"Melinda Turner starts her day at 3:30 a.m., and within 30 minutes, wakes her 8-year-old daughter for school. She packs their bags and by 5 a.m., heads out to drop her child at an in-home day care - one of the few providers in her area that opens before dawn. Turner, a single mother, then drives to her early shift at a manufacturing job."
"Most of the day care's clients work as EMTs, nurses, or in manufacturing jobs, she said. "We're the ones who work the weird hours," the High Point, North Carolina, resident said of the day care clients. As of 2018, nearly 6 million employed parents work outside the hours of 6 a.m. and 6 p.m. Like Turner, they need childcare at odd hours."
"Turner said she has no other options within her budget and commute. Many parents feel the same strain on their wallets as childcare costs outpace inflation. "You got to find areas to cut corners, and lots of times when you're having to pay for the childcare and the mortgage and you get the most important bills, sometimes you have to chip away at, I hate to say this, you have to chip away at the groceries," Turner said."
Morning and evening shift workers face scarce childcare options outside 6 a.m.–6 p.m., forcing early schedules and reliance on limited in-home providers. Many families with pre-school children must secure care before dawn or after twilight, often using in-home day cares that open unusually early. Low wages and rising childcare costs strain household budgets, leading parents to cut essentials or depend on grandparents and multi-generational living arrangements. Some startups and employers offer off-hours care, but availability remains limited. Nurses, EMTs, food-service and manufacturing workers commonly juggle irregular shifts and creative childcare solutions to maintain employment.
Read at Business Insider
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]