When I first had Ellis I worked from home a lot and I brought him to work a lot. I'm the executive director of the Barton House, an assisted living home in Nashville. I had him in child care only three days a week because of the cost. He goes 5 days a week now, but I have to pick him up at 2:30 p.m. because it's a lot less expensive than full time, so I come into work super early or come in on the weekends.
I pay $750 a month and that's not even full-time child care. You don't want to feel like you're working just to pay for your child care, but at the end of the day you are cutting it pretty close. We talk about having another baby next year and we'll have to make it work, but that would be like $1,500 a month.
In Massachusetts, the cost of child care for a two-parent, middle-class family averages 16% of their annual income. In Mississippi, costs average 7.3%. See how your state ranks.
