There is a state kindergartens (If I use the right word) here where children under the age of 6-7 study and play while their parents are at work. But in American movies I often see parents hiring some teenage babysitters instead. So there are no kindergartens in the states or are they too expensive?
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Daycare
Daycare.
There is also a thing actually called pre-school which is usually a mix of daycare and early child developement.
Daycare, a relative, or many parents just stay home (especially with multiple children under school age).
The teenage babysitter trope is more for when parents want to go out for dinner or have a date night.
At preschool or with family.
Daycare.
And yes, they are very expensive
Some school districts have district wide pre-school (4/5 years old) at the kids assigned school
Both my kids went to daycare from 1 years old until elementary school. Where I live kids start kindergarten if they turn 5 before September 1st. My daycare offered free pre-kindergarten at 4 years old (Florida has what’s called free Voluntary Pre-Kindergarten) but that was only free half the day. When they went to elementary school, our school had a before/after care program on site even during the summer.
daycare, my son is there right now
Yes, there is kindergarten, which is the year of school prior to 1st grade. “preschool” is a separate thing, where, in my community at least, it is a school that some partents opt to send their kids to the year or two prior to kindergarten. Here, preschool is something the family would have to pay for.
Echoing everyone about about dayschools/preschools as the typical solution. Some people use a nanny, but that is more expensive. Other people use grandparents. As to teenage babysitters- we use teenagers for date nights / a couple hours here and there but they would not be regular childcare, since they are presumably in high school or college themselves (and presumably would not be qualified for / interested in full time childcare work at, say, 16).
ETA: we call the first year of elementary school “kindergarten.” Typically it is for students who are 5 years at old before September (but different areas have different cut offs). Some states also have public pre-K (4 year olds). Other places have public preschool programs as well. My 3-year-old qualified for one but his daycare has better hours and we can afford it, so we are just keeping him in daycare.
Daycare or preschool
Kindergarten is what we call the first year of school at 5 years old. Parents normally either hire a babysitter/daycare before that or have one parent stay home. My wife stays home and looks after our son, and I work. Child care is really expensive. I’ve heard numbers like $1300 a month for an infant.
Hiring a teenage babysitter is more of a parents’ date night or something. The teenager would be in school on a normal day
Preschool, daycare, with relatives. How much daycare costs depends on a number of factors.
In the US “Kidnergarten” refers to the first standardized year of education.
Daycares and preschools, or with a friend/relative.
Teenage babysitters would normally be hired for shorter and less frequent occasions, like the parents going out to an event.
Where I live, and in my experience, children from ages 1-3 usually go to daycare. Children at around age 4 go to preschool. Children at age 5 start kindergarten.
With relatives or at a daycare.
Daycare, private pre-schools, if you’re lucky they may stay with a retired on stay-at-home parent friend or family member. They are very expensive, so much so that a number of parents, mostly mothers, take a few years off when the kids are young because daycare for multiple children can easily cost more than one low income job earns. More than a decent job depending on how many kids.
Similar issues apply during the summers, winter break, etc… until the kids are old enough to be at home alone safely.
“Kindergarten” here refers to state run school for 5, sometimes 6 year olds. It does not last the full workday so parents often still wind up using daycare afterwards.
We were lucky, my mother in law lives nearby and has taken care of the kids during the day for us. People with family like that to lean on have a pretty significant advantage.
we use the word “kindergarten” differently in the US. kindergarten is the first year of regular schooling. so the grades go kindergarten, 1st grade, 2nd grade, etc. up to the 12th grade (the final year of high school). so it’s common in the US to refer to this as “k-12” education and to refer to preschool as “pre-k” (the “k” in both instances referring to kindergarten).
It’s right there in your post title. They attend preschool and daycare, or perhaps a retired family member takes care of them. I attended daycare with a curriculum from infancy until 5th grade. After that I was old enough to get myself home after school. Babysitters were usually daycare staff looking for extra cash, and they were for nights and weekends when my parents had work functions, date nights, etc.
Kindergarten here is the school year attended by kids between 5-6 years old. They are either whole school days or half a regular school day, depending on your district. There are several options for younger children.
My mom was a private daycare provider when I was little, this means she took care of kids too young for school all day, and school aged kids before school and afterwards, until their parents could pick them up. This was done in our house. The same basic principle applies to corporate daycares, but there are usually more adults *and* more kids in these. Parents pay for either of these options.
Preschools are an option for kids, and some of these are publicly funded. Many are not, qnd parents pay out of pocket. These usually aren’t an option until your child is about 3 years old. They work like a combo between a daycare and a classroom.
Family is often a child care option as well, my retired aunt takes care of her grandkids when their parents are at work. My grandparents primarily looked after me when I was a baby and my parents worked, until mom quit to do daycare (and spend her time with us kids.) My brother-in-law is a stay at home dad to my 2 nieces and nephew.
Babysitters are another option, but I rarely hear of folks using them on a daily basis. At that point, I feel like they would be a nanny, which is generally very expensive.
When my babies were little I paid 95% of my paycheck for daycare.
Daycare or a babysitter, relative or no. When I was a kid, my aunt watched me and my sister all the time.
If the kid is in preschool, they’re typically at the preschool. Said preschools also have aftercare so the parents don’t have to pick them up immediately after school is over. On weekends, parents could hire a babysitter or leave the child with their grandparents or some other trust family member.
As others have said, many parents first put their kids in daycare, and then kindergarten when they are about 5 (the exact cutoff date of birth for enrollment depends on the school district). Many also opt for preschool for about 1 or 2 years before kindergarten. If daycare and preschool are too expensive, they may opt for babysitters or relatives.
My wife and I considered daycare for our daughter, but as both of us have hybrid work schedules, we have opted to take care of our daughter on days when one of us works from home while the other is in office. This saves on daycare costs too. That being said, we still plan on enrolling her in preschool when she is a bit older.
Daycare or a babysitter often. Daycare is usually low quality, even if it’s expensive, at least as far as I can tell. Sometimes they will stay with grandparents, or if the family is wealthy enough they will have a nanny