Addis Ababa - Post Report Question and Answers

Are preschools available? Day care? Are these expensive? What has been your experience with them, if any? Do the schools provide before- and/or after-school care?

There are several preschools. They are expensive, Western prices. ICS has after school activities on most days. - Dec 2023


Yes, available. I hear that preschools and some day care is available, but quality may vary, and could be expensive. - Aug 2023


Yes, but I have no experience. ICS starts at 3 years old I think. - Aug 2023


Preschools and day cares are widely available and pretty cheap. It is also very common to hire nannies and houseworkers to take care of children. - Jul 2022


Plenty and cheap. - Feb 2021


There are many and people seem happy. I do not know the price, but the preschool at ICS is expensive. - Feb 2020


There are many preschools here. My children didn't attend so I think most are inexpensive. The preschool at ICS is expensive but amazing. It's an inquiry based program. Young children can sign up for an after school program that costs extra. There may be changes next year for the Early Childhood program. - Feb 2019


Preschools are available and not much cheaper than ICS. They are spread out around the city. The level of the school seems to vary greatly. Most families hire a nanny to help out. I would not expect to much from your nanny. - Aug 2018


Preschools and day care are available but I do not know anything about them. - Jul 2018


I think there are a few around town, and ICS also has a preschool. - Jan 2018


There are several options for pre-schools, though I don't have any experience with them - Sep 2017


Again, no personal experience. - Aug 2016


Yes. There are a number of daycare/preschool options run by different expat 'groups' (American, French, Italian, etc.) and well attended by the international families. On the high end, there is one large option run by an American that charges similar fees to American daycare. We use a smaller, Montessori daycare run by an Italian lady that we've loved and it costs ~US$250/month for five mornings a week. - Feb 2016


Yes, quite a few. ICS offers one as well as Head-to-Toe, which is run by an American and usually has a couple other expats on staff. - May 2014


No personal experience (we use an in-house nanny/tutor for our tots and play dates). There are quite a few preschools in town, but I have no personal experience with them so ask around, some are better than others. - Jan 2014


Several preschool options are available. The most popular include Head to Toe, Flipper, and Brana. We went with Brana as it was significantly less expensive than Head to Toe. - Nov 2013


Lots of them. - Jun 2012


Most families with small children hire a nanny or housekeeper with baby-sitting duties. Household staff are readily available and affordable. - Jun 2010


I use a nanny. But there is a preschool at the Embassy for kids who are potty-trained. - Mar 2008


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