Some Parents Opting to Quit Working Due to Surging Daycare Costs

[bjl584]

Parents Quit Their Jobs After Child Care Costs Surge: 'It's Obscene' (msn.com)

[Jluke]

Didn’t bother reading the article.

living it first hand

my wife went down to one day of work and we just recently started sending our 3 year old to pre-school for 2 hrs a day ($25/day for 2 hrs. 3 days /week)

now, day care costs are that much more so it’s creeping into the families where the spouse may have out earned daycare costs previously.

and if more than one kid in daycare, forget about it.

[disneysteve]

This is old news but I'm always glad to see it get more attention. The childcare crisis existed well before COVID but the pandemic greatly amplified the problem. Many daycare centers closed permanently as a result of the pandemic spiking demand (and cost) for the precious spots that remained. The tight labor market has also aggravated the problem as daycare jobs are traditionally very low paying and they can't hire enough help to keep up with demand. This very disproportionately impacts women and they are largely the ones being driven out of the workforce to stay home with the kids. I'm glad to live in a state that has embraced universal pre-school, a concept that really needs to happen nationwide. Unless this gets addressed on a large scale, this is just one more way this country is steadily moving backwards 6 or 7 decades and losing so much of the progress that has been made in our society.

[Fishindude77]

A different point of view, likely unpopular. I don't look at this as a societal problem or something our government needs to intervene on.
Having children isn't exactly something that comes as a big surprise. It's a personal choice in most all cases and it comes with huge responsibility.

I wouldn't call taxing all the childless people in society to support the needs of those who choose to have children as "the country moving backwards".

People need to sort out and work through issues like this on their own with their families, raising kids is tough.

[scfr]

disneysteve As a moderator, how do you justify pushing a conversation in a heated political direction? This isn't the first time.

[disneysteve]

disneysteve As a moderator, how do you justify pushing a conversation in a heated political direction? This isn't the first time.

Point taken. I deleted that comment.

[LivingAlmostLarge]

But there is long term impact on people's earning power and potential. Stepping off the ladder or treadmill can negatively affect the person doing it. You might never catch up so paying for childcare can be seen as a short term pain for.lokg term gain. It really depends on the situation

[MonkeyMama]

Old news.

I was 25 when I had kids, and my spouse stayed home with kids. (Would have been $0 income after taxes and daycare). I think with my tax knowledge (as a tax professional) we probably made this decision at a higher income than the usual cutoff. I was used to the presumption that I must have a six figure income to stay home with kids (like some of the older people I met, people a little further along in their career. This was 20 years ago). But I was relating to the people who only made $30K per year (like their spouse) and just could not afford the daycare.

& I mean, I was making $50K when I had my kids. I was just relating a lot more to my mom friends who had $30K or $40K household incomes, versus the six-figure incomes (in early 2000s) that clearly made this decision more out of privilege. I guess really we were a little more in the middle. We could afford the daycare. I just didn't see the point of working full-time for $0. It was pretty clear to me why people with lower incomes just gave up.

Old old news, because my parents went through the same thing.

[LivingAlmostLarge]

Old news.

I was 25 when I had kids, and my spouse stayed home with kids. (Would have been $0 income after taxes and daycare). I think with my tax knowledge (as a tax professional) we probably made this decision at a higher income than the usual cutoff. I was used to the presumption that I must have a six figure income to stay home with kids (like some of the older people I met, people a little further along in their career. This was 20 years ago). But I was relating to the people who only made $30K per year (like their spouse) and just could not afford the daycare.

& I mean, I was making $50K when I had my kids. I was just relating a lot more to my mom friends who had $30K or $40K household incomes, versus the six-figure incomes (in early 2000s) that clearly made this decision more out of privilege. I guess really we were a little more in the middle. We could afford the daycare. I just didn't see the point of working full-time for $0. It was pretty clear to me why people with lower incomes just gave up.

Old old news, because my parents went through the same thing.

It's always been a thing. Measuring present costs versus future earnings.