Childcare in America - any good?

[AliceMay6]

My partner wants us to move to the US with our 3 year old daughter, but we need some more information about what life would be like over there. For example, my daughter loves the childminder she is currently with. She received a ‘good’ OFSTED rating, takes her on days out, tracks her progress against the early years curriculum and will accept government funded hours. What is childcare like in the US for a 3 year old?

And as PP noted, there are huge differences between Florida and California!

Is he basing this on vague ideas about weather/climate?

As other have said I think you first need to look into getting a visa. Which i suspect is a non starter or very difficult if you are not married.
I do have friends raising children in CA and they like it overall but property prices in nice areas are obscene. They are in well paid tech jobs.

What does your partner do? What role is he interviewing for? I don’t really understand why you are asking about childcare when no consideration seems to have been given yet to far more pressing matters like visas, housing, location etc.

My (now) DH moved here from the UK and I was the Californian who processed his hiring and visa paperwork. I agree with PP that childcare is the last thing you should be concerned with.

An H1-B is very difficult to get, as US companies have to show proof that they searched for a qualified US citizen to fill a position, before hiring from abroad. Only legally married spouses and dependent children can enter the country on a worker’s H1-B, but they cannot work without obtaining their own work visa (or if the visa holder gets a Green Card after a minimum of five years residency.) And an H1-B is usually only good for two years, although you can get an additional two years, but it’s an expensive PITA.

i could also talk about how expensive Southern California is, but I’ll only depress myself.

Everything @Crabwomansays. The best way to do it would be to get married, he gets a job in the UK with a company that has offices in the US then after a year he can apply for a transfer which makes him eligible for an L1 visa (and you and DD L2s). So childcare maybe not so much of an issue as DD could be school age by the time that happens. What you’re talking about now- his ‘dream’, being unmarried, just applying for jobs there sounds a bit ridiculous tbh.

But since you’ve asked about childcare as in the UK you get good ones and bad ones. Most are people use daycare. You also get in home daycares, I guess comparable to like a childminder, half day preschools used by SAHP and nannies or nanny share.

Varies by state but mostly ratios are much higher so even in good daycare centres it can seem busy and chaotic. I found the cost on par with the UK but some of it was tax deductible. Funded hours aren’t really a thing either, our city apparently did 1 day per week for 4YOs but no idea how that actually worked in practice because we left when DD was 3.

The daycare had no outside space, in fact none of the ones we viewed did, but they went for a daily walk unless it was torrential rain or below 20 Fahrenheit (about -7 🥶) and it was opposite a park and zoo so they went there a lot. Vaccination was mandatory in our state to attend, including chickenpox so you might have to do that. A yearly doctor’s exam, and specific to our area a lead blood test were also required. Ours was all organic food but the actual meals were not very adventurous so a lot of apple sauce, mac and cheese etc. School starts at 5 years old, not 4, so the equivalent to reception is at daycare.
-If this does ever end up happening, you can go tour some places, same as if you were moving within the UK! But it sounds like childcare is the least of your concerns.

The other thing to be aware of is that many states have “at will” employment contracts, meaning that you can have your job terminated at any time along with your associated visa. At which point you either scramble for a new job that will sponsor a new visa or you pack up and return to the US.

Actually, the good thing about an H1-B is it can be easily transferred to a new job.

Re childcare. I’m sure it varies greatly. But someone I know her child was killed in a childcare setting. I know it is very rare but doesn’t instil me with confidence

This thread has me facepalming.

There's tons of centre-based child care in most cities. The place I've heard of it being in very short supply is in New York. Nannies are popular for people who have multiple small children or don't work standard coverage hours.

Quality is variable. It isn't as well regulated in most states, CA would probably be one of the higher regulated ones. If a centre is NAEYC certified they have to adhere to certain staffing ratios, which are often lower than state mandated ones. Ratios are generally a bit higher than the UK but not awful. because women here go back to work earlier, there are more babies in daycare.

As for teacher pay, again, varies by state. Where I live, Maryland, it is considerably higher than the UK. Florida is one of the worst paying states in the country. California pays decently but COL has gone up so much that salaries have not kept pace.

There is a shortage of child care workers because again, wages have not kept pace with cost of living, so it can be tricky to find a place at a good centre.

Some states have funded pre-K (the 4 year old year) but not all, so that would be local. Florida does, I think California does not.

There are a variety of child care types. In-home daycares which will be similar to a childminder, daycare centers which are akin to nursery, and nannies.

If you have money, then you will not have a problem finding good quality care. Child care often costs more than your mortgage payment or rent.

I'm American and I'm actively trying to move overseas. I have 4 kids and childcare is an absolute nightmare. It's very expensive and very low quality. Schools are awful. I work from home and homeschool because of it. I live in a beautiful mountain town that's safe enough I could get away with not locking my doors, but even here the gun violence has crept in. We had an incident recently, an elderly neighbor was attacked by a man with a gun, thankfully he's okay but now I jump at every noise and my kids are afraid to go outside. And I was raised with guns so it's not like I'm being dramatic. My kids are traumatized by the active shooter drills they did while at school. They were so young when it started, and they didn't know they weren't real. Some of them were actually real. It doesn't matter where you live or which neighborhood or how much money you have, these issues are everywhere. The nicer places are actually a bit more dangerous because the kids have access to more expensive/deadlier weapons, are more entitled, and aren't raised with empathy. Please look up the statistics. And know the numbers are worse than reported because schools often cover up these incidences for PR- I've witnessed it myself.

I reference to the actual topic asked about- I tried everything before giving up on it. Private nanny, daycare, in home daycare, you name it. I had a couple of good experiences, but more often than not it was just awful. One time my child ended up in the hospital with pneumonia because the daycare lied about giving her the daytime doses of antibiotics for a mild chest infection. I have so many other stories, mostly neglect and dangerous situations. If you have the money, get a nanny and nanny cams with audio. Or just don't come here, go somewhere safer and kinder. We're moving to Japan! I can't wait.

We have great daycare in Japan, and pretty affordable, though sometimes getting a slot in public can be tricky. Join some of the Facebook groups.

I assume as you’re saying California or Florida that he is applying to Disney. I can’t think of any other job that would have such randomly disparate locations.

If so, I don’t think there would be any chance of a spouse visa.

Would you be willing to leave your child over there if you were forced back to the UK if you split up / visa not renewed?
I presume not, therefore I wouldn't even be considering it.

Childcare is the least of your worries. You won't be able to piggy back off his visa if not married, and you will not get a visa on your own as a teacher. It doesn't sound like he's done any research if he doesn't understand that, and if he's looking at 'California or Florida' - they are two polar opposite places.

As others have stated, if you were to overcome those issues and move, you would not be able to return with your child without his permission if your relationship broke up.

You can't just merrily move there. Sounds like you need to do a shit ton more research. Chances of both of you getting jobs with visas if one isn't a US citizen and you're not married would be quite low unless you're in certain skilled roles.

I think the childcare practicalities are the least of your worries for now...

Agreed with PP he sounds totally clueless! This will all blow up in your faces if you don't research and understand properly how all of this would work, if it could even happen.

Think it through carefully as if you are giving up family- that is a big sacrifice. The state you would teach in matters in terms of pay so some states pay really well and once you jump through the hoops to transfer your credential you would for example be better paid in say California where many districts pay up to 120k a year for experienced teachers- but then the rent for a home may run at 4k to 6k per month so you need the good salary.
Childcare runs from I would say 900 a month and upwards and there is good and less good but just think through if you want to live in the US, as it is a big move.

As PP’s have said, there are so many more considerations than childcare. One thing I will says is that the 30-hours funded childcare from 3 doesn’t exist anywhere that I’m aware of. There are pre-K programs in some states but those may be means-tested.

We moved to the US just over 10 years ago and have never been eligible for any childcare funding. It’s improving now, but will totally depend on the state where you live.

The US is crying out for teachers though and you get a very long (unpaid) summer break in most states.

I live in Texas and I do know that only recently, Pre-K is now available to all four-year-olds.

As for teacher pay, my ex-husband was a teacher and I know that teachers are paid their salary over nine months instead of twelve. That's why it seems that they don't earn money over the summer months. Many people do supplement their income by offering to teach summer school.

@elp30 Yes, most of the teachers I know either teach summer camps or tutor, they seem to need that extra income over the summer.

Mind you, that may be due to the COL where we are. As I said upthread, OP, view each state individually as they have different laws, taxation, school systems, etc.

In some areas you can choose to have your salary paid over 12 months instead of 10. Same total amount, but easier to budget.

Many of the teachers I know do something over the summer -- they may teach summer school/ESY or work elsewhere like a camp, for the extra money. But not all. It depends on how much they need the money and what subject they teach or what else they can do. For example I know one who does beach lifeguarding, apparently it pays quite well where he lives!

Depending on jobs, a teacher might also work part of the summer but not all. The summer vacation in most places, unless they use a "balanced" or year round schedule, is 10-11 weeks. So if you teach summer school, it might be only six weeks of that and you still get a month off. The break is really long.