For many families in Wisconsin, raising your children requires you to use childcare while you work. Whether you are a single parent who has no choice or a couple where both parents must work to make ends meet, finding the right childcare for your child can feel like an impossible task. However, with almost 2,500 daycare facilities and almost 5,000 in-home daycares, you can find the childcare that works best for you and your family.
In Wisconsin, more than 165,000 children under the age of 6 require childcare because of working parents. More than 195,000 of those children come from two-parent homes with the remaining 100,000 children living in single parent homes. Of the working mothers in the state, more than 52,000 have infants, which can make finding childcare more difficult. When families try to find daycare for infants, spaces are often more limited due to restrictions on the number of infants in a facility and the cost is higher.
 |
|
 |
 |
|
|
 |
|
|
Choosing between a daycare facility and an at-home daycare depends on availability and your requirements. In Wisconsin, 7 percent of daycare facilities are nationally accredited, in addition to state licensing. Only 1 percent of home daycares carry national accreditation and not all are state licensed, so you must use caution when choosing one. About 79 percent of daycare slots exist among the facilities in Wisconsin with the remaining 21 percent in home daycares. This means the odds of requiring a facility daycare is higher than finding in-home care for your child.
Raising children in Wisconsin isn’t just about finding childcare options. Wisconsin is home to many activities that families can enjoy together. Wisconsin Dells provides families with water parks, shopping, restaurants and other activities, many of which are family friendly. It is a popular Wisconsin vacation destination. If you live near the city of Milwaukee, you can also find child-friendly museums, including Discovery World and the Betty Brinn Children’s Museum. Parents can also enjoy many of the state’s parks, both state and local parks, as well as festivals that appeal to children, such as TrainFest and Children’s Fest.
