Cheap SPECIAL Child Care?

[Kenre]

Seriously, I live in the boonies. Yet, I need help this summer for caring for my DS, sometimes SS, and my new baby...

I can't find anything, though, that suits what we need. How do you get child care for three boys like mine? And on a college student budget too?

I would love my MIL to care for them, really I would, but she refuses to meet the standards of child care I am looking for.

My Standards for Child Care (and tell me if I'm being anal):

Clean establishment (or willing to clean after oneself in my home)
Child proofing
Liscensed
Experiance with "difficult" children
ASL Experiance
CPR qualified
Experiance with cloth diapers (or willing to learn some basics)

How come I can't find anyone like this around me or my school? It's the cloth diapering and ASL that I'm having problems finding people who would help me with. It's not hard, really. I'd even give them some basic lessons in ASL if they were willing to learn it (and a handy chart to keep with them for DS's favorite signs.)

So, DH thinks we need to just send our kids to a daycare, and forget that DS needs ASL to communicate and hope he just does well without it (he's hard of hearing and SS uses it to communicate too; he's Autistic.)

I don't like using MIL because she breaks a few of my critera. Her house isn't baby proofed (and she doesn't want it to be. She thinks kids should taste cleaning products and fall down the stairs... this, to her, means they're learning.) Her "experiance" with difficult children means she spanks when they act up (even if this doesn't work on them, and causes them to act out more.) She refuses to learn ASL, and thinks both boys should just talk... and of course, she's not liscensed daycare personal, but she did study to become a Child Psychologist years ago.

Anyone friends with someone in Mankato, MN who could meet my critera, or be willing to learn it?

[aurorabunny]

Apr. 13, 2009 at 6:24 PM

Man I wish you lived closer...my son has autism and communicates through ASL, and we cloth diaper too.  I would watch 'em for you! :)

IDK if you'll find the things that you're looking for but hopefully you'll find someone who is willing to learn.  Basic ASL isn't that hard to learn, and cloth diapers are easier than disposables if you're not the one washing them (which I assume the daycare person wouldn't be).  Sorry you're having such a hard time!

[Kenre]

Apr. 13, 2009 at 10:49 PM

aurorabunny

It's alright. I wish you and I did live closer. It would make things easier on me. Oh well, maybe I'll just have to somehow hope and train two babysitting teenagers to care for all three boys (it would take two or maybe three teenagers to care each for a child.) DH and I are just going to have to some-how figure out how we're going to pay three babysitters. (And I would never have a babysitter or daycare worker wash, soak, or even rinse the diapers. I'd do that when I got home from school, it's not that big of a deal to me.)

(Original Poster)

[aurorabunny]

Apr. 13, 2009 at 11:33 PM

Yeah the school my son will be attending next year gave me some eyebrow raises when I told them he will be coming in cloth diapers...but we're paying a ton of money for him to go there for one, and he was EATING the disposables for two.  So not much they can say to me!  I really feel for you.  I'm so thankful that I don't have to try and find child care for my son, other than my mom (who works) I can't imagine anyone that I know here that could or would want to handle it.