I pay 17% of my monthly income on childcare for one kid, which comes is equal to 76% of my rent. We’re currently expecting baby #2 and managed to *barely* avoid double daycare bills, thank god. I didn’t want such a big gap between kids but I don’t know how we could have afforded it.

Truly, everyone I know at my kid’s school either has grandparents nearby who help by keeping the little ones half the week, or they are high-income families (where both parents bring in big salaries) who don’t worry about money anyway.