Anonymous
July 16, 2026Childcare solutions used & satisfaction
If you needed childcare in the past 10 years, what childcare solutions (e.g., childcare center/nursery, nanny, family support, adjusted work schedule, etc.) did your family end up using? Are you satisfied with the availability of childcare options in your country of employment, why or why not?
We primarily used a daycare, but with two working professionals, it is hard. Kids get sick, daycares have days off and with no family to provide back up care, we had to get really creative and it was stressful
Joined multiple waitlists?
Did you join multiple childcare waitlists while searching for care?
No
Biggest challenges & their impact
Looking back, what were the biggest childcare challenges (e.g., long waiting times, affordability, quality, location, etc.) your family faced? How did these challenges impact your work and family life?
Quality of care, lack of back up, hard to find reliable babysitters. Luckily both of us are academics and we had to rely on flexible schedules to cover gaps, but that also meant working strange hours
One thing to change
If you could change one thing about today's childcare system, what would it be? (For example: access, affordability, quality, employer or university support, emergency backup care, or anything else.)
Emergency backup care
Additional insights
Are there any additional comments or personal insights you would like to share about childcare?
The first three years were really hard. I wish I had been more engaged in the mommy network in my town before my kid was born. I really didn’t know where to start and how to look for help and it was very stressful. It would be great if more information and resources were available either through local communities (more formally) or employers
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