U.S. childcare costs are astronomical. More families are turning to grandparents
Rising childcare costs in the U.S. are forcing many families to rely on grandparents for support instead of traditional daycare. The trend is highlighted by families who find the cost of professional childcare comparable to mortgage payments.
Why it matters
The shift reflects broader economic pressures on American families and the increasing reliance on informal care networks to manage the cost of living.
A few years ago, when Stacia Bourne and her husband would talk about having a second child, the conversation often turned to money.
"We were thinking we couldn't afford it," said Bourne, a University of Delaware psychology professor who lives in Maryland.
Their first child, George, was born in 2020 and started daycare when he was 2. "The cost for childcare for him is about the same as our mortgage," Bourne said. The prospect of taking on the expense of another child gave the couple pause when deciding whether to grow their family.
That was until Bourne's mother, Mary Jo Galusha, 67, made an offer: If Bourne wanted to have another baby, Galusha said, she'd retire and relocate from Idaho to the East Coast to help provide childcare.
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