Candle Company Looking to Help Parents in Need of Childcare

Parenting is no joke, but you have to sometimes life to get through trials of parenthood. When Mother and Mai CEO Monique Thomas and her husband Michael relocated to Minneapolis they quickly begin to search for daycare for their 3 year old daughter Mailynn. Several people had warned them about getting on daycare waiting list before they arrived. The couple of 10 years decided to wait until they planted their feet on rich soil of Minnesota before they did anything regarding to childcare. Upon searching countless websites like Care.com they found themselves staring a brick wall of lack luster and overpriced results. Minneapolis was filled expensive private daycares and sketchy home daycares. The couple found daycare tuition ranging from $300 to $800 week. The tuition payment would be more than their rent. That was unacceptable. The couple then decided that Monique would not work and stay at home to take care of their daughter, and start a candle company. After researching more about this problem, Monique decided to donate a percentage of profits to help other parents in need of childcare assistance. This is why Mother & Mai Candle Co exist.

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“The profound impact that access to child care has on families has never been clearer than throughout the pandemic,” says Carrie Cronkey, chief marketing officer of Care.com. “As we begin to fully re-engage with school and work, child care remains key both in terms of availability and cost. Our annual Cost of Care Survey sheds light on what’s changed, such as the cost gap between day care and in-home care, and what’s remained the same: the fact that child care remains one of the largest expenses for families and costs are rising.”

Key findings from the Care.com 2021 Cost of Care Survey

New data from the eighth annual Care.com 2021 Cost of Care Survey reveals:

• The cost of child care is higher for families in 2021. 85% of parents, compared to only 72% in 2020, report they are spending 10% or more of their household income on child care. 
• Hiring a nanny became a more feasible option for many families in 2021. There’s only a $14 a week difference now between the cost of having two children in day care versus hiring a nanny.
• Quality child care is only harder to come by as we begin to recover from the pandemic. More than half of American families already lived in a child care desert, and now 46% of families report that finding child care is more difficult now, compared to pre-pandemic. 
• Parents are struggling to pay for child care so they can get back to work. 62% of families say they have more concern about the cost of child care now. Plus, 94% of parents have used at least one major cost-saving strategy to save money on child care in the past year, including reducing hours at work (42%), changing jobs (26%), or leaving the workforce completely (26%).

How much does child care cost?

The cost of child care is on the rise

Based on the 2021 Cost of Care Survey, child care is not in the affordable range for most families. Of parents surveyed, 85% say they are spending 10% or more of their household income on child care. And according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), child care is considered affordable when it costs families no more than 7% of their household income. 

The survey also finds that more than half of families (57%) spent over $10,000 on child care in 2020, and 59% plan to spend more than $10,000 in 2021, which is more than the average annual cost of in-state college tuition ($9,580) per EducationData.org.

More than half of families (57%) spent over $10,000 on child care in 2020, and 59% plan to spend more than $10,000 in 2021.

While the weekly rate of a nanny for one child on Care.com increased 8%, day care rates increased 87%, according to Center for American Progress in-center data. Overall, the average child care cost for one child in 2020 was $612/week for a nanny (up from $565/week in 2019), $340/week for a child care or day care center (up from $182/week) and $300/week for a family care center (up from $177/week).

Below are the 2020 national averages of weekly child care costs for each type of care, compared to costs in 2019.

National Average Weekly Rates

* Rates are based on the national data from “The Cost of Child Care During the Coronavirus Pandemic” calculator by Center for American Progress.

** Rates for two children calculated by adding the weekly rate for one child and the weekly rate for the second child with a national average sibling discount of 10%.

The pandemic played a role in the year’s higher price tag 

According to survey data, 72% report that child care is more expensive now, due to the pandemic, while just 6% say that child care is now less expensive. Those citing an increase in costs say the top reason costs are up is due to safety precautions at child care centers. 

The price gap between hiring a nanny and center-based child care is closing

For families who may have considered hiring a nanny in the past but were dissuaded by the higher cost, things shifted in their favor over the past year. 

There’s only a $14 a week difference now between the cost of having two kids in day care versus hiring a nanny for them.

The cost gap between hiring a nanny for two children versus having two children enrolled in a day care center fell sharply in the past year. There’s only a $14 a week difference now, down from a $239 a week difference in 2019, between the cost of having two kids in day care versus hiring a nanny for them.

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