If you’re in any mom groups on social media, or any parent-centric group chats, you’ve probably seen it: the frantic search for backup childcare.
Schools and daycares close for holidays, but mom and dad’s workplaces stay open. A child is too sick for daycare, but neither parent can miss work today. The regular sitter has an emergency. Grandma usually babysits, but she had an appointment or a medical emergency.
A new report says that parents are juggling an average of four caregiving arrangements and still struggling to keep things covered.
Childcare Demands Exceed Supply
When I first sought childcare in 2002 for my firstborn, I called all the facilities in my area, and only one had an opening, miraculously in the right age-group room. Today, I don’t know if I could find a facility within an hour’s drive that didn’t have a long waitlist.
I see many moms offering childcare in their homes, which is a great option for many families. The problem? When your care provider gets sick, there aren’t exactly substitutes on call, and there may not be much notice.
Also, both home childcare providers and more formal facilities are closing because of rising costs that parents can’t afford to cover, as wages aren’t rising to match. In 2024, the Michigan Journal of Economics warned of this trend, citing that 89% of child care providers had seen their liability insurance costs rise, in part due to decreased safety regulations. At the same time, other regulations are driving up rent, and childcare workers are leaving for jobs that pay better (and may even involve fewer bodily fluids).
By the end of summer in 2025, closures grew even faster, Time reports, as government subsidies that helped cover childcare costs were cut, leaving parents even less able to afford childcare, and daycare facilities even less able to pay their workers a living wage or cover other costs.
This Leaves Parents Struggling
Care.com’s 2026 Cost of Care Report examines the current state of childcare and other care costs (such as pet care, elder care, and housekeeping) and how they affect society.
This year’s report set off alarm bells for parental stress and struggle. “Family and caregiving responses” were the second-highest cause of stress reported by parents (tied with “work/employment/career” at 36%; second only to “finances” at 44%).
A full 90% of parents said they’d lost sleep worrying about childcare arrangements, 89% reported feeling burnt out, and 88% say they’re sacrificing other life goals due to the hassle of managing childcare. A third even said that the struggle had driven them to thoughts of self-harm (or more severe actions), and more than half have talked to a therapist about the stress of it all.
Due to a lack of childcare, parents report letting go of time with friends, their own hobbies or activities, time with their partner, and even work events or responsibilities.
High Stress; High Costs; Never-Ending Cycle
While parents report that they’re giving up their own activities because childcare is out of reach and it’s taking up an ever-larger share of their paychecks, they’re also in a constant race to keep their options open.
“Parents report seeking roughly three new or alternative caregiving solutions in the past year. And finding the care takes time — 52% searched for 2 months or more to find a new caregiver solution — while using nearly three apps or websites to find support.”
It seems like every parent is trying to line up backup childcare, and then another backup for the backup. Grandparents are providing less childcare these days than in the past, and there may bea variety of contributing factors, including the need to continue working to older ages, and higher health risks since the COVID pandemic.
Instead, parents may have a daycare plan, a babysitter for days when daycare is closed or unavailable, and a neighbor, friend, or family member for days when the babysitter is unavailable. Even then, they may be stressed about what they’ll do if their child is contagious, or if the backup backup plan also falls through.
What Can Parents Do?
None of the available solutions is quick or easy.
Missing work and even quitting are the last failsafe many parents are resorting to. Investopedia reported in the fall that more women are leaving their jobs because of family care needs. In some cases, the report noted, childcare (for a single child) costs families more than their rent, and on average ,it’s higher than public college tuition and fees!
Continuing to keep up the juggling act is the only option for some families, and it’s clear that it’s wearing on their mental health, as well as their finances. According to The Century Foundation, more than half of parents say unexpected high costs of parenting, including childcare costs, have actually sent them deeper into debt.
For some people, the answer is to skip having kids at all. It’s certainly cheaper, but not a feasible option for everyone, and the more widespread this choice becomes, the more implications it has for the world.
According to Care.com’s survey, many parents are seeking solutions through their employers and public policy.
“Parents are calling for relief and longing for a world where care is easier to find, manage, afford and trust. Nearly all (95%) want to see expanded tax credits for care expenses and subsidized caregiving benefits from employers (93%).”
Programs like childcare subsidies, along with employer benefits such as flexible use of PTO and sick days, and greater access to remote work, could make this all a bit easier to juggle.