Mom points out that childcare costs are as high as her rent and the internet agrees

With the cost of living skyrocketing, parents are feeling the pinch, especially when it comes to raising children. One mom voiced her frustration on Reddit, revealing that her monthly daycare bill is as high as her rent. She turned to the r/Mommit community, asking fellow parents, "How much do you pay for daycare?"

"$1200 for an infant. Actually, not bad because of how nice the daycare is and the curriculum (they do a lot of developmental things for the babies and send pics/videos about it). It's almost equal to my rent. RIP," the mom shared in her post. Moreover, in recent years, the cost of childcare in the US has surged dramatically. According to the 2022 Care.com Cost of Care survey, 72% of parents spend 10% or more of their family's income on childcare. For 51% of parents, this expense exceeds 20% of their income.

Parents in the comments of the post shared their stories of how they are managing childcare costs in today's times. "We have to pay the same amount. It's going on our credit card bills at this point and we're just hoping we can pay them off in a couple of years once our kids are both in school. We cut back where we can, but it's really hard." said u/MamaFuku1. "$220 a week currently? Newborn care at the center we were at in Minnesota in 2014 was $425 a week. It's now around $500 a week at many centers here, I am told by my friends with little ones," commented u/Tangyplacebo621. "I'm in Central Florida and it's around $500 and we definitely were not going to be able to do it. So, I stay home." added u/Somesmiling. 

"Daycare in Norway is capped by law at approximately $300/month and the cap will be reduced to $200/month this fall. It has seen as a form of common public welfare to ensure access to childcare. But I will add that daycare here starts at 10 months of age at the very earliest, as we have maternal/family leave for baby's first 10-12 months. I can see how daycare for even younger babies must be expensive to run. For kids under 3 years of age the requirement for daycares is 1 adult per 4 children, for kids 3-6-year-old it's 1 adult per 6 children, chimed in u/glencoco4pres.

"This is exactly the reason most people in there 30's are opting out of having children. We need dual incomes here in the US. Those rates are just no doable for everyone, then take a couple that have $900-$1200 each in student loans and all other living expenses, most people can't afford to have children," shared Reddit user. "A lot of families in the US can't afford childcare and don't qualify for government assistance. They work opposite schedules, have family help or one parent stays at home. It is a big reason why there are sooo many stay-at-home-parents here," pointed out u/Pixienotgypsy.