WASHINGTON (TND) — According to a new study from the Federal Reserve, the percentage of parents who say they're doing "ok" financially, significantly dropped in 2023. Two big reasons why, are childcare and grocery prices.
"It's so expensive to give a child the number of blueberries and strawberries and blackberries and raspberries that they want to eat in a day," said Sarah Lam, a married mother of two living in suburban Pennsylvania.
On top of the grocery prices, Lam says to send her two daughters to daycare, which costs $2,500/month.
Currently, Lam and her husband are a bit more established in their careers so they can afford to send their kids to daycare. But things were different a few years ago.
"It was like keep a roof over our head, feed your kids, make sure that they get the formula and the diapers and the wipes," said Lam.
Ben Hansen, an economics professor at the University of Oregon, said that not only are prices going up, but financial aid provided during the pandemic, such as expanded child tax credits, no longer exists.
"If you lose $3,000 a year that was essentially being set aside for you to be a parent, whether or not that's paying for child care costs or paying for groceries, you're going to feel that," Hansen said.
Because of the rising costs, Tom Smith, an economics professor at Emory University said, some families are now being forced to make tough decisions, like becoming a single-income household.
I think a lot of families are doing the math and coming up with the realization that it doesn't make sense to be a two earner household," said Smith.ncG1vNJzZmivmpawtcKNnKamZ56axLR7zZqroqeeYsSwvsudZpygmaGxbq%2FAq5xmm5%2BowbR5xqumnJ2inrK0edKtqZ6sk522r7OMqZirnZ6pwG7Ax6KlZp6Zo66vr8iao6WxXZuypbHRmqNmqpWosrPCxGaqra2Urnqwt4ydmLKbkaeybq%2FAq5yeql2ivK%2Bx2GanmqaUmrqqr4yipZ%2Bkkam2sLqMnpqopp%2Bixm6%2FyKeepZ1dnruku8yeZK2ZqGKws7HDoqus