When it comes to the economics of childcare, there are some unfortunate yet undeniable truths. Chief among them is that quality early childcare and education costs a significant amount of money throughout the country. And, early childhood educators and staff are often grossly underpaid.

In major US cities, monthly tuition often costs over $2,000, and that number continues to rise. A number that is hardly affordable to the average middle-class family.

All too often, when you deduct childcare expenses from one working parent’s take-home salary, it’s almost as though they’re working just to afford daycare — and it’s just not how things should be.

When you consider that in the United States, the average parental wage is stagnant, yet the current minimum wage is rising (what many daycare employees earn) — how can parents keep up with tuition? And how can daycare facilities (businesses) keep up with paying their employees?

Do parents need to opt for lesser quality facilities? Or compromise their standards?

Studies continue to show the benefits of quality early childhood education and the daycare experience. Parents have a right to ensure their preferences and child’s needs are met in a warm, friendly, engaging and safe environment. It’s difficult to leave your child in the care of others, but when you are comfortable with where they are it can make a world of difference.

Should tuitions rise to an unaffordable level, what is a parent left to do other than lower their standards for a more affordable option? Should a parent quit their job and stay home? Take on more hours, resulting in even less time with their family? This hardly seems fair.

Do daycares need to increase tuition (again)?

The overhead of a daycare facility is exorbitant. When you factor in the expenses — maintenance, rent, utilities, toys, learning tools, art supplies, food services, costs per pupil, sanitation practices and of course, employee wages — there’s often not much left to go around. So, keeping up with rising minimum wages (as much as $14 an hour in Washington DC) can be quite difficult to manage without resulting in significantly less profit. And this is without even considering or preparing for inflation and rising costs of living.

A problem, because most daycares are businesses after all.

Now, with the House recently passing a bill to hike the minimum wage up to $15 federally, the problem is further substantiated, and complicated.

Rising labor costs necessitate rising tuitions. There isn’t much of a way around it. And so, it’s a vicious cycle.

The Solution

Here at Fyv, it is our sole mission to fix this. We believe in our hearts that quality childcare and early childhood education should be affordable and not cause undue stress to already stressed working families.

We also believe that early childhood educators and staff should be paid meaningful and reasonable wages — enough to support their own families as well.

The solution? Financing through Fyv Tuition Assistance.

Just as with post-secondary education, who says you need to pay for all four years of pre-public schooling upfront?

Many, many families simply can’t afford to — and shouldn’t have to, either. Don’t have your families charge it on a credit card or take out high-interest loans. Instead, enable them to educate now and pay later by deferring their childcare costs with our manageable repayment plan.

By applying for tuition assistance with Fyv Tuition Assistance, clients can spread out payments over a period of time so it becomes much more manageable and affordable.

This way, your employees will be paid fairly and your business will remain profitable, all the while tuition more manageable, too.

Simply apply to be on our waitlist on our website, here.