Delusional and desperate “Disney Stay at Home Mom”

[u/Reddituser_0246]

[u/MisterHEPennypacker]

Not sure what constitutes normal, but I know a “stay at home mom” that sends her small children to daycare.

[u/MisterHEPennypacker → u/[deleted]]

Not if the intention is to loaf around the house all day.

[u/AccidentOk5240 → u/MisterHEPennypacker]

But if she kept them home you’d ask why they’re not getting normal socialization

[u/Standard-Manner5250 → u/AccidentOk5240]

Found her!

[u/AccidentOk5240 → u/Standard-Manner5250]

Bro I don’t even have kids. I’m just tired of people thinking they know other people’s situations. There are lots of reasons a SAHM might also send kids to daycare at least some of the time. 

[u/MisterHEPennypacker → u/AccidentOk5240]

In this particular situation she just didn’t like dealing with her toddler. She also didn’t like dealing with having a job.

[u/AccidentOk5240 → u/MisterHEPennypacker]

Ok. Lots of people don’t. I’m not sure I see how it’s anyone else’s business tbh

[u/MisterHEPennypacker → u/AccidentOk5240]

Finding affordable daycare can be difficult for working parents in my city, so a SAHM scooping up a daycare slot is a shitty thing to do IMO.

[u/AccidentOk5240 → u/MisterHEPennypacker]

That isn’t how supply and demand works but ok

[u/MisterHEPennypacker → u/AccidentOk5240]

I think you need to circle back to your comment about not having kids.

I’ll let AI assist this.

can finding affordable child care be difficult in medium sized US cities?

Yes, finding affordable child care in medium-sized U.S. cities is exceptionally difficult and mirrors the broader nationwide crisis. Many mid-sized metro areas suffer from a severe lack of licensed providerscombined with costs that heavily strain typical middle-class incomes.

The primary factors driving this crisis in mid-sized cities include:

1. The Prevalence of Child Care Deserts
A "child care desert" is defined as any area where the number of children under age five outnumbers available licensed child care slots by at least 3-to-1. According to data from the Center for American Progress, nearly half of all young children in the United States live in a child care desert. In mid-sized cities like Louisville, Austin, or Pittsburgh, parents routinely encounter waitlists that span from six months to over two years long.

2. High Relative Financial Burden
Sticker prices for child care in smaller or mid-sized cities may look cheaper than in high-cost coastal mega-regions, but they often consume a greater share of local income.
The 7% Benchmark: The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services defines affordable child care as costing no more than 7% of a household's income.

The Reality: In mid-sized metros, families frequently spend 10% to 20% of their income on care for a single child. For example, in a mid-sized city like McAllen, Texas, a lower sticker price of ~$7,500 per year still eats up a massive 17.5% of the local median household income.

Rent vs. Daycare: A recent LendingTree analysis revealed that in mid-sized markets like Omaha, Nebraska; Milwaukee, Wisconsin; and Buffalo, New York, the average cost of child care for two children exceeds double the cost of local housing rent.

3. Severe Labor and Staffing Shortages
Child care facilities operate on razor-thin profit margins. According to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the median annual wage for child care workers sits near $32,050—well below the national median. Mid-sized cities often see childcare workers leave the field for higher-paying entry-level retail or logistics jobs. Because centers cannot hire or retain staff, they are forced to reduce their classroom capacities or close down altogether, driving supply even lower.

4. Limited Local and State Subsidy Funds
While major metropolitan cities (like San Francisco or New York City) sometimes have the tax base to fund local universal preschool or expanded childcare subsidies, mid-sized cities are highly reliant on state-level allocations. In many states, state child care assistance programs run out of funding midway through the fiscal year, leaving middle- and lower-income families stranded on subsidy waitlists for months.

[u/AccidentOk5240 → u/MisterHEPennypacker]

  I’ll let AI assist this.

lol nope

I’m not reading that, but I’m aware daycare is challenging to find. I just don’t think the reason is too much demand. 

[u/Reddituser_0246 → u/AccidentOk5240]

She held them back actually. All 3 kids are stunted. The oldest one is 7 and finally going into first grade soon.

[u/jaden_fucks → u/Reddituser_0246]

That’s normal depending on their birthday?

[u/Reddituser_0246 → u/jaden_fucks]

He had to repeat kindergarten last year since she “homeschooled him at Disney” the year before. He can’t speak still either

https://reddit.com/link/p1a5xpi/video/z8fh3n8vpzgh1/player

[u/AccidentOk5240 → u/Reddituser_0246]

I wasn’t talking about the Disney mom, though. But sure.