by Joey Lombardi posted in Mom Stories

Daycare is expensive. In a city like Philadelphia, a daycare program with advanced child care certification can cost more than college tuition to a state school.
Several countries with advanced economies cover or subsidize early education programs for parents via public funds. According to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, America ranks 33rd among countries in early education support; only Slovakia, Cyprus and Estonia are ranked lower.

While the families, educators, and politicians argue over the best way to afford these systems, the average American family has to make tough decisions.
There is another group of people impacted by child care costs...the teachers. Most preschool teachers are not even making a living wage. A recent report by the U.S. Education Department and Health and Human Services finds the following:
Childcare workers earn just $20,320. Preschool teachers, who typically work with slightly older children than childcare providers more broadly, and often use a particular curriculum or teaching philosophy, make an average of $28,570 a year, the report found, which is only about half of what elementary-school teachers earn.
One would assume that the daycare owners are making piles of money...but perhaps not. I am not giving the owners a complete pass, but there are several hidden costs to running a daycare center that a parent might not be thinking about. One owner made this comment on Child Ca...