Presidential Campaigns Side With Families And
Highlight Child Care Costs As Hot Election Issue in 2016
According to the Care.com 2016 Cost of Care Survey, 54% of
families spend more than 10% of their annual household income on
child care. In the last year, as housing costs have climbed to
rival child care costs as top expenses, families are recognizing
the need to budget for child care more than ever before. In fact,
the third annual survey from Care.com (NYSE: CRCM, www.care.com),
the world’s largest online destination for finding and managing
family care, found that today, 74% of families budget for child
care.
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“The cost of child care is one of the top three expenses for
families, falling next to housing costs and far exceeding college
education,” states Katie Bugbee, global parenting expert and senior
managing editor of Care.com. “Families have tended to budget and
save for the other two items and now they’re budgeting for care,
too – this is a change from the past. However, it’s clear from the
Care.com Cost of Care Survey that many still face challenges
staying within budget – finding that quality care, everyday
essentials, unexpected extras and everything that comes along with
parents wanting to provide the best for their children quickly add
up.”
CARE.COM 2016 COST OF
CARE SURVEY INSIGHTS
How Prepared Are Families for Child Care Costs?
Housing prices have risen in the past year and now rival the
cost of child care, according to Child Care Aware. Families are
increasingly feeling the pinch. That may be why approximately 3 out
of 4 respondents (74%) are now budgeting for child care, an
increase from 62% in 2015 and 58% in 2014.
Yet, despite this preparation, 66% of families surveyed are
still surprised at the cost of child care, finding it costs more
than they expected. The survey revealed significant challenges for
families to stay on budget: 1 in 3 (33%) rarely or never are able
to stay within their overall family budget and 49% of families
claimed that their child care costs are rising. In fact, 40% say
their cost of child care has increased by $1,000 or more per year
and 15% saying it has increased by $5,000 or more per year. And
while having more children can clearly impact what they spend,
parents also attribute this increase to the rise in day care costs
and added extracurricular activities.
Where is All the Money Going?
3 out of 5 families (60%) wonder “where is all the money going”
when it comes to how much they spend on their children;
furthermore, 21% think they spend $30,000 or more per year on each
child for everything, while 71% simply don’t know.
In addition to basic care, everyday essentials and extra
activities add up quickly. According to the survey, on an annual
basis, approximately 1 in 3 families (34%) spend $1,000 or more on
extracurricular activities; 34% spend $1,000 or more on clothing; 1
in 5 spend $2,000 or more on summer camp; and 44% spend between
$500 and $1,999 on diapers alone. Technology may be contributing to
the increased spending. The efficiency of shopping apps and
e-commerce sites attracts time-crunched parents, with 52% of
families reporting that they’re likely to spend more money due to
the ease of technology.
Just How Costly Is Child Care?
The impact of child care costs varies across families but it is
clearly being felt. About one-fifth (21%) have waited to have
children due to the costs, which rises to 26% for millennials. And
1 in 4 have put themselves in debt or further debt to pay for child
care. In fact, saving less money tops the list of things parents
have done to pay for child care, followed by saving no money at
all, and saving less for retirement. But don’t expect many regrets
here – 80% of families surveyed feel their child care plan is worth
the money.
What Extra Skills Or Qualities Are Families Willing To Pay
For?
While 49% of families feel they spend too much on child care,
they’re still willing to pay more for certain features. Topping
child care center and school amenities for which families would pay
more are variety in classes (e.g., yoga), video camera capabilities
to check in on their child, and better technology for child care
center/schools and families to communicate with one another. For
in-home care, parents would be willing to pay more for nannies,
babysitters and au pairs if they’re multilingual and can teach the
children another language, are CPR/First Aid certified, and can
cook organic meals and snacks for their child. Even technology
ranks as a caregiver skill, with 29% saying they’d pay more per
week if the caregiver could teach their children about
technology.
Work Arounds: Working Families Are Coming Up With New
Strategies to Pay For Care.
The impact of care costs is felt outside of the home too, with 2
out of 3 working parents (67%) stating that child care costs have
influenced their careers, and that number climbs to 72% among
millennials. Topping the list of ways in which parents are trying
to balance cost of child care and work are asking for a flexible
work schedule to save on child care, changing jobs to increase pay,
and switching from full-time to part-time to save money.
Additionally, 43% feel they have to work harder to make more money
to cover child care and 34% worry about job security and the cost
of care’s impact on their family’s financial future.
The need for employer support is real. An overwhelming majority
of those employed (85%) stated that they wish their employer
offered child care benefits, support that would seem to benefit
parents and employers alike. Roughly 3 in 4 working parents (74%)
state their job has been impacted when child care plans have fallen
through, resulting in use of a sick day (78%), falling behind on
work (37%) and even losing a day’s pay (28%).
“The fight for talent these days is fierce, and the reality is a
majority of that talent has parenting duties in addition to their
careers,” stated Michael Marty, SVP and GM of Care@Work, Care.com’s
enterprise solution helping companies support their working
families. “For a company to compete for and retain the best talent,
which includes both moms and dads, modern companies must address
parents’ needs with family care benefits as basic table stakes. And
it’s important these benefits reflect the way today’s parents work,
providing flexible, on-demand options to meet their child care
needs when, how and where they want. In addition, companies can
provide subsidized back up child care, flexible work arrangements,
or something as simple as a working parents affinity group. It’s
obvious from our survey that employees are struggling to balance
care and work, and employers need to take note.”
Child Care Gets Political.
The presidential election is just around the corner and child
care has been a hot topic. It’s clear the families who took the
Care.com Cost of Care Survey are looking to the country to make
changes in this area. When asked how child care costs makes them
feel, half of families (50%) said they wish the U.S. would take a
note from other countries and subsidize child care. And it doesn’t
stop there; if they could, 16% would even move to a country that
subsidizes child care.
2016 COST OF CARE
AROUND THE COUNTRY
Annual Child Care Costs: 54% of families spend more than
10% of their household income on child care; 1 in 5 (20%) spend a
quarter of their income on child care. 30% spend $15,000 or more
per year!
National Average Weekly Rates for the following:
- Nanny: $556.80
- Child Care Center:
$196.00
- After School
Sitter: $214.05
National Hourly Rate for a Babysitter:
$15.02
About the Care.com 2016 Cost of Care
Survey
The Cost of Care Survey is an annual survey to measure the
relative cost of care in the U.S. and how care impacts families’
budgets and employment. The Care.com 2016 Cost of Care Survey
captured responses from nearly 900 parents in the United States
during the months of May and June 2016. Respondents were recruited
from Care.com.
For more information about the survey, sources, a video
about the survey findings, or to learn helpful tips on saving,
visit Care.com/costofcare.
Employers can also find helpful tips on how to best support
their working families at workplace.care.com/costofcare.
About Care.com
Since launching in 2007, Care.com (NYSE: CRCM) has been
committed to solving the complex care challenges that impact
families, caregivers, employers, and care service companies. Today,
Care.com is the world’s largest online destination for finding and
managing family care, with 11.6 million families and 9.1 million
caregivers* across 18 countries, including the U.S., UK, Canada and
parts of Western Europe, and approximately 800,000 employees of
corporate clients having access to our services. Spanning child
care to senior care, pet care, housekeeping and more, Care.com
provides a sweeping array of services for families and caregivers
to find, manage and pay for care or find employment. These include:
a comprehensive suite of safety tools and resources members may use
to help make more informed hiring decisions - such as third-party
background check services, monitored messaging, and tips on hiring
best practices; easy ways for caregivers to be paid online or via
mobile app; and household payroll and tax services provided by
Care.com HomePay. Care.com builds employers customized benefits
packages covering child care, back up care and senior care
consulting services through its Care@Work business, and serves care
businesses with marketing and recruiting support. To connect
families further, Care.com acquired community platforms Big Tent
and Kinsights in 2013 and 2015, respectively. Headquartered in
Waltham, Massachusetts, Care.com has offices in Berlin, Austin, New
York City and the San Francisco Bay area.
*As of June 2016
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version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20160808005747/en/
Care.comNatalie Gerke, 781-795-7329Public Relations
Managernatalie.gerke@care.com
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