How the cost of childcare pushed this twin mom out of the labor force

The day Sarah Burger learned she was pregnant with twins, she realized two things. One: She and her husband needed a bigger car. And two: She needed to quit her job.

Burger was well-acquainted with the cost of childcare. When her first son was born, she shopped around for daycare in Buffalo, New York, and found a good one that cost around $1,700 a month.

Sitting in her car at the doctor’s office after learning she’d soon have three kids instead of one, Burger started doing math on her salary as a director of sustainability at a nonprofit.

“I was thinking about $1,700 times three,” she said. “I was like, ‘I know what my weekly pay take-home pay is, I know what my husband's weekly take-home pay is, and we just don't have that amount of money.’”

The cost of childcare in the U.S has risen faster than inflation in the past few years. The Economic Policy Institute found childcare is more expensive than public college tuition in 38 states and Washington, D.C.

Her husband’s job at a for-profit company had better health insurance and much more reliable salary increases, making her the logical choice to stay at home with the kids. “As long as I could tolerate doing it, there was really only one answer,” she said.

Women are far more likely than men to leave their jobs to provide childcare. One survey of women who exited the labor force last found that 42% of them reported that caregiving responsibilities drove their decision.

Burger said she’s more conscious than ever about her role in the economy, even though she no longer collects a paycheck.

“I do all of the household administration, I do all of our budgeting, and I make all of the money decisions,” she said. “When you become a stay-at-home parent, in some ways you're like, relegated to the sidelines, but you're playing so much more of a controlling role.”

Click the audio player above to hear Burger’s story.