Thank you for exposing this little discussed area of stress in people’s lives. I’ve had the blessing to be able to work while my wife stayed home and homeschooled both of our children all the way through high school. I see a lot of my coworkers over the past 25 years living well beyond their means, which also adds to the stress. Keep up the good work, sir!
Thanks so much for the note Jeff. Was part of your family's decision to stay at home both for childcare and homeschooling driven by cost considerations?
It did play a part in the decision. We realized as a single income family, that we would actually be coming out with a net some zero and be able to have my wife stay at home to have direct influence on both of our children.
Finding and paying for childcare is the unspoken burden of our generation. In Boston suburbs before COVID, our small in home center was 700/week for a toddler and a infant. They were closed most of COVID and reopened for 900/week for those same two kids. We moved to the suburbs of Chicago in late fall of 2021. Fast forward to spring of 2022 found out we're adding our last baby and I searched through 75 daycares in 3 towns for an infant spot for MARCH of 2023. I was looking 10 months in advance of needing care and only 3 places could confirm they would have an opening for an infant. The in home daycare here is 650/week for a toddler and an infant. I regularly tell friends/family now, if you think you may want children, start calling daycares to see what waitlists are like, how much it costs, etc. Bc you don't always have paid leave and don't get a raise for having a baby.
Thanks so much for sharing and yes that is exactly the reason we focus on these topics - to shed light on the unspoken burdens and to bring data to the stories of millions of Americans
Those child care cost numbers can be directly compared to what would be an equivalent required salary to be able to cover those costs. You'd have to adjust for taxes, but also add the fact that there is disutility from working, and that child investment is better done by parents. The equivalent job salary that would be needed would probably be quite high.
Absolutely - and this can be particularly challenging in single-parent homes where incomes may be far lower. Thanks for sharing your article too. We are big fans of the child tax credit (CTC) as well.
That’s exactly the type of issue that’s so important to highlight. When we start thinking about childcare costs + housing costs + food costs + education costs then many Americans will struggle to get by. These issues need to be look at together. Thanks for sharing Robert.
What has childcare been like for you? Tell us your state or county and a little bit about you've been experiencing
Thank you for exposing this little discussed area of stress in people’s lives. I’ve had the blessing to be able to work while my wife stayed home and homeschooled both of our children all the way through high school. I see a lot of my coworkers over the past 25 years living well beyond their means, which also adds to the stress. Keep up the good work, sir!
Thanks so much for the note Jeff. Was part of your family's decision to stay at home both for childcare and homeschooling driven by cost considerations?
It did play a part in the decision. We realized as a single income family, that we would actually be coming out with a net some zero and be able to have my wife stay at home to have direct influence on both of our children.
Finding and paying for childcare is the unspoken burden of our generation. In Boston suburbs before COVID, our small in home center was 700/week for a toddler and a infant. They were closed most of COVID and reopened for 900/week for those same two kids. We moved to the suburbs of Chicago in late fall of 2021. Fast forward to spring of 2022 found out we're adding our last baby and I searched through 75 daycares in 3 towns for an infant spot for MARCH of 2023. I was looking 10 months in advance of needing care and only 3 places could confirm they would have an opening for an infant. The in home daycare here is 650/week for a toddler and an infant. I regularly tell friends/family now, if you think you may want children, start calling daycares to see what waitlists are like, how much it costs, etc. Bc you don't always have paid leave and don't get a raise for having a baby.
Thanks so much for sharing and yes that is exactly the reason we focus on these topics - to shed light on the unspoken burdens and to bring data to the stories of millions of Americans
Those child care cost numbers can be directly compared to what would be an equivalent required salary to be able to cover those costs. You'd have to adjust for taxes, but also add the fact that there is disutility from working, and that child investment is better done by parents. The equivalent job salary that would be needed would probably be quite high.
Also this impact of increased child care costs, coupled with the expiration of the expanded child tax credit is a major hit to low income families. (https://nominalnews.substack.com/p/early-child-investment-child-tax)
Absolutely - and this can be particularly challenging in single-parent homes where incomes may be far lower. Thanks for sharing your article too. We are big fans of the child tax credit (CTC) as well.
That’s exactly the type of issue that’s so important to highlight. When we start thinking about childcare costs + housing costs + food costs + education costs then many Americans will struggle to get by. These issues need to be look at together. Thanks for sharing Robert.
What’s your strategy for making things work?