Andrew Hopkins, NEWS1130
A nearly 25 per cent hike in prices has shocked parents at a Vancouver day care. The change has them feeling trapped by long wait lists if they want to take their kids anywhere else.
As of September 1st, five-day-a-week infant care at Kids & Company in the Fairview area will be $1,915 a month.
Ryl Hemus says right now, care for his daughter costs $1,550 at the facility. He calls the new price outrageous. “It’s more than our mortgage and our strata fees put together.”
That’s in a city known for its very high housing prices. “So, it’s kind of ironic that our mortgage is now, or will be, secondary to our day care costs,” argues Hemus….
Annabelle Pykalo is also a parent of a child at Kids & Company. She points out other day cares have cheaper rates, but their wait lists are over a year long; that makes for a tough choice.
“Do I still stay with my career or do we make the decision that I have to be a stay at home mom? [That] should be a parent’s decision. Day care should not put you in that position,” she insists.
Pykalo believes the day care is taking advantage of a child care crisis in Vancouver….