On Friday I shared my brief thoughts on the current cost, and lack of support, for childcare in the U.K. It’s something I will forever make noise about whilst our system is so broken. We currently pay £1138 a month for our 3.5 year old to attend 4 days a week, a price that has increased by £391 a month (!!) in the last year! Our bill also includes 30 “free” hours… except they’re not free. The government puts a price on what childcare costs per hour, which is nowhere near what it actually costs, and they only see the need to cover a term time schedule whereas most nurseries operate all year round. With the new funding for 2 year olds, parents have been left to pick up the deficit more than ever.
The bottom line is nursery costs are not sustainable, I feel fortunate that we can afford to send our child to nursery - I can afford to work. However, many can’t. Which is insanity. There are fantastic people out there who simple cannot afford to work until their child starts school at 4 years old, which more often than not is the mother.
Welcome to the motherhood penalty.
Pregnant Then Screwed
https://lnkd.in/ejEQECY5
