Seven in 10 Parents Say Raising Kids Takes a Bigger Village Than It Did a Generation Ago, While Finding Child Care Can Take 39 Hours

Raising young children has become a shared responsibility for many American families, with 71% of parents saying they need to place more trust in other people than their own parents did, according to a nationwide survey featured in the New York Post’s September 9, 2026, report. The poll focused on parents raising children between birth and age six, a stage when families often make important decisions about supervision, early education, and daily routines. Its findings suggest that the familiar idea of needing a village to raise a child remains relevant, but parents increasingly see that village as extending beyond their immediate families.

The survey examined what parents look for when choosing people and organizations to help care for their children. Respondents identified concerns ranging from safety and emotional development to affordability, reliability, and the availability of suitable providers. Their answers reveal that finding dependable childcare involves more than locating someone who can watch a child while a parent works.

Who Participated in the Survey and How It Was Conducted

The research was commissioned by The Goddard School and conducted by Talker Research, with findings published in the school’s September 2026 survey release. Researchers surveyed 2,000 parents of children ages zero through six between July 17 and July 27, 2026. The online survey was limited to parents with internet access, meaning its findings represent the responses of that particular group rather than a direct measurement of every American family’s experience.

The questionnaire explored how parents find childcare, which qualities matter most when selecting a provider, and what obstacles interfere with their choices. Because the research was commissioned by an early-childhood education company, the results should be understood as a commissioned survey of parents’ reported views. The comparison with a previous generation reflects how today’s respondents perceive their own circumstances, rather than a direct comparison between two generations surveyed using the same questions.

Families Are Juggling Different Work and Parenting Arrangements

The survey did not reveal one standard household arrangement among the parents who participated. Twenty-eight percent reported living in dual-income households, while 22% identified as single parents. Another 18% described households with one full-time working parent and one stay-at-home parent, while 11% had one full-time and one part-time worker and another 11% had two part-time workers.

Separate employment figures from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics offer additional context for understanding the role of work in family life. In 2025, both parents were employed in 62.2% of married-couple families with children under age six, while 35.6% had only one employed parent. Those national employment figures come from a separate dataset, but they demonstrate why childcare arrangements matter to households with different work schedules.

Childcare Can Determine Whether Parents Keep Working

For many dual-income families surveyed, employment was not simply a preference that could easily be set aside when childcare became difficult. Nine in ten respondents in dual-income households said they worked out of necessity. That finding highlights how important dependable care can be when parents need to maintain their household income.

The survey also examined what would happen if families lost access to their existing childcare provider. Twenty-seven percent of parents using childcare said one parent would need to reduce working hours, while 26% said one parent would have to leave the workforce entirely. Another 35% said both parents would need to adjust their schedules, illustrating how a childcare disruption could affect an entire household rather than just the hours a child spends with a caregiver.

The Support Network Often Includes Relatives, Friends, and Professionals

Most parents surveyed were already receiving some form of childcare assistance, with 82% reporting that they used at least one type of arrangement. Immediate family members were the most frequently reported source, cited by 43% of respondents, followed by friends at 25%. Early-childhood education providers accounted for 24%, traditional daycares for 19%, and nannies or dedicated babysitters for 14%.

These figures show that the support parents rely on can come from both personal relationships and organized childcare services. The results also illustrate why a family’s network cannot always be described as a single source of assistance. Relatives, friends, and professional caregivers serve different roles, and the survey’s reported figures do not establish that every household uses the same combination.

Parents Spend Considerable Time Researching Childcare Providers

Finding childcare is not necessarily a quick decision, particularly when parents are choosing a formal early-education program or traditional daycare. The survey found that parents using those types of providers spent an average of 39 hours researching their options before making a choice. That is nearly the length of a full working week devoted to finding suitable care for a young child.

Parents described several ways of investigating potential providers before trusting them with their children. Twenty-seven percent researched providers through their websites, 26% had telephone conversations, and another 26% reviewed their social media channels. These answers show that parents were gathering information through multiple channels rather than relying exclusively on an initial impression or recommendation.

Safety and Emotional Development Rank High on Parents’ Priorities

Parents were not simply looking for someone who could supervise their children until the workday ended. In the survey, 36% identified support for social and emotional development as the most important quality in a childcare provider. A trusted reputation ranked nearly as highly at 35%, while 33% emphasized the importance of a safe and secure campus.

Those priorities reveal the different responsibilities parents associate with professional childcare. A provider must be someone parents feel comfortable trusting with their children, while also offering an environment that supports their well-being. Safety and development may be separate considerations, but the survey suggests that families want both addressed when evaluating their options.

Caregivers Are Expected to Help Children Learn and Socialize

Parents also described expectations extending beyond basic supervision when asked what they wanted caregivers to focus on. Socialization was the leading priority in this category, cited by 43% of respondents, followed by social and emotional development at 38%. Encouraging creativity and building confidence each received 37%, while supporting problem-solving skills was selected by 34%.

These responses suggest that parents consider the quality of a child’s time in care an important part of the decision. The people looking after their children are expected to help create opportunities for interaction, learning, and personal growth. For families weighing different providers, these developmental goals add another layer to the search beyond determining whether a location is convenient or available.

School Readiness Is Another Important Consideration

The survey also found that parents were thinking about what happens after the earliest years of childhood. Eighty-six percent said school readiness was an important focus when selecting a childcare provider. That result suggests many families consider the transition into formal schooling while evaluating arrangements for their younger children.

A similarly large share of respondents viewed the financial commitment as worthwhile. Eighty-one percent agreed that paying for quality early education was an investment in a child’s future. However, believing that early education has value does not automatically mean every family can afford its preferred option, particularly when other household expenses compete for the same income.

Cost Remains the Biggest Obstacle to Choosing Childcare

Financial considerations emerged as the leading barrier parents reported when trying to select childcare. Forty-one percent identified cost as an obstacle, making it the most frequently cited problem in the survey. Reliability followed at 33%, while 28% reported difficulties involving waitlists or unavailable places, and 25% pointed to operating hours that did not fit their schedules.

The results illustrate how several obstacles can limit a family’s choices at the same time. A provider may fit a child’s developmental needs but exceed the household budget, while another affordable option may have a long waiting list or inconvenient hours. Consequently, identifying a preferred childcare arrangement does not necessarily mean a family can secure it.

National Childcare Prices Help Explain the Financial Pressure

Broader figures from Child Care Aware of America provide additional context for the financial concerns recorded in the survey. Its 2025 Price and Supply report, published in May 2026, estimated the national average annual price of childcare at $13,184. According to the report, that amount represented approximately 10% of the median income of married couples with children and 33% of the median income of single parents with children.

The report also documented limited progress in the supply of childcare options during 2025. The number of licensed childcare centers decreased by about 1%, while the number of family childcare homes increased by approximately 1.4%. These figures help explain why finding suitable care may involve both a financial calculation and a search for an available provider, although conditions vary considerably by state and community.

Another National Survey Found Similar Problems With Cost and Availability

A separate 2026 National Parent Survey from New America’s New Practice Lab examined the experiences of 5,472 parents and primary caregivers of children ages five and younger across all 50 states and the District of Columbia. Conducted in partnership with NORC at the University of Chicago, the nationally representative survey was fielded between January 16 and February 2, 2026. Its broader questionnaire examined childcare arrangements, work schedules, parental leave, finances, and the amount of time families wanted to spend together.

Among parents whose current childcare arrangements fell short of their preferred setup, 54% identified cost as their biggest barrier. Approximately one-quarter of parents facing that gap also cited limitations in the supply or availability of care. The same research found that 72% of parents with young children wanted more quality time with their children, suggesting that the challenge extends beyond paying for supervision to finding an arrangement that fits the family’s wider needs.

Many Parents Are Also Responsible for Caring for Older Relatives

The demands on families do not necessarily end with finding suitable care for young children. New America’s survey found that 28% of parents with children under six regularly provided care for an older adult family member, representing more than seven million Americans by the report’s estimate. These parents were balancing responsibilities for two generations of relatives rather than focusing exclusively on their young children.

The burden was not distributed evenly across income groups. Thirty-six percent of lower-income parents reported regularly caring for an older adult, compared with 25% of higher-income parents. This additional responsibility can make time, financial resources, and reliable support especially important for households already working through childcare challenges.

The Numbers Reveal What Parents Mean by a Bigger Village

The survey’s central finding captures how parents view the support they need, but it does not prove that every family today faces greater childcare demands than families did one generation ago. Its 71% figure measures respondents’ perceptions, and the survey did not directly compare today’s parents with members of the previous generation using the same research questions. The findings are therefore best understood as a snapshot of how parents with young children assess their present circumstances.

Taken together, the findings point to a network of needs that extends beyond occasional help from relatives or friends. Parents reported looking for safe environments, dependable providers, developmental opportunities, affordable options, and schedules compatible with working life. For many families, a bigger village may mean a wider circle of trusted people, but it may also mean having access to childcare that fits their children’s needs and their household’s financial and practical realities.