In quotes: parents who can’t afford child card sacrifice work — and sleep

“Lara Allen and Rob Butler couldn’t afford the high cost of child care for their three kids, so they pay with other resources — sleep and time.

“Allen works three nights a week as a nurse at the University of Washington Medical Center while Butler takes care of the kids. When she’s available to take over child care duties, he schedules clients for his fish-tank business.

“ ‘A lot of it ends up being me sleeping less and Rob working less,’ Allen said on a recent morning as Butler shuttled their kids to the bus.

“Their situation isn’t unusual. Child care costs have spiked 220% since 1990, and the crisis is especially acute in Washington state. It has the fifth-highest average weekly cost of child care in the nation, and Seattle is the second most expensive city, trailing only San Francisco. Even if parents can afford child care or receive government aid, they still face the hurdle of low availability. It’s typical for day cares to have years-long waitlists.

“Those headwinds are forcing more families to take work and child care in shifts, according to Deeann Puffert, CEO of Childcare Aware of Washington.”

“Some parents are forced to trade shifts because there just aren’t day care spots available. Monica Neal works as a therapist four days a week. Her husband often works nights as a police officer in the Tri-Cities. They rely on family to help fill in the gaps. Neal is trying to get their 16-month-old into a preschool program, but she’s facing long waits and high costs.”

— “The second shift: Child care crisis forces families into grueling schedules,” by Monica Nickelsburg, KUOW 94.9 NPR Network, November 27, 2023