Parents Need Their Own AARP

Compared with other wealthy nations, the United States is a uniquely difficult place to raise children. One in four mothers returns to work within two weeks of giving birth, and we’re the only rich country that doesn’t have federally mandated paid leave for new parents. While other wealthy countries invest an average of $14,000 a year for every toddler’s care, America spends $500.

The pandemic sharpened our awareness of these problems—parents left the workforce in droves, child-care centers closed en masse—and yet little has changed. Child care was cut from the recently passed Inflation Reduction Act, leaving families to scrape together funds for a service that now in many states. offerings. Unsurprisingly, the happiness gap between parents and than in any other developed country. Many caregivers here feel scared, exhausted, and in our struggles.