Parent Voices

It defies common sense that folks don’t have to public funding for their children’s education until they reach the age of four. The cost can be overwhelming and can drown a lot of young families at a time when they’re just becoming established -Carson S., St. Paul

We just had a third baby and will be paying $861/week for three kids. At that point we have to decide what’s more important health insurance a job that literally just pays for daycare…or staying home on one income and no health insurance. Our system is broken. My husband is a veteran and we can’t get any help when he gave all when he served Requested anonymity, Sherburne County

We waited until we were in our 30s to start our family… It is not an exaggeration to say the decision was based on the cost of child care. She is our only child and unless something changes in the cost of child care, she will remain our only child.  We pay more for child care than we do our mortgage and there is no way we can double that and still afford to live -Brittany K., Mountain Iron

As a full-time working parent of two young children, my husband and I could only afford to have one of our girls in a child care center for pre-school, and only three days per week. We needed to pull from our family’s emergency fund to even afford three days.. It is clear that Minnesota families still need your help to afford quality child care – Mallory P.

Having my 3 children 3 days a week costs me $1,800. Each paycheck I will be left with maybe a couple hundred. Now adding my twins, I am on the verge of filing bankruptcy, and don’t want to get evicted because can’t pay rent. We dream of giving our kids the yard, but we don’t even see that near because we are barely living paycheck to paycheck – Madeline G., Bloomington

We pay over $20,000 a year in child care costs. I have student loan payments over $18,000 a year and mortgage payments of about the same. More affordable childcare would allow us to pay down our existing debt and save more for our children’s future education or other plans they may have Joseph M., Minneapolis

We have one child. We paid $31,008 for child care… That’s with part time daycare in the summer. Our savings is now basically gone. We’ve had to cut back on everything… People are going to have fewer (or no) kids just because it’s unaffordable to have more.  People are going to leave the workforce to survive Dianne A., Minneapolis

We spent close to $30,000 on day care along and our baby only started in June. It’s infuriating that childcare costs us more than our mortgage each month. Capping childcare payment to a percentage of income will open up worlds of possibilities for parents across Minnesota. Money invested in young children has the highest return because you’re investing in the future. Emily R., Minneapolis, MN

Our child care bill is…almost $1,700 per month! I know many mothers that have quit their career to raise their children… This is something our family has not considered, as I carry our family’s health insurance. …I hope there can be a better plan to allow childcare to be more affordable in the very near future Angela D., northern Minnesota

It is extremely disheartening to work hard at good paying jobs yet be stretched so thin financially… We currently pay $350 per week for our one child… This cost is preventing us from being able to save for a home, grow our family, and put any money back into the local economy. We need elected officials to address this issue immediately…” Emma H., Savage

We currently pay $2,450/month for childcare for two of our children. This is not even for full time care. This is for half days! This leaves very little for us to be able to pay our bills on time, and in the case of an emergency we would be strapped Becca H., Anoka MN

We have ‘cheap’ daycare right now, but still spend over $1,990 per month. The (MyChildCareSavingsMN.com) calculator said we should be paying $1,100 per year! We’re struggling to make ends meet, and this would put an end to that!” – Laura G., Savage