California Parents Struggle With High Child Care Costs Ahead of Presidential Election

The rising cost of having babies and caring for them has become a central issue in the presidential election, and it’s hitting home with California parents as they contemplate their vote in November.

According to a new report from First 5 California, 48% of parents in the state find it difficult or very difficult to find child care they can afford.

Half of the respondents also said child care issues have a negative impact on their job or career, according to the survey of more than a thousand parents and business owners. About 70% said they pieced together childcare by altering their work hours or relying on family, friends or neighbors, leaving them feeling stressed or guilty.

“When you have that stress and that guilt, how productive are you when you do show up [to work]?” said Jackie Thu-Huong Wong, executive director of the child advocacy organization, which is launching a campaign to raise awareness about the child care crisis and its impact on the state’s economy.

Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump offer starkly different ideas on lowering the financial burden of caring for young children.

During Tuesday’s presidential debate, Harris  highlighted her proposal to give families with newborns a $6,000 child tax credit and gave a shout-out to “working women who can barely afford child care.”

She said the money would help families afford a crib, car seat, clothes and other essential items “to help you in that most critical stage of your child’s development.”

That kind of money could go a long way for Oakland resident Carolina Munoz, who became a first-time mom eight months ago. She said she’s putting off going back to work as a hairstylist because “it’s cheaper” for her to stay at home than to pay someone else to watch her daughter, Soleil.

“Things add up, right? Daycare or even having somebody watch her a couple days a week that is extremely expensive,” Munoz said Wednesday.

The $6,000 tax credit would help offset the cost of diapers, food and age-appropriate toys and activities that support her child’s development, she said.

Munoz said Harris’ proposals to lower the cost of living and healthcare for families resonate with her as she grapples with the cost of raising a child.

“I think Kamala really cares about what we all go through as a community, as a society, which is a safe environment for our children,” including the ability for parents to provide for their children so they have a secure future, she said.

When asked last week how he would bring down the high cost of child care, Trump gave a rambling answer that suggested that increasing tariffs on foreign imports could raise enough money to help fix the problem.

His running mate, JD Vance, has mentioned raising the child tax credit and giving grandparents or stay-at-home parents a “credit” or a “check” for taking care of kids so that families have more options for childcare arrangements that work for them.

“If you open up kinship and other options for families, you will relieve some pressure on the daycare system in this country,” he wrote on social media site X last week. He also criticized “a totally broken” educational pathway that’s keeping people from getting jobs in child care.