KANSAS CITY, Kan. — The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports a record number of Americans have missed work to care for sick children.
“We pay for daycare and we miss work for all of October, so it’s been tough," explained parent Laci Saving.
Saving's child was sick with RSV.
“You have to balance your home economics with your home health, and I think what the biggest struggle, especially for parents with daycare, is we are expected to pay for daycare whether our child is there or not," she said. "It is hard to make that decision when it’s just the sniffles or they’ve been coughing for three or four days, but you have to get back to work.”
Childcare problems were the reason for an increase in Americans missing work to care for children, according to the BLS.
Paula Neth, president and CEO of The Family Conservancy, does not find that surprising.
“I’m seeing a community that’s really struggling," Neth said. "The pandemic has been really hard on our childcare providers."
Nonprofit The Family Conservancy advocates for accessible childcare in the Kansas City metro.
“A lot of times childcare falls to the mothers in a family, and so moms are still having to make a sacrifice — if I can’t find childcare, I may not be able to work," Neth said.
Neth says there's a gap in childcare because of the cost and what parents can afford.
“We need to figure out how we really value childcare as part of our economic growth in this community and then figure out who we’re going to finance it so that we can stabilize the field," she said.
