The depressing cost of childcare

[Juicylychee]

I’ve been reading about March of the Mummies yesterday, I didn’t know about it in advance to go. I have an almost 2 year old and pay £1k a month for three days of nursery. Really wanted another baby close together but we just cannot afford it. It’s maddening.

Yes and usually said by people who don’t understand economics. Whilst there is a real argument the world is over populated globally, in the UK we have an aging population and decreasing birth rate. For an economy to grow which overall benefits everyone you either have to import labour via immigration (which has basically been vetoed via Brexit) or you have to increase birth rates, it’s that simple. Those children are the next scientists, nurses and health care workers to look after older (childless) people.

Crazy to me that larger workplaces haven’t realised that an on-site childcare facility would put them at a massive advantage over other employers

No it wouldn’t. In a world where people care about other things than just houses prices 🤔 , not having women in the labour market is bad on so many level and is well documented. It reduces productivity overall and equality to name the obvious ones.

Blimy, where do you all live?!

My nursery costs £43 a day for a one year old, 7:30-6pm, and that's with no supplements (wales)

£2,200 a month here (London) for 1 child full time. It’s frustrating.

I’m in London too.

@mobear Do you mind saying what constitutes as full time? I'm hoping you mean somewhere between 7am-7pm or that sort of window?

It's awful isn't it. We pay £1700 for 4 days a week for our 2 year old. My DP is now going to look after him for one day a week while working so we can save some money, which will be bloody hard. I couldn't with my job.

I'm pregnant with number 2. Our 30 hours will come in for DC1 just as I go back from mat leave with DC2 but it'll be tough.

So, I guess the big question is: if we want heavily subsidised childcare, how will it be funded?

We could make cutbacks to other services, e.g. lower state pensions, lower benefits, less defense spending, less NHS funding etc.

We could lower the required standards for childcare, e.g. higher child/staff ratios which would reduce staffing costs.

We could increase taxation, e.g. raise the percentage of VAT; raise the rate of income tax

@VladmirsPoutine 8-6, an extra 30 minutes in the morning is £10+.

I'm another one doing 5 days in four long days to save money on childcare. It's exhausting.

I’m in London too and that’s just so ridiculous! Guess my kids won’t be going to nursery EVER

@80sMum I’d be in favour of childcare costs being a tax write off.

Yes that is the question and remembering the statistic of investment in early years (and education generally) has a high return rate.

You missed a lot of other things off your list like increasing corporation tax and not wasting billions (literally) on failed govt IT projects. That alone would cover the £2m deficit in 30hrs funding and therefore reduce costs for everyone.

I’d scrap the pensions triple lock, means test many pension benefits (fuel allowance, free prescriptions) and look at increasing income tax. Possibly some kind of reform of stamp duty that taxes current value of houses -maybe something like the US system of property taxes.

I’d also like to see council tax reform - local councils should be able to raise more money that stays locally.

I expected childcare costs to be expensive but what took me by surprise was the fees increasing by 10% this year and with just a few weeks notice. It literally wiped out the pay increase I had received at work before it touched any the other increases in bills.

They've done some studies in Canada and figured out that investing in childcare would improve their economy.

It helps the economy by

• providing more jobs,
• enabling more people to go out to work,
• improving the futures of the children.

www.canada.ca/en/department-finance/news/2021/04/budget-2021-a-canada-wide-early-learning-and-child-care-plan.html

When politicians talk about boosting the economy by investing in infrastructure, they're usually talking about things that involve men in hard-hats with big diggers and cranes. It would be amazing if they could see that childcare is infrastructure too. It's by far a wiser investment, if your aim is to stimulate economic growth.

Exactly what @BocolateChiscuits said.

We pay an eye watering £3000 a month for 50 hours a week (2 DC, 8am to 6pm) at the moment. Its stressful thinking about it but I am an older mother and worked 15+ years to build a career in a specialist role before having DC and I'm not prepared to give it up, so we pay a small fortune for me to keep going. Next year both DC will be at school and I will feel like a millionaire (but then no idea how to cover all the school holidays)

I also think absent men parents should have to pay half of childcare costs as well as maintenance - or go part time too to share the responsibility

@cimena they are? Our company doesn’t have room but thousands do. I’m £1000 for 4 full days for dd2.

I read earlier that childcare in the UK is the second most expensive in the world!

Hopefully he will have close friends, perhaps a partner, there are lots of ways to avoid being alone without having a sibling. Plus a sibling is not a guarantee of not being alone, many people don’t even talk to their siblings as adults.

are they! i don’t know anyone who has one but maybe everyone i know just works for someone crap

Can I just say that being left with Grandparents is not all bad? I went to live with my grandparents for a short time when I was very young and they didn't really know what to do with me. They were already in their 70s as my mother had been a surprise pregnancy and I think it was a lot to look after a 2 year old. We didn't have much in the way of TV (Ireland, so it was RTE1 and 2), no computers or anything like that and I just tagged along with them all the time. They did encourage me with books and pets and hobbies but it was more buying me stuff and then smiling and nodding when I raved about it. I adored both my grandparents and still miss them. I also went onto higher education so it didn't do my development any harm! I think there are lots of ways that being with family is enriching that doesn't necessarily tick the OFSTED boxes.