Having kids can be expensive. Experts say that daycare, in particular, has never been pricier. Childcare platform Care estimated that center-based daycare for an infant costs around $321 per week and $293 for a toddler. Similarly, home-based infant daycares cost $230, and home-based toddler daycares might set parents back $219 per week.
That’s why many parents turn to family members to babysit and watch their kids. But one aunt sparked a debate about whether that’s fair. After constantly having to babysit her sister’s baby, she started wondering why family members are expected to provide childcare for free. After all, professionals get paid to do it, so why should aunts, grandmas, and cousins do it for free?
