As child care costs soar, more parents may have to exit the workforce

Re:As child care costs soar, more parents may have to exit t... by yawboakye on Thursday November 02, 2023 @04:12AM (#38110365)

> This level of separation from extended family and community is a contingent feature a certain time, place, and social bubble, not something natural or inherent to the human condition.

in my experience, this is a feature of city dwelling. when people live in villages there’s a tendency to have the same neighbors for a lifetime, and so to form more lasting bonds, which allows the full expression of our humanity. i have lived in some french villages and the community i experienced there isn’t different from how anthropologists described community among primitive cultures.

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:As child care costs soar, more parents may have to exit t... by mcny on Thursday November 02, 2023 @06:09AM (#38111269)

It isn’t just city dwelling but the reality of trying to escape poverty.

My parents did the “right thing” and delayed having children until they could feed us. I delayed getting married until I felt stable. In previous generations, I’d imagine my parents would look after my children while I was out tending goats or tilling a farm but it would be incredibly unfair for me to expect my aging parents to look after a child.

I can’t make the math work no matter how I slice it. I had a very fortunate childhood considering the childhood my parents had. If I have children, I want to give them at least the same level of comfort and security which right now I can’t. I think people who are having multiple children without thinking it through are being extremely selfish.

[ Parent | on HN ]