Many parents are struggling with childcare costs – so how do we solve the crisis?

Parents in the UK pay the highest fees of any developed country while early years providers are shutting in their droves. Rebecca Goodman asks what can be done about an escalating problem

Getting creative: experts have a number of ideas on how to better fund childcare (Getty)

The cost of childcare was not something I’d given much thought to until I had my first baby in 2019 and calculated that if she were to go into nursery full time, we’d be left with a bill of around £17,000 a year.

Instead, she had three days a week for two years, which is what my now seven-month-old baby will do. Yet that will cost a total of £40,800 for two children.

In the UK parents pay the highest fees of any developed country, according to the OECD, and some pay 65 per cent of their wages in fees, according to research from Business in the Community, The Prince’s Responsible Business Network.