Anonymous
August 4, 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?
I live in UK. No relatives around to help with children. We use nursery for 4+ years. Quality of service good but with a lot of room for improvementent. What I found sorprising is the cost (same as renting a two flat apartment) and more expensive than many private primary schools. I have travelled around with my daughter and sign up for nurseries abroad (1 month in Germany, 1 month in China) and nursery prices were 25% ok what I pay in UK.
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?
While I did not have a long waiting time, the main issue was coverage. It was covid time and the nurseries were offering at most 3 days a week (while I was looking a service for 5 days a week). I gradually manage to increment to 4 days and then full week but it took us more than a year. Another challenge was affoordability and quality, as I mentioned previously
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.)
The whole system need to improve in terms of access, quality and affordability. In parallel, some countries also offer "emergency nurseries", which would be particularly helpful for academics (local and visiting scholars). These run as a normal nursery but you can book the day before for them to take care of your child for a couple of hours (or more if needed). Sometimes you can work from home but you need to attend a meeting in person (or go to the doctor!) and you just need care for those irregular events.
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