One in 10 mothers with under-fours quit work over childcare, says charity

[SerendipityJane]

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-67325993

I did. It was mainly that the nursery were useless, especially for very young kids and her key worker especially.
Eg
In baby room where dd was 13m old
Kids jumping off sofa
Handing dd back with dirty nappy but she was sat on key worker lap- not even a mention of being dirty
Pen lid in dd hand walking home
No high chairs so dd wouldnt sit for food
Telling me dd napped when im sure she wouldnt have
Making dc nap in the main room

3yr old room
Drawing pin in dd hood
Playing with large stones in basket which were choking hazard

Dd probably has asd /adhd but only ever told off no sen identified.

But also opened at 8:45 so impoassible to get to work

I saw childminders too -
One wouldnt let the 2 kids go on any equipment that had to be lifted
She wasnt even watching them under 2yo
Other CM kids walking in the rain with no coats on

However it may be the area as school not great either reception age
No real supervision in playground (kids throwing sticks etc at each other)
Instead of learning in eyfs just running about while teacher sat down

Its fine if your kid is very well behaved and not to inquisitive

Dc2 had fewer issues a the same nursery. However they learnt no phonics etc

I’m honestly surprised the number is that low.

even ignoring the costs, just managing the logistics of children and work is challenging. Partners should do their fair share, but many still don’t.

The huge difference between childcare subsidies in England and Wales is appalling. Wales has some serious catching up to do.

And yet it's entirely expected that the mother should solely be responsible for solving this problem by the rest of society and the way it is set up.
I would be interested to see how many men have had to do the same. The only statistics about working fathers in that article are about them turning down promotions/opportunities.

I didn’t quit but I had to choose between my full time senior role and taking a demotion and working 4 days. I opted for the latter but it still makes me furious that I had to choose. It would have been very possible for me to do my senior role in 4 days. All but one of the post holders at my previous level are male. 🤬

I had so much grief at work because my childless boss didn’t understand why my baby with V&D had to stay home. Couldn’t I ‘ring round and find a nursery that will take her’.
Time off for sickness is so stressful and there’s only minimal allowance for it. If nursery won’t have them in and you don’t have a family member you’re screwed.

I quit after DD started nursery as she wasn't settling there and I was unconvinced about the level of care she was getting. I wasn't particularly attached to my job and it was becoming a toxic place to be tbh, and I'm glad I got out when I did. I am not planning to return to work now until the primary years are done, then I won't have to worry about childcare.

The number is so low because most women can't afford to give up work completely but end up taking part time roles on lower salaries rather than quitting 🤷‍♀️

This

Is it any wonder.

The nurseries around me in London are now c. £2,200 per month.

If you have two, you might be looking at £4k+ a month in childcare.

Wildly unaffordable, even on a good income.

Yes, I'm one of those. I might have fucked my NHS pension by doing so though.

And that's with partners, so a lot worse for those who are single parents.
And yet we now have this new threat of being pushed under UC rules to do even more hours 🤦‍♀️ i'm glad it said it will be dependent on your circumstances lol, because they certainly won't be asking me to do that.
I refuse to put my child in wrap around care from 7.45-6pm, and do it all, they are punishing single mums we are going backwards not forwards.

Its also costs
bus being unreliable too infrequent and £5 a day.
i was only going tp male 3k a year.
car would have been £8 a day plus fuel and i had no car

then once at school £5 before school £10 after
so £30 for 2 kids

but then they cant do any sports clubs or hobbies as i wpuld get back maybe for 6.

personally i think a lot of the issues with the uk r oll into this
Transport
traffic so driving and bus unreliable tp get back in time
poor service (for child care)
High costs of everything (parking/fuel/childcare/buses)

but some kids dont cope with school let alone more so 8-6 would be impossible.
dd2 is tired from 1 sport for 45min once a week and scouting and swimming.

then theres the time to read every night if picking them up at 6.

I did when we had three-kids were first in crèche and last out and I had to break the speed limit some days to pick them up before they closed. Myself and dh were both in trouble with managers for taking time off when they were sick (even worse, we’d sent them in sick once or twice when our managers made comments). One day after having an argument with my manager over time off for a Christmas play and sliding home in the snow to find two of my children asleep, I told my dh this wasn’t living and I wanted to quit. We had three years of severe financial difficulties but they’d started half a year beforehand. I went back to work 10 years (and one child) later. No regrets