Pic credit: NPR/ Lianne Milton
Mary Jo Galusha, 67, a school teacher from Idaho, had a clear picture of how her retirement would look. Childcare for children under five in the US costs an average of $13,184 a year in 2025, according to the group Child Care Aware of America. In 2025, 52% of couples with children had both parents working full-time, up from 31% in 1975, according to Pew Research Center .
“We were thinking we couldn’t afford it,” Bourne, a University of Delaware psychology professor who lives in Maryland, told NPR. For many families in the US, finding reliable childcare has become increasingly important, says Madonna Harrington Meyer, a Syracuse University sociology professor who studies ageing and grandparenting. “All of these things are reasons people turn to grandparents,” Harrington Meyer said.
Quiet mornings, self-care, reading time, and maybe a little gardening. Then her daughter, Stacia Bourne, called with news. Bourne’s first child’s daycare bill nearly matched the family mortgage. Bourne and her husband even hesitated to have a second child. But that ended in a question: could they actually afford a second baby? So, Galusha decided to help. She now looks after her grandchildren. Her retirement plan looks more than perfect. And for the couple, this decision is nothing short of a blessing. In some places, it can cost as much as rent or college tuition. In recent decades, the number of households with both parents working full-time has risen. There has also been a steady increase in the number of single mums in the US over the course of decades. Families of children with disabilities also struggle to find specialised care.
