NY Mag: Daycare is Broken

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is a classic case of Millennial navel-gazing. When it was happening to Gen-X parents no one cared. But now that it's happening to millennials it's a huge deal that warrants hand-wringing and media coverage.

I know wayyyy more Gen X couples who could afford for one parent to stay home than Millennials. The spike in housing costs has been no joke for family planning and budgeting.

Or, maybe it is the housing choices we make. We picked a very small cheaper house so I could stay home. Some of it is about life choices.

When did you buy? Our neighborhood is full of older, "cheaper" houses. The house next door to us just sold for $200k more than what we bought ours for 10 years ago. For an old house that needs work zoned for middling schools! There's really no debate that the price of housing as outstripped wage increases.

[Anonymous]

The writer AND the editors (plural) on this must all be new parents. That’s the only people to whom this is news. It’s really hard to understand how broken childcare is in America until you have kids.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The fact that 45K for two kids sounds reasonable does not obviate the problem that it’s unaffordable for most. Unless we only want Rich people having kids (and workers earning peanuts) we need a better solution.

Most people under a certain income bracket don’t pay for daycare. They hav family members watch the kids or older siblings watch the kids.

I don't understand how this works- shouldn't older siblings....be in school? Also it would have to be a wide spread in ages for that even to be appropriate during non-school hours. And not everyone has family nearby that are capable of being a fulltime caregiver either.

Maybe grandma watches during the day, 12 year old sibling watches after school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The fact that 45K for two kids sounds reasonable does not obviate the problem that it’s unaffordable for most. Unless we only want Rich people having kids (and workers earning peanuts) we need a better solution.

Most people under a certain income bracket don’t pay for daycare. They hav family members watch the kids or older siblings watch the kids.

This. And they do shift work.

Huh???? So low income people MUST depend on family for childcare? You sound quite ignorant. I was a decently paid professional with no family and I struggled. So the solution for poor people is just use family? DCUM you never disappoint.

Calm down social justice warrior. No one said they must- just that they often use family to help watch kids instead of pay for daycare. It can make you angry but it’s the truth.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The fact that 45K for two kids sounds reasonable does not obviate the problem that it’s unaffordable for most. Unless we only want Rich people having kids (and workers earning peanuts) we need a better solution.

Most people under a certain income bracket don’t pay for daycare. They hav family members watch the kids or older siblings watch the kids.

This. And they do shift work.

Huh???? So low income people MUST depend on family for childcare? You sound quite ignorant. I was a decently paid professional with no family and I struggled. So the solution for poor people is just use family? DCUM you never disappoint.

Calm down social justice warrior. No one said they must- just that they often use family to help watch kids instead of pay for daycare. It can make you angry but it’s the truth.

And the truth is that this isn’t an option for many families. It is possible to both be unable to afford daycare and not have a family member to watch them.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The writer AND the editors (plural) on this must all be new parents. That’s the only people to whom this is news. It’s really hard to understand how broken childcare is in America until you have kids.

Yup, it's been this way for quite some time. We were spending $46K per year at our peak a few years ago. That's too much for most families. Subsidies are the only way to make the market work for families and providers, but no one wants to invest public money in childcare. There's barely an appetite to pay for public schools, and we all agree those are necessary.

[Anonymous]

DC is actually subsidizing daycare teacher pay through a tax the District started collecting a few years ago. All of the teachers at our daycare received a $14K payment from DC OSSE in August-September this year. This payment will be distributed annually. This is a welcome initiative for the teachers who make next to nothing. But agree that more support is needed for families.

[Anonymous]

I have no issue subsidizing daycare for the working poor. But, not for middle class and above. Sorry, you need to figure that out for yourselves just like everyone else before you had to. I had to completely quit my career to care for a special needs child who was kicked out of multiple daycares. I am not interested in paying more in taxes to pay for other peoples childcare when they could well afford it with more frugal lifestyle choices. You can't have it all at the same time unless you are wealthy.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The fact that 45K for two kids sounds reasonable does not obviate the problem that it’s unaffordable for most. Unless we only want Rich people having kids (and workers earning peanuts) we need a better solution.

Most people under a certain income bracket don’t pay for daycare. They hav family members watch the kids or older siblings watch the kids.

This. And they do shift work.

Huh???? So low income people MUST depend on family for childcare? You sound quite ignorant. I was a decently paid professional with no family and I struggled. So the solution for poor people is just use family? DCUM you never disappoint.

Calm down social justice warrior. No one said they must- just that they often use family to help watch kids instead of pay for daycare. It can make you angry but it’s the truth.

And the truth is that this isn’t an option for many families. It is possible to both be unable to afford daycare and not have a family member to watch them.

Then you go down to one income or one person switches to nightshift work, or you put your kid in an under the table home daycare. Those are the options. Shrug.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What's broken is an economy that forces a majority of parents to work full-time in order to make ends meet.

This. Institutionalized child care is never a good thing for babies and young children. It’s just a sad result of our economic system.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is a classic case of Millennial navel-gazing. When it was happening to Gen-X parents no one cared. But now that it's happening to millennials it's a huge deal that warrants hand-wringing and media coverage.

I know wayyyy more Gen X couples who could afford for one parent to stay home than Millennials. The spike in housing costs has been no joke for family planning and budgeting.

Or, maybe it is the housing choices we make. We picked a very small cheaper house so I could stay home. Some of it is about life choices.

+1. What should the government NOT help people pay for lol? It's getting ridiculous. You could rationalize "help" for everything in our lives almost. At some point I think this mindset does the opposite of what was originally intended, and does more harm than good.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The fact that 45K for two kids sounds reasonable does not obviate the problem that it’s unaffordable for most. Unless we only want Rich people having kids (and workers earning peanuts) we need a better solution.

Most people under a certain income bracket don’t pay for daycare. They hav family members watch the kids or older siblings watch the kids.

This. And they do shift work.

Huh???? So low income people MUST depend on family for childcare? You sound quite ignorant. I was a decently paid professional with no family and I struggled. So the solution for poor people is just use family? DCUM you never disappoint.

Calm down social justice warrior. No one said they must- just that they often use family to help watch kids instead of pay for daycare. It can make you angry but it’s the truth.

And the truth is that this isn’t an option for many families. It is possible to both be unable to afford daycare and not have a family member to watch them.

Then you go down to one income or one person switches to nightshift work, or you put your kid in an under the table home daycare. Those are the options. Shrug.

Or a parent (typically the mom) leaves the workforce and you are left wondering why the childcare, education, and healthcare sectors are understaffed. And why more people are dependent on welfare programs.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is a classic case of Millennial navel-gazing. When it was happening to Gen-X parents no one cared. But now that it's happening to millennials it's a huge deal that warrants hand-wringing and media coverage.

Oh shut up. You could’ve changed the world but didn’t, Gen X’er.

Ha! I can't wait until you are in your fifties and realize you didn't change jacksh*t either! Maybe you'll learn some humility, prolly not.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The fact that 45K for two kids sounds reasonable does not obviate the problem that it’s unaffordable for most. Unless we only want Rich people having kids (and workers earning peanuts) we need a better solution.

Most people under a certain income bracket don’t pay for daycare. They hav family members watch the kids or older siblings watch the kids.

This. And they do shift work.

Yup. But DCUMers lose their damn minds every time this is suggested when they complain they can’t afford childcare.

“But…but….I’m ENTITLED to make 6+ figures at a cushy desk job, only on the schedule I prefer, and I simply *cannot* work opposite shifts with my spouse to save on childcare anyway, because I must spend every waking moment with my spouse fOr mY mEnTaL hEaLtH.”

OK, then find a way to pay for that childcare and quit whining.

You think people with professional jobs should just quit and take a job with shiftwork so they can avoid using childcare?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is a classic case of Millennial navel-gazing. When it was happening to Gen-X parents no one cared. But now that it's happening to millennials it's a huge deal that warrants hand-wringing and media coverage.

Oh shut up. You could’ve changed the world but didn’t, Gen X’er.

Ha! I can't wait until you are in your fifties and realize you didn't change jacksh*t either! Maybe you'll learn some humility, prolly not.

Seriously what can Gen X do when we're outnumbered by Boomers and Millenials on either end?