Expensive childcare causing parents to snub full-time work

Over a third of parents have considered abandoning full-time work in order to reduce childcare costs, according to a new survey.

A poll jointly issued by Mumsnet and Daycare Trust has indicated that childcare costs have caused at least 38 per cent of parents to think about leaving a job, whilst 12 per cent of respondents said they already had.

What’s more, 20 per cent claimed to have turned down a job because it would cost them too much to organise childcare. According to telegraph.co.uk, the price of sending a child to nursery school has eclipsed the cost of a mortgage for 37 per cent of the survey’s respondents.

Many of those questioned are likely to have at least considered freelancing or working from home. Such a career move would allow them to combine childcare duties with earning a living, if balanced well.

Commenting on the results, Mumsnet co-founder Justine Roberts agreed that childcare costs were making it difficult for parents to stay in full-time work.

“Today’s figures show just how serious the impact of high childcare costs is. As a nation we spend more on childcare than most others in Western Europe, yet lots of parents are unable to work because childcare costs make it uneconomic,” Roberts concluded.

Last updated by Editor.