"For years, I've organized New York parents to fight for affordable child care. I've heard countless stories of families crushed by steep annual bills, watched friends choose between careers and children, seen working families flee the city they love because raising kids here costs too much. So when I got pregnant late last year, I thought I was prepared. I knew the statistics, knew the policy, had spent years demanding better from City Hall. How hard could it be? I was completely wrong."
"Nothing prepares you for the shock of giving birth. For a 55-hour labor. For weeks of recovery when your body feels foreign. For how much you suddenly need other people when you've always prided yourself on independence. Your apartment fills up with baby gear you didn't even know existed. Your carefully organized life dissolves overnight. Then you venture outside with your newborn, and the city you thought you knew becomes hostile territory."
"You realize New York wasn't built for families it was built despite them. But the real shock comes when you start looking for child care. The inconvenient center that requires a 30-minute walk each way? For my family, $1,200 a month. The bright option near our apartment that would let me work normal hours? $2,700 a month that's more than $32,000 a year. Even with two jobs and careful budgeting, these numbers are near-impossible."
New York parents face overwhelming physical recovery and sudden dependence after childbirth alongside a lack of family-friendly public spaces. Child care options are scarce or unaffordable, with some centers costing $1,200 to $2,700 per month and average care for a 2-year-old reaching $23,400 annually. High costs force families to choose between careers and children, prevent additional children for many, and push working families out of the city. Families with young children are twice as likely to leave New York, and the city experienced large economic losses tied to family departures in recent years.
Read at www.amny.com
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