New Survey Highlights Parents’ Child Care Challenges

Overview

The Pew Research Center recently released a report examining the biggest challenges parents face in finding child care. Based on a survey of nearly 1,000 working parents with at least one child age 5 or younger, the findings show a clear pattern: affordability is the greatest obstacle parents face when securing child care. The report also found that, for the first time, more than half of  parents in two-parent families with children under 18 both worked full time last year, making access to affordable child care more critical than ever. 

Findings

Three key findings of note:

1. Cost. While parents value the quality of child care over other factors, cost was found to be the biggest challenge across all income levels. In fact, 48% of working parents caring for a child age 5 or younger said it’s difficult to find a child care arrangement that meets their cost expectations.  Among working parents, families with higher incomes say it’s easier to find care that meets their needs than those with middle or lower incomes. The report also asked parents about their experiences finding care that met their needs in terms of hours of availability, location, and educational opportunities. The findings emphasize that affordability remains one of the greatest challenges for working parents and point to the need for policies that reduce costs while maintaining quality.

2. Need. The report found that over half of parents in families with a mom and a dad both worked full time last year, setting a record high and making access to affordable child care more critical than ever.

3. Patchwork solutions. Many parents rely on multiple care arrangements to cover their work hours. The report found that about 39% of working parents say they use more than one care arrangement for the same child. Parents with less predictable work schedules were more likely to use multiple types of care and also reported having a harder time finding care during the hours they need it.

FFYF Takeaway 

Overall, the results of Pew’s survey highlight that child care affordability remains a major challenge for working parents and the early childhood field, underscoring the need for effective policies and federal investment to expand access to affordable child care that supports working parents and helps them achieve economic stability. 

Learn more about proposals like the Child Care Modernization Act, which would strengthen the nation’s main child care program and better support the child care needs of working families.

More resources:

• Federal Funding for Child Care
• 2026 Polling
• Child Care State Fact Sheets