range.

• The location and size of your home: If you have a large home in the country, home-based care makes sense for small children. If you live in a large city, you may have many excellent options, but you'll probably pay a premium for them.

• Your and your child's comfort level: Parents and children may have strong feelings about group care situations versus having the children in their own environment. It's important to honor those feelings and to trust your instincts when it comes to knowing what's right for your child.

Child Care Costs

Child care costs can vary widely depending on where you live and how much care is available, but some monthly cost estimates are as follows:

Estimated Monthly Costs for Child Care

Option	Approximate Cost (2006)*
Nanny	$1,600 to $2,600, plus agency finder's fee
Live-in nanny	$1,200 to $1,500, plus room and board
Au pair	$1,160, plus room and board, plus initial expenses
Day care	$500 to $1,250
Family day care	$700 to $1,000
Share-care	$1,300 to 1,600

*Source: Parent Savvy

Home-Based Care

You can hire someone to care for your children in your home — nannies, au pairs, housekeepers, babysitters, or relatives. Home-based care is ideal for infants and small toddlers. Unless you have a grandmother, sister, or friend who works for little to nothing, however, it is generally an expensive option. Nannies and au pairs make more sense when you have more than one child or if your home is big enough that you can exchange room and board for a large portion of the cost.

Family Day Care Centers

Often you can find mothers in your community who take care of other people's children so that they can stay home with their own. While they often have a lower child-to-adult ratio, they may not be required to meet the same strict licensing requirements of larger, commercial day care centers. You are also dependent upon someone who could become sick or move.

Day Care Centers

Day care centers typically offer a structured environment run by licensed teachers, who may or may not have specialized in early childhood development or education. The centers are subject to governmental licensing, which means they are inspected and monitored by your state government.

Studies have shown that children under the age of five who attend day care centers and preschools often develop advanced social skills, as well as language and academic skills. On the con side, these centers can be rigid and often close early, limiting their viability for commuters.

Preschools

Preschools are very similar to day care centers, but they focus on your child's academic, social, and physical development. Generally, preschool centers accept children between the ages of three and five. “Graduates” transition into elementary school systems when they are ready for kindergarten. Preschools may have very limited hours and may adhere to a highly structured routine that might not fit your child's needs.

Share-Care or Babysitting Co-ops

Mothers in family neighborhoods often form babysitting or share-care co-ops. The obvious advantages are that you know the caretaker and that costs are low, but you may have to rotate care.

Workplace Care

If you're extremely lucky, you may work for a firm that has on-site day care for employees' children. To find out which companies offer this, call your local chamber of commerce, or find a copy of Working Mother magazine's annual “Top 100 Companies.” If your company doesn't have one, and there are a number of working mothers or fathers who would appreciate the service, pitch the idea to your boss.

Extended Day Care

There are usually reliable programs available that take care of children after school. Many schools offer programs, as do churches and local youth organizations. You may even be able to find programs geared toward music, dance, art, sports, computers, or anything else that holds particular appeal to your child.

Backup Options

No matter your choice of day care, you will have days when backup care will be necessary — when a child or caregiver becomes ill, during summer vacations, nontraditional holidays, and so on. As you search for the best situation, keep your eyes open for backup alternatives. During the summer, churches, community centers, youth organizations (such as YMCA, YWCA, or Boy's Club of America), and parks and recreation departments often sponsor daylong summer camps that not only take excellent care of your children, but also offer a wide range of healthy activities.