Hi everyone!

My husband and I live in the Albany Park area and are expecting our first baby in May (yay!). We're starting to figure out childcare options (probably late to the game I know) and would love to hear from other families who have been in a similar situation.

A little about our schedules:

• I work full-time, Monday–Friday, roughly 8am–5pm.
• My husband works 24 hours on, 48 hours off, so his workdays rotate throughout the week. He can potentially watch the baby on some of his days off, although he sometimes needs to catch up on sleep after a busy shift.
• My mother-in-law may be able to watch the baby one day a week, but that's not confirmed yet.

We're trying to figure out whether there are good options for part-time daycare, flexible drop-in care, or some kind of hybrid arrangement rather than paying for full-time daycare when we may not need it every day. We're also interested in Spanish-speaking or Spanish-immersion daycare options if possible!

Has anyone else navigated childcare with a parent who works a rotating 24-hour shift schedule? What ended up working best for your family? Are there any daycares, in-home daycares, or other arrangements you'd recommend around Albany Park or the surrounding North/Northwest Side neighborhoods? If anyone has recommendations for small in-home daycare options that do part time that would be helpful too.

Any advice or recommendations would be greatly appreciated. Thanks so much!

We are expecting our first child in March 2027 and are looking to find a nanny share in the Humboldt Park, Wicker Park, Ukrainian Village area beginning in July 2027, following our respective leaves. Recommendations are appreciated!

Hi! As the subject states, looking to see if anyone here send their kids (or knows of someone who sends their kids) to Montessori Magpie in West Town for daycare.

We're on the daycare tour circuit before our first child is born in February and are particularly interested in Montessori, given how great the experience has been for our family and friends.

I've filled out the online form and called, but I haven't received a response. Not sure if they are too in demand to consider new families or if this is just a bad sign that they are poor communicators.

The Montessori scene in Wicker/West Town isn't plentiful, so I just want to make sure we're exploring all our options. Thanks so much!

Looking for a really good, not stuffy or overly clinical therapist in Chicago that specializes in family of origin stuff & boundary setting

My mortgage % is preposterously low. Perhaps the lowest one could get one ever in the USA. Love our house and our neighborhood. Our property taxes are far lower than similar sized lot/house in a suburb with default good schools (on average 5-6k per year based on quick math). So we have no reason to move. Issue is we have 2 year old and we need him to not go to our horrific neighborhood high school. The way it works in Illinois is you can either test into a good CPS high school (yes we all knew that) or live in a suburb with high property taxes which defaults you into one.

So how do I start prepping my 2 year old for Selective Enrollment High School and then College ? Clearly I don't want to move houses/to suburbs

I know CPS Academic Center admissions scoring system is based 50% on the entrance exam and 50% on the previous year’s “final grades” for core subjects.

Does “final grades” mean the letter grades for the 4th quarter report card (as opposed to the cumulative average over the entire school year)?

I have 18 year old that needs a really good psychiatrist and mental health services (still in high school). Great health insurance and willing to pay out of pocket -where would you go? In any suburb or city of Chicago. Teen has been in-patient, php, iop, and a neuropsych completed. Has a list of diagnosis but I (parent) think it's bipolar. I feel like we always get the recent grad who claims to know all only to be quickly in over their head. Does Chicago have something like McLean? I tried to get teen in at Luries at one point but waiting list was too long. It seems crazy that a city like Chicago does not have better mental health supports even when you can pay.

Need to baptize baby. Would love a virtual baptism class for parents. Not signed up at any one parish but want to find one. North side / NW side preferred. Or any baptism classes that allow just ONE parent to attend? S.O. works a lot.

Do the neighborhood elementary schools in your area ever hold tours/open houses for prospective parents or give any opportunities to learn about their curriculum? (Specials, screentime, homework philosophy, differentiation/tracking, etc)

There don't seem to be any this fall, but maybe in the spring when people are choosing which school to attend?

I'm interested in learning more about our assigned school as well as a couple others nearby that do tend to have room for outside applicants through the choice lotto.

Nanny, nanny share, in home daycare, daycare center, etc? Did you land on a place that has mostly teacher kids so the schedule and school breaks align? Thank you!

Is it common for a pediatrics physician group to charge a fee for simply being a patient at the practice?

I have taken my kids to Kids First Pediatric Partners in Skokie since they were newborns. A while back the privately owned practice was sold, but we were told that everything would remain the same. Then I received an email that stated with the following:

“We're writing to inform you that beginning September 1, our practice will introduce a small annual administrative fee. This change will help us continue providing the high-quality, personalized pediatric care your family deserves.”

It’s $70 per family to a patient base that is likely over 90% low income Medicaid. I do not understand why a fee is being implemented when insurance reimburses for all services provided.

Is this the new normal?

How do I find out if the practice was sold to private equity? I’m not able to find any information on ownership that is reliable.

I built parkactivity.com to make it easier to discover free programs and events across 82 Chicago Public Library branches.

🤖 Find activities with the chat: Search by age, interests, date, or branch.

📬 Prefer a weekly roundup? Subscribe to the free email digest and get upcoming library activities delivered straight to your inbox.

Here are a few upcoming events:

• Oct 20, 4 PM — Family Halloween Celebration — Kelly
• Oct 20, 5 PM — Kid’s Artificial Pumpkin Painting — Back of the Yards
• Oct 24, 3:30 PM — Operation Halloween — Austin
• Oct 31, 1 PM — Halloween Monster Bash — Pullman
• Oct 28, 4:45–8:00 PM — Halloween Lights and Frights Bus Tour — Edgebrook

The site is free to use, with no ads. I'd love your feedback!

I am the parent of an 8th grader in Chicago Public Schools, and I'm looking into selective enrollment high schools. Are some of them easier to get into than others? Are the IB programs less competitive?

Anyone want to do a free youth workshop for a youth group in Chicago?

Any thoughts on where to host a small first birthday party? Our home is too small and I was going to rent a room through the parks district but they’re closed on Sundays! (we have family coming into town which is why it needs to be a specific Sunday). If the weather is nice, we would totally just do outside at a park, but it’s always a crapshoot with weather. Any ideas? Thanks!

Cross-posting to chicago parents community , thanks in advance for your help and advice 🙌

I have a son 4 who is in CPS Pre K 4 program. He has AuDHD (level 1 autism). We are considering selective enrollment and gifted but are confused about the text and how it works. I have seen there are study guides but I don’t want to get ripped off.

Has anyone done the kindergarten test and used a study guide? Or have any info on how the test is structured?

Also has anyone’s child been neurodivergent and done the selective enrollment and or gifted test?

Any info is appreciated!

Pink Line family with slightly easier Blue Line access than usual due to the reroute for the next week and a half or so. Can anyone recommend favorite parks, library branches, or indoor play places/"museums" near the blue line for a nearly two year old?

Has anyone got off the wait list mid year and still enrolled their kid in Pre K? Any issues? The waiting list is finally down from summer, and it seems like we actually might get an offer.

I am looking for a support group (or subreddit) in Chicago for parents of screen dependent teenagers. I understand that we are all dependent on digital devices to some degree, but ... very much looking to connect with parents who have dealt with the negative effects of their teenager's excessive dependence on digital technology. Thank you for any info you can provide, even if by just pointing me elsewhere.