Childcare is an essential part of daily life for single parents. Without
the option of ‘shift parenting’, it provides a lifeline that makes
work, study and dealing with emergencies possible. Yet around half of single parents surveyed have found it harder to pay
for childcare in the past two years. Managing crunch points like
up-front payments and holiday costs can mean cutting back in other areas
like food spending, or even taking on new debt.Young children can’t be left alone when a parent goes to work. But too
many working families can’t afford the high cost of child care. For a nation that values both families and hard work, making sure every family has access to quality, affordable child care when they need it seems like a no- brainer. However, low-income families on average spend approximately four times
the share of their income on child care compared to higher-income
families,