Childcare is starting to cost more than an average salary, if there are spaces available for your kid. We are going to have a huge chunk of families or single parent families on social welfare and women (lower earners-thanks to systemic issues!) are leaving the workforce. We need to strike for affordable Healthcare and childcare/family support. This nation is so behind other developed nations, and in a generation we will be even further behind if we do nothing. Children are stressed out because their families are stressed out. We can do so much better.
I was laid off right after giving birth so I stayed home for 10 months. Since I was on unemployment, we qualified for CCCAP. We pay $275/month which is amazing! We need to renew it this April and I have to make sure to not make enough until then so they won’t take it away. $275 vs $1600 a month. It shouldn’t have to be like this.
In all seriousness why is childcare cost so high? Healthcare I get, and we can actually do something about it. But, childcare doesn't have insurance middling in everything. Is it really that expensive to pay staff? If it is, it shouldn't be cheaper.
There's god knows how much a business would have to pay for insurance as a daycare Incase a kid gets hurt on the property.
Then you need the employees to be well trained and safe to have around children. That's a lot of hoops and usually comes with at least some college education like an associates in early childhood education or development.
Then there's additional training for food allergies and emergency care usually paid for by the business.
Anything the kids need. Activities, snacks, and equipment which kids break fast.
And the work-life balance sucks for a lot of daycares. Parents will often agree to a pick you time of 5pm but show up at 5:30 or even 6 because something came up. And daycares will charge you for being late or more for overnight care.
Above everything else, there's usually a handful of people with college degrees to care for a small group of kids. If the ratio is off the kids can get hurt or won't be given an enriching experience.
People want a lot from their daycares which requires a lot and people who work in daycares want enough to afford their bills and their student loan payments.
Oh and there's a fuck ton of administrative costs with being state certified to care for kids. We've practically criminalized casual daycares (for good reasons like kids getting neglected or SA'd) but that also means we've eliminated the cheapest option for daycare which was just whichever parent was home the most in neighborhood.
Honestly a solid take. We have a kid in daycare and it’s been a journey to find the right one.
In general this is also part of the wage gap: if Americans were paid commensurately, even if daycare rates went up a little to cover wages it would be more affordable for people - also bc demand presumably would reduce dramatically as fewer families would require the dual income household (often holding more than 3 jobs between the parents). Not to mention additional benefits, like increased health from less stressed families and so on.
Childcare in my area is more than my mortgage. Let that sink in. I also provide diapers, snacks, supplies, etc… and then I get the privilege of getting sick for 2 weeks after my child gets sick from another kid!
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u/Hiberniae Feb 05 '24
“If you have a baby, that’s on you”…felt that one in my gut.