If you’re planning on having a child soon and you’re not already registered at a daycare, it may be too late.

It is difficult for many parents in the Triangle area to find childcare, with some daycare waiting lists extending beyond a year and nanny salaries skyrocketing.

Other WRAL Top Stories

As a new mom, WRAL’s Sarah Krueger experienced the struggle herself.

"It was a struggle to find reliable childcare for my son," she said. "I got on a daycare waitlist back when I was pregnant. Eight months later, I’m still far down on that waitlist."

Affordable childcare crisis in NC

It’s a common stress for other working parents like Durham mom Erica Shaeffer, who needed to find childcare when one of her parents was diagnosed with cancer and could no longer care for her children full-time. Shaeffer tried out a couple in-home facilities for her daughter but wasn’t happy with the quality, so she started contacting daycares.

"Nothing about childcare is easy," Shaeffer said. "I called every one, and they were all full, all full. And when I got to the last one I was in tears. I was crying. I was begging. I was pleading, and I was so very fortunate to get a caring, understanding person on the other end."

WRAL News called nine daycare centers in Durham, including Bright Horizons, Kinder Care, La Petite and Primrose School. Each had a waitlist for infant programs, and most lists were more than one year long. The shortest waitlist was six months, and the longest was 15 months.

One daycare said 50 babies were waiting for spots.

Some daycares blamed the wait on an inability to find staff.

Even worse, just to get on a waitlist, families often have to pay a non-refundable fee as high as $100.

Kezia "Kate" Goodwin, owner of Kate’s Korner childcare center, is planning to open a second location this fall in Durham's American Tobacco Campus to help meet some of the demand. She said she's confident she’ll find workers because she pays her employees well.

"We saw a high rise of individuals leaving early childhood because we weren’t paying what we needed to be paying teachers in order for them to stay," she said. "A lot of that is paying teachers what they’re worth. We’ve got a long way to go to re-establish a good foundation when it comes to early childhood."

Goodwin said it will take some creativity to correct the childcare shortage.

"We’ve got to think outside of the box," Goodwin said. "There are a number of people who have great education backgrounds who may not be in early childhood, but have the heart to want to serve children."

Daycares are competing with nannies

It's difficult for many daycares to find and retain workers because many are leaving to work as nannies, where they find better pay and better hours.

"I would say that number is higher than ever before of people who want to leave daycare and become nannies," said Kara Varnell, who owns Select Sitters, an agency that pairs nannies with families.

Varnell said, ever since COVID-19, demand for in-home private care is higher than ever, in part because some families feel risk of exposure to the virus is lower.

"In the past, where we might have seen the families having the upper hand in choosing from so many nannies, now nannies are the ones getting multiple offers and having lots of options," Varnell said.

According to Varnell, before COVID-19, minimum pay for an experienced nanny was about $15 per hour. That number has increased to $20 per hour, plus benefits like paid time off.

Even with a competitive salary, it can still be difficult for parents to find the right nanny for their child.

"I think that’s a lot of reason why someone uses a nanny placement agency," Varnell said. "It is exhausting to do it on your own. You have so much vetting to do. And you might schedule interviews with 10 people and they never show up."

While that’s good news for nannies, it’s cost prohibitive for some families like Shaeffer’s. Although she finally found a daycare spot, Shaeffer hopes for an easier road for other parents in the future.

"There is just so much that is required of parents, moms, in particular," Shaeffer said. "They have to be the sources of information. They have to go find it. And who has the time, on top of your other job? On top of being a mom?"

Resources for families

Looking for a daycare?

The state Department of Health and Human Resources has a database where you can search all licensed child care facilities and see their safety scores.

The Child Care Services Association can help families find care. Durham’s Partnership for Children can help families in the Durham area.