The cost of childcare is increasingly becoming an affordability issue for parents. Siedah White of Fort Pierce told WPTV on Tuesday that having four children in daycare is not sustainable for her family. She was one of over 100 people to comment on WPTV's Facebook page about the issue of childcare costs in Florida.
White said the costs ranged at $300 per infant a week and $275 a week for toddlers. She estimated these high costs took up about 20 percent of her household income. The financial burden led her to leave her job as a certified nurse assistant and become a full-time mom.
She now hosts a video Mom blog on Instagram and TikTok. "I was just working just to pay childcare, and we weren't able to meet our family goals as far as needing to move into a larger place and upgrading our family vehicle," White said.
According to the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta, from 2020 to 2024 there was a 29 percent increase in childcare prices compared to a 22 percent rise in overall prices. Childcare costs now often far exceed the 7 percent of income affordability benchmark established by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. In the latest study, the Atlanta Fed looked at childcare costs in two states, Georgia and Florida.
The report found 85.4 percent of Florida families are estimated to spend more than 7 percent of their income on childcare. The estimated weekly costs for care of infant or toddler and preschool-aged children in Florida are $268 and $208, respectively, and the median percentage of income families would need to pay for childcare is 13.9 percent. The study says the costs are putting significant financial pressure on parents and forcing difficult decisions on work hours and even leaving jobs.