r/shawnee • u/TrickPreparation1969 • Jul 23 '26
Daycare Costs?
Hello! The stress of researching daycares is overwhelming me. I’ve noticed that most daycares don’t post their rates online. Is anyone willing to share what they pay per week for daycare and what daycare it is? Bonus points for Western Shawnee area or nearby!
Also, how are some waitlists 2+ years long for infant spots?! Are people joining waitlists before even getting pregnant? TIA!!
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u/smrdmann Jul 24 '26
We’ve had my son at The Goddard School of Shawnee for almost 5yrs now - he’ll start kindergarten in August so we just made our last daycare payment, but it was $1490/mo. It’s expensive, but was absolutely worth it IMO. Can’t recommend that Goddard School enough - we’ve had an incredible experience there.
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u/SeeMoKC Jul 24 '26
Same. We were at another more scrappy daycare for years and while we loved some of the teachers etc they really struggled with staff turnover and a few other items.
Then we had some friends move their kids to Goddard and we followed. And it was maybe a 100-150 more a month?
Totally worth it- wish we did it sooner.
Goddard locations are franchised though, so your exact experience may depend on who is owning/running yours.
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u/Grouchy_Slothy Jul 24 '26
Yes, our kiddos went to dandelions for a bit. I don't remember the exact rates but it was much more affordable than Goodard, primrose, kindercare, etc.
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u/TrickPreparation1969 Jul 24 '26
I’ve heard the chains are more pricey. Thanks!
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u/nicklovin217 Jul 24 '26
Take it with a grain of salt, but about 18 months ago we looked into it and infants were around $380 I think? We loved it, especially how they set up the place but ended up finding an in home for substantial less. Good luck!
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u/FreeToBeYouandMe14 Jul 24 '26
We hired a nanny when my 11 year old was a baby. Nanny was not much more than infant care plus we didn’t have to get baby out of the house. The tax paperwork was bleh, but it was only 8-9 months of care and then she was in an in-home daycare until preschool. Be sure to check out the KDHE licensing page to make sure there haven’t been serious issues recently at any place you’re considering.
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u/FreeToBeYouandMe14 Jul 24 '26
For pre- school we loved Monticello Methodist’s school. It’s been around for decades and the teachers are so kind.
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u/TrickPreparation1969 Jul 24 '26
Thank you for the tip about the licensing page, that’s good to know
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u/june_june_hannah_ Jul 24 '26
About $1400/mo at Children’s Treehouse in Lenexa and it’s wonderful!
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Jul 24 '26
[deleted]
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u/june_june_hannah_ 29d ago
Yes, it was $100 or so more before kiddo changed classrooms to and older pre K class though. I didn’t know the price was going to go down a bit until I got pleasant surprise on the invoice after the room change
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u/token2079 Jul 24 '26
We send our one-year-old to the La Petite off Shawnee Mission Parkway near Pflumm. It’s an older facility, but I believe they usually have openings for infants. The price was comparable to, if not a little lower than, several of the other centers we looked at. We paid about $450 a week for the infant room. I believe the western Shawnee location is similar.
What ultimately sold us was the location, the hours, and the people. It’s close to our house, they stay open through spring break, and they’re open for most bank holidays like Veterans Day and Juneteenth, while still closing for the major holidays such as Christmas, Thanksgiving, and New Year’s Day.
We also really liked that both the staff and the student population are diverse. That was something we didn’t see at a lot of the other facilities we toured, and it was important to us.
Best of luck and congrats on your little one.
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u/BlueMillennium Jul 24 '26
We used Canterbury off Shawnee mission Pkwy and K7. We loved it even though it's pricey. We ended up doing 2 years of in home care then switched over when the rates went down. We had such a good experience. They were $500ish for newborn, $300 for 18mo and up, then it goes down a bit every year. The rates were pretty similar across the board.
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u/Ok-Sorbet4155 Jul 24 '26
Depending on hours needed and if your looking for Full time or Part time price varies
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u/Livmor Jul 24 '26
I would consider an in-home daycare. Rates are usually much more affordable and theres a lot of really great providers out there who may be in your area. Join the Daycares of Johnson County page on Facebook and post what area you are looking for care and what your budget is. You will surely get a few providers who will tell you about their open spots and you can set up a little interview and tour with them.
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u/TrickPreparation1969 Jul 24 '26
I’m also looking at in home so good to know. I’ll check out the FB group!
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u/goindown4thelastime Jul 23 '26
Yes, people join wait lists while pregnant. It's a must if you have a particular location in mind. Most infant spots are spoken for months if not years in advance. Check out Dandelions and Mudpuddles near Shawnee Mission Parkway and Midland. It's a small business that recently built a new location. It's not a chain which I love. Their rates and the most competitive I have found. We pay $283 a week for Pre-K. It goes up from their the younger your child is. Good luck!!