"Neither of us were especially productive since we had such rigid work schedules to follow, and we spent more time in traffic than anything else...While the cost of daycare hurts, it's even harder to swallow when it doesn't make your life easier."

I shopped around quite a bit while I was pregnant with my first child and right after he was born. I checked online mommy groups for advice and drove around my neighborhood. The places I found were not very nice and the biggest red flag was that the kids did not seem happy...

"From the time that my oldest started in daycare at 6 weeks of age until the time that my son finished at age 5, we were in 9 different childcare settings. Every time I thought they were both settled, there was a modification that changed the quality of the situation."

"In child care centers there is high turnover, which is particularly challenging for young children who need stability - yet there are few stable options for those that prefer 2 teachers instead of 1 nanny. "

"I go to work to make ends meet in our home, while worrying that my children are receiving the best care they can from someone who is also receiving a wage far lower than average with no benefits. "

"I learned quickly that many places did not like to give care to anyone under two because of the potty training factor. Also, because the state is tougher on the number of children allowed per care giver, meaning less money and more work for the providers. "

"I've had to pay ridiculous amounts of tuition to find decent pre-K education. I look for small child to adult ratios and well-qualified teachers. I also like to see clean and attractive play spaces both indoors and outdoors..."

"I am a mother of two toddlers and my story is about how difficult a time I had finding affordable care for my children. The cost of childcare for an infant and a two year old would have taken about 80% of my paychecks..."

"The day care my son was in last year was recommended by our university. This is the type of service we got: all the kids' noses were always runny, whenever I came in - my son had a cold all year; the first teacher we had was 18 years old!"

"Quality child care is difficult to find. Affordable quality child care is non-existent. And it's almost impossible to run a household on one income these days. No matter which way we slice it, we are barely making it. "