Updated
Updated · Fortune · Sep 27
37% of US Parents Expect Grandparent Aid as Childcare Costs Eat 20% of Income
Updated
Updated · Fortune · Sep 27

37% of US Parents Expect Grandparent Aid as Childcare Costs Eat 20% of Income

3 articles · Updated · Fortune · Sep 27

Summary

  • 37% of parents with young children expect financial help from parents or grandparents in the next year, with 43% of those relying on grandparents for childcare and 26% for savings support.
  • 82% of parents say child-raising costs have gotten out of control, and 86% say expenses such as daycare, camps and school supplies are making it harder to save for their children’s futures.
  • Care.com found childcare now consumes about 20% of annual income on average, while one in five parents spend more than $30,000 a year—far above the 7% affordability benchmark used by federal health officials.
  • 45% of Americans with young children live close enough to family to get help, saving an average $1,915 a year on childcare and $1,443 on groceries.
  • 70% of parents receiving family support also help shoulder aging relatives’ financial or emotional needs, underscoring how the affordability squeeze is turning more families into part of the sandwich generation.

Insights

With childcare costs shattering budgets, what happens to the millions of families who lack wealthy grandparents to bail them out?
Are grandparents sacrificing their own retirement survival to rescue their children from today's brutal cost of living crisis?
Will the crushing financial weight of raising children ultimately force a massive exodus of young parents from the modern workforce?