Ever been asked something like “Hey, can you stay late tonight to wrap things up?” or “So I need you to fly out tomorrow for the presentation, there’s been a change…” or “Ya know that project that you were working on? The one due in 2 months? Well, now they want it in 2 weeks, so you’re flying out a lot earlier.”?
For some people, these questions don’t trigger any stress; they’re no big deal. Maybe it takes them a call or two to let others know about a change in plans, or perhaps a few minutes to make some adjustments and it’s done. However, if you’re a working mom, these questions can be stressful because there is neither a quick nor easy solution. Even with a supportive partner, the mom is often the go-to parent for all things childcare, leaving her to handle the issue. These questions would make your mind buzz, like a kicked hornet’s nest. Your thoughts would fly off in a thousand different directions as you try to deal with a logistical nightmare as well as a sudden and intense need to sting whoever is causing these issues in the first place!
The Stress of Securing Stable and Accessible Childcare
Childcare. Since the pandemic there have been waves of articles about the childcare crisis, but it started well before then. About 10 years ago, when I lived in East Los Angeles, I joined a moms’ group about 2 months before my first child was born. To my surprise, one of the first things I learned was that I was already incredibly late to the childcare game.…
Problem #1 – Location, Location, Location
We wanted childcare that was easy to get to for our regular schedule but one that we could use on days off and sick days too. However, there were none close by that had full-time care slots available by the time my maternity leave ended.
Problem #2 – Hours of Operation
All the childcare centers I ever found opened around 7:00am and closed by 6:00pm. Both my husband and I worked from 9:00am-7:00pm, but we had commutes too! This meant we needed a place that was open until 8:30pm, Monday through Friday. The morning times were never an issue, but I never found a place that stayed open passed 6:00pm.
Problem #3 The waitlist.
This one was probably my biggest stress point, the accursed waitlist. I started looking 2 months before giving birth, but the waitlists were already 12-18 months out! What we were told was that we needed to be on waitlists before we had even started thinking about having kids! Insane, yes?
I put my name onto many lists, including places I didn’t feel were safe because I got desperate, but nothing opened up until my baby was 6 months old, but that was just for 2 days a week! At 9 months old, we got up to 3 days a week, but it wasn’t until my baby was 15 months old, and we used 2 different childcare centers, that we finally had full-time care until 6:00pm.
Our solutions:
Nothing. I was not able to secure any spot at any facility when my maternity leave ended at 6 weeks, so had to quit my job. Problem #1 (Location) is tied to Problem #3 (Waitlist), so while I only put our names on waitlists that were within a 25 minute drive from our home in Los Angeles, I never got full time care at one facility, but instead pieced together 2 part-time slots at 2 different centers. However, I couldn’t even do that until my baby was 15 months old. This still left me with Problem #2 (Hours) to solve and the only solution for that was to hire a nanny for evening pickups. In short, it took 15 months, 2 childcare centers, and a nanny for me to be able to go back to work.
Given all that I just shared about my own family’s struggle to get full-time care for ONE child, can you imagine the stress caused when work throws in a last minute change? Or what about when a family must move for work? How are they supposed to handle 12-18 month waitlists if they’re in a new area every 2 years like we were?? Work might need you to stay late last minute, or to relocate to a certain area, and that’s fine, happy to do it, but that means work needs to help solve these problems too.
On-site Childcare and the Workplace
When I read “Let My People Go Surfing” by Yvon Chouinard, founder of Patagonia, I loved reading about the on-site childcare that Patagonia created for its employees in the 1980’s. It allowed Patagonia’s working moms to have somewhere safe for their babies to be while they worked. It gave them a place to breastfeed and was a normal occurrence to have babies in meetings. There is even a bus to do the afternoon pick up of the school aged kids! This allows parents to work the full day without worry and last time I checked, Patagonia is a global brand with a low employee turnover rate[1], brand loyalty, and is profitable. So, the question becomes why don’t more large companies follow suit?
Childcare, a Competitive Advantage in Business
Large companies might be slow to change but there is a shift toward businesses understanding and accepting that childcare is not a social issue, but a business one[2]. With one third of the American workforce caring for a child under 14 years old, doesn’t it make sense to take a closer look at the interdependency of business, benefits, and childcare[3]?
Can we all agree that it can be a challenge to attract and retain the right talent for your business? Now larger companies, like Patagonia, can have on-site childcare available for their hours of operation relatively easily and there won’t be an issue filling up their slots. However, what companies that do things in 12-hour shifts, or night shifts, or businesses that have less than 100 employees? Is anyone having discussions with other business owners in their neighborhood or who are a part of the same associations or organizations to brainstorm solutions that could work for them?
When the childcare dilemma is solved, like Patagonia did for their staff, it enables your staff to do their work without fear or concern about the wellbeing of their own kids. Heck, it could even allow for some play time between parent and child on their breaks! It would also mean that employees could be more receptive to last minute changes or requests since they have somewhere safe and nearby for their kids.
Adapting Childcare to Fit Today’s Work Schedules
So, what’s a parent to do if they don’t work 9:00am – 5:00pm? The only options I see are to piece-together something like my husband and I did – using friends, family, a nanny, and childcare, or to quit your job and hope have enough savings to cover your expenses until you can find something else. Since neither of those options are ideal, let’s talk about the idea of 24-hour childcare centers.
Can we all agree that for our society to function we need nurses, EMT’s, doctors, firefighters, police officers, medics, machine operators, manufacturing personnel, production line workers and others whose jobs fall into the 12-hour shift category? We all want to stay healthy, safe, fire-free, and be able to eat and buy things, yes? Here’s the dilemma, how are those workers supposed to find childcare if the centers are closed by 6:00pm? Now, imagine if you worked non-traditional hours and had a special needs child, or are a single parent, or work the night shift. How can you provide for your family if there is nowhere accessible and safe for your kiddo(s) to go while you work? Essentially, you are S.O.L.
A 24-hour center would provide a solution for people who work those 12-hour shifts or for people who have non-traditional work hours like with my husband and I did. It could also come in handy for those moments when you need to work late suddenly, or have an emergency to tend to, or need to take on extra shifts for whatever reason, wouldn’t it be great to not also be stressed about finding childcare for your child(ren) in any of those scenarios?
Having an option that reduces the stress of last-minute changes at work, so you can provide for your family when you work non-traditional hours is worth a serious discussion, don’t you think?
Essential Service or Luxury: where does childcare land?
Can we all agree that society cannot exist without people? And can we also agree that it’s necessary to replace those who leave said society? So, if those two statements are true, then would that not also mean that birthing and raising a new person is essential for society’s very existence and therefore should be of the utmost importance to said society?
When a woman is able and chooses to become a mother (thus fulfilling a vital role toward society’s very existence) AND she chooses to contribute to the economy through either a career or business, then why is she punished with insane costs for childcare and lengthy waitlists?? Why do we still treat childcare as a luxury when it is in fact a necessity?
My family has lived in multiple cities and states and in all of them, the cost of childcare wasn’t too far off from our rent! In Wisconsin, with 1 infant and 1 young toddler, our rent was $602 dollars more than childcare. In California, we had 2 toddlers, our rent was $5 more than what we paid for childcare.
I’m sharing this to point out the very real challenge parents face just trying to live and work in the US with a child (or children) under 5 years old. When the common financial rule of thumb is to not exceed 30% of your income on rent/mortgage and childcare comes very close to that amount as well, how can families be expected to survive let alone thrive if most of their money is gone before even taking food, clothing, healthcare, insurance, utilities, and other necessities into consideration?
Knowing the importance of early childhood development, why not have the government step in to ensure there are childcare centers, just like it does with schools, both K-12 and universities? Let’s talk about what partially-funded or fully-funded centers might be like. Let’s talk about how the current set up is failing and what both government-funded and privately-funded centers could look like. Let’s talk about how large businesses or business office buildings can contribute toward easing this stress point for workers. Let’s talk about why people perceive it to be a luxury instead of the vital societal necessity that it truly is. Remember, it takes a village to raise a child – and a village is not just the parents or just the mom, it is everyone, and childcare is a part of that village.
As the default parent and an employee-turned-entrepreneur, I can’t tell you how many times I’ve cut back on hours worked or lost out on jobs entirely because of the struggle to find good childcare for my kids. This problem not only immediately impacts my family but is part of what contributes toward the pay gap between men and women and the mommy penalty.
With both my kids now in elementary school, my struggle has shifted from year-round childcare needs to summer breaks and the random teacher in-service days that are sprinkled in throughout the year. Summer camp is no joke averaging around $400/child/week in my area, with about 8 weeks of summer to cover, you do the math. And now that your mind is buzzing from all this, who do we have to sting to keep this conversation going?
[1] https://www.inc.com/scott-mautz/how-can-patagonia-have-only-4-percent-worker-turnover-hint-they-pay-activist-employees-bail.html
[2] https://www.cnn.com/2024/02/23/success/child-care-employer-benefits-resources/index.html
[3] https://hbr.org/2021/04/childcare-is-a-business-issue
