@hulahooper I appreciate the sentiment, but the reality is that most parents have
very few choices when it comes to childcare and instead have to accept the first spot that becomes available. I’m not aware of any daycare centers where “long-term, well-paid, educated workers” are the norm. One of the biggest failures of modern society is that most families require two incomes to stay afloat, childcare is prohibitively expensive/unavailable, and childcare workers are chronically underpaid. It’s an impossible situation.
This podcast episode does a decent job of breaking down why childcare is insanely expensive for parents yet childcare workers are underpaid. It’s a total market failure—childcare isn’t meant to be a purely capitalistic endeavor:
https://www.npr.org/2023/02/02/1153931108/day-care-market-expensive-child-care-waitlists
My husband and I make over $340k combined annually and still struggle with childcare costs balanced against the quality of care received and the stress of jobs associated with our pay bands. After more than one year of deteriorating mental health in the name of “having it all,” I’ve made the decision to quit my job in August (cutting our income by 1/3), stay home with our kids, and enroll our 3 year-old in a part-time, non-chain pre-k program solely for her own social/emotional development (vs childcare for the purpose of working outside the home). It’s a fucking racket. I feel immense gratitude that we can afford to make this choice, but let’s not pretend that there are many choices available to families between “take whatever you can get” and “quit your job to stay home.”