A mom explains why she prefers to work and pay $5k a month on childcare and she has a point

Many families cannot afford childcare for their children. According to a 2020 report, the national average annual cost of childcare in America was $10,174 per kid. However, the families that end up paying for childcare often are questioned about why the moms don't quit working so the cost could be avoided. And a mother on TikTok gave a perfect explanation, as reported by ScaryMommy. "My husband and I pay $5k for childcare for our 4 kids and the question after that when somebody finds that out is why do you work?" says @sheisapaigeturner in the video.

She continues, "And the question is always directed at me. And the question is, do you make enough to warrant that? Do you have any money left over? Doesn't it make more sense for you to stay at home?" Turner goes on to say, "In our scenario where my husband and I are similar earners are on the year earnings are very similar. It doesn't make sense for one of us to stay at home right now." The mom goes on to say that she is not going to be a mother of young kids "forever." "I'm a mother of young kids for 5-10 years, depending on how widespread the children are. And for me, 4 years from now, my youngest child will be in full-time school, I will still have the cost of school, after-school programs, kid's activities, enrichment all that. But I will not have the cost of childcare. There's an end date to that," says Turner.

"And me, stepping away from work for 5 to 10 years would throw me back from where I want to go," adds Turner. "And the life I want to live after my children are out of daycare. So right now, we're really not taking a lot of family vacations, we are not traveling far and wide with our children. We are doing what we can, we're doing location vacations right." Turner says, "But in 4 years, my youngest is 5, the oldest is 9 or 10, that's a different world for us." "We have a different life ahead of us and I'm not just planning for the next 4 years. I'm planning for the next 20-30 years for my life and my kids' life. And I know what's important to me," explains the mother. She also wants people to understand that these are not the right questions to ask, "The question should be does it make sense with your combined income that one of you stay home? Which one of you would stay home? Not why do you work Paige," shares Turner.

The video went viral with 561k views and is captioned, "The value in my career outweighs the cost of childcare for the next 4 years. My life is long and I am not just planning for today but planning for my and my family's future in mind." Many could relate to what the mom shared. @uhojmaddieeeeee commented, "It never fails that the 'why aren’t you staying home' question is always directed at the mom? why is the dad’s career worth more??" @rachelrosewood pointed out, "This is a really really great viewpoint!! I’m a SAHM, but this is so empowering for moms who want to work!" @osnapitzbrit wrote, "This is also why more people aren’t having kids, period. Can’t afford childcare, but I also can’t afford to not work." @kathleen.post expressed, "Not that you need to explain yourself, but this is a great explanation."

Image Source: TikTok/ @sheispaigeturner

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