childcare Archives - SavingAdvice.com Blog

The top retailers in the United States have been trying to keep up with online stores in multiple ways. Target is one of the retail chains that is doing a fantastic job staying competitive with companies like Amazon. Most recently, the company is looking at expanding the Target paid family leave and childcare benefits available to its employees.

Expanding the Target Paid Family Leave Benefits

Many of the top retailers in America are trying to outmatch one another with employee benefits to attract new workers. On Monday, Target announced the changes it plans to make.

The company said it will begin to expand child care benefits and expand paid family leave for around 350,000 of its employees. This includes both full and part-time workers located in its stores, distribution centers, and Target headquarters.

It is nothing new that retailers have a rather high rate of turnover when it comes to employees. With Target and other retailers focused on competing with online stores, additional job perks seem to be the way to keep loyal workers.

Backup Child Care

In the fall, Target employees will be able to receive 20 days of backup child care and elder care through a third party network. Through this network, they can receive child care for $20 a day at a daycare or a subsidized hourly rate at home.

Paid Maternity Leave and More

The Target paid family leave policy will be made broader to include parental leave or sick family member. New parents or employees with sick family members will now get up to four weeks off to deal with their family’s needs.

“We recognize there are many different situations,” a spokesperson for the company said. For instance, employees may need to take off to care for a sick family member, something out of their control.

New mothers will also be able to claim an additional six to eight weeks of paid maternity leave on top of the four weeks already allotted by the company through paid family leave.

For comparison, Walmart offers six weeks of paid parental leave for its full-time workers. New moms can receive up to 10 additional weeks of paid leave.

Increasing Pay

On top of expanding Target paid family leave, the company has raised its starting wage to $13. It plans to raise it to $15 per hour by the end of next year. Other companies have begun to do the same.

Both Costco and Amazon raised their starting pay to $15. Walmart, on the other hand, has only risen its starting pay to $11. Currently, the average pay of a full-time Walmart employee sits around $14.26.

Student Benefits

Last week, Walmart announced it would add educational benefits for its high-school aged workers. The company is now offering to pay for SAT prep and initial college credit classes. After graduation, Walmart is also offering to send them to one of six colleges for $1 a day (this began last year).

These changes, in addition to steady shift scheduling, more paid leave, and extra training have driven turnover down to a five-year low for Walmart. Target hopes to see the same results with its latest changes to paid family leave.

Photo: Flickr: Mike Mozart

Whether you’re a single parent or one of two that work to make ends meet, child care can take a big bite out of your paycheck. Study results vary widely, but in the US, it’s not unusual for wage earners to spend 10% to 25% of their income on childcare. Many working moms reported spending 50% or more! For many couples, these costs can mean facing agonizing decisions about career or job choices. Many, however, may be unknowingly spending more than they should. This article will offer several ideas for lowering the cost of caring for your children while you work.

Count on the Relatives

This may seem too obvious to include, much less list it as my number one choice. Actually, though, many parents are hesitant to ask the grandparents, aunts or uncles to watch the kids, especially on a regular basis. To the parents’ credit, the most common reason is a desire not to impose. Of course, there may be other reasons this isn’t an alternative for some people, but it’s always worth considering. You can always offer some sort of payment, to make it easier on both of you. Most relatives will be happy to help out, and I can tell you that at least one grandpa wouldn’t trade the opportunity for all the money in the world.

Balance Your Work Schedules

It isn’t always easy, sometimes it’s impossible and it may not be a complete solution. Careful work schedule management though, can allow Mom or Dad to be the caregiver more often, so there’s less need to hire someone. If you’re both working full-time, you may see each other less often than you like, and it’s important to be sure you find enough time for rest, so this option isn’t for everyone, even if your job allows it. You might want to consider combining this idea with the one above.

Look into Daycare in the Workplace

Savvy corporations in all parts of the world offer free or low-cost child daycare programs for their employees. Find out what options your employer has available. If nothing exists, make a polite suggestion.

Start or Join a Co-op or Club

Babysitting cooperatives are becoming popular in many neighborhoods, because they make sense. Parents simply trade time watching each other’s kids. The children get a chance to interact with others, just as they would in a daycare facility and the parents save money. Clubs can even agree to pay small “dues” that can go toward entertainment for the kids, gas for vehicles or other costs associated with the babysitting.

Trade Living Space for Daycare

An option that works well for many families is an au pair. If you have a spare room, you may find responsible young adults willing to care for your children in return for a place to live, sometimes combined with a stipend. Obviously, you need to be careful in choosing the right person. Use a screening process that includes a background check.

Let the IRS Help Pay for It

Are you taking advantage of the federal tax credit for day care? Let Uncle Sam foot part of the bill. Qualifying taxpayers in the US may be able to claim up to $3,000 for each dependent for whom they have childcare expenses. Here’s how to find out if you qualify and learn how to claim it.

Check into other government programs, too. State governments offer subsidy programs to help cover daycare costs for families that qualify. Requirements vary, so I won’t go into the specifics here, but this is something you should check into, even if you don’t consider yourself in a low-income bracket. Programs exist for many different situations. You may even be able to use government funds to pay your relatives for babysitting.

Check with Local Charitable Organizations

A surprising number of communities have charities that offer free or very low-cost child care. Don’t be too proud to look into this option. If you’re hesitant to accept free help, make regular donations to the sponsoring charities. Churches are a good place to start checking.

Consider Working at Home

This is one of my favorite options, since I’ve been doing it for more than 15 years. If you have useful skills like accounting, copywriting, computer programming, or anything that can be offered as a service, there’s a good chance you can do it from the convenience of home. Thanks to the internet, you don’t even have to leave the house to solicit work. Of course, you may have to learn to work with one hand while you diaper the baby with the other, but hey, you’re a parent, right?

Trade Your Skills or Talents for Childcare

Don’t be afraid to ask daycare centers or professional babysitting services about performing services for them in exchange for part or all of their fees. In addition to simple typing and filing, these businesses may need advertising space, ad copy, website developing, accounting help, tax preparation services, or even custodial work. Barter can open a lot of doors in today’s economy.

Juggling jobs and family is hard. Rising childcare costs make it more difficult to ensure the safety of our children while we try to eke out a living. I hope the suggestions above will help readers find ways to reduce daycare costs while providing the best possible care for their children.

(Photo courtesy of Senator Kate Lundy)

Target Looks to Expand Childcare and Paid Family Leave Benefits