How Millennials Are Changing Child Care

Jennifer Landis - 19 Jun 18

Making Millennials the butt of generational jokes is on trend, but is it true that Millennials lack dedication and bolster big, self-entitled egos? Millennials decided to stop accepting a toxic work ethic as the norm. Why wear yourself down and waste your life in a work environment and position where you function and miss out on life?

Instead, Millennials turn to a career where they can care for others, feel happy about giving back and achieve something meaningful with their time, working as au pairs or nannies. Many Millennial families must innovate with the economic downturn with their child care options. Their insights and efforts are changing the child care industry for the better.

To Stay at Home, Work or Go to School?

Millennials entered the workforce during an economic and labor market downturn. Many Millennials also waited to have children, if at all, for such reasoning. One in four Millennials raised a child while pursuing their undergraduate degree, and in 19 U.S. states, it costs 50 percent of a median income to afford a child care center. In 48 states, plus D.C., placing two children in child care centers cost a 50 percent minimum of household income.

Child care centers are an expensive option for today’s young families. Seventy-five percent of moms and 50 percent of dads gave up work opportunities or switched jobs to stay at home with the kids because child care got too expensive. The government allocates under 0.5 percent of the GPD on child care. Between 2007 and 2012, the birth rate fell by 15 percent for women in their twenties due to these considerations — to stay at home, work or go to school? Dare they do it all, as their parents said they could?

Millennials force child care centers to adjust to meet the needs of the biggest generation so far. Child care has returned to the home, but that enables Millennials to customize and tailor childhood education toward multicultural and well-rounded learning experiences.

YOLO, So Au Pair

YOLO! It sounds like something you scream after jumping off a cliff, and the feeling is on par with the meaning of “You only live once.” Among Millennials, 72 percent prefer spending on experiences over material items, and traveling provides the richest of experiences.

Millennials don’t expect money to fall from the sky and also want to work while traveling to experience the world authentically, not through a lens. Millennials grew up in one of the most child-centric eras and have eyes for potential and nurturing it. Many of this generation become interested in serving as au pairs during their travels and between schooling, taking the time to learn a new language, learn about a new culture and offer a convenient and well-rounded solution for a family in need of childcare.

Younger Millennials face similar challenges that older Millennials have — the rising costs of education, a need to relocate from an area that lacks opportunity and a thirst to experience the world to know oneself better. Many au pair programs now accommodate all those needs. Susan Hayes, Executive Director of EurAupair, an Intercultural Child Care Program, said “Becoming an Au Pair is an incredible opportunity for anyone with a love for children, travel, and a sense of adventure.” Au Pair’s live with a host family – covering the costs of board and travel – and have accesses to assistance with educational stipends, learning a new language, and sight-seeing opportunities, in addition to regular pay. Millennials want to be a part of the family while giving back and learning more.

Millennials Parents Are Inventively Traditional

Among older Millennials aged 25-34, 10.8 million households have children, and 80 percent of the annual four million births are children of Millennials. Half of the generation raise their kids how they were raised, but they all share modern concerns about the care of their children — 52 percent monitor their kid’s diets, 64 percent factor in environmental concerns, and 61 percent want their children to have more unstructured play time. Millennial parents are more traditional than expected as nearly half believe that a stay-at-home mother offers the best childcare option.

That doesn’t mean that Millennial women stopped working, or that Millennial families don’t seek paid assistance to get the most of out of life and time with their families. Millennials are nanny-sharing — families seeking nanny shares rose by 23 percent. Two or three families share a nanny, gaining more flexibility, communication and opportunities for their children to do their own social networking, all in an affordable way. Families who opt for nanny-sharing often retain two incomes in the household.

When you have to make do, why not innovate? Why not make do in a way that benefits more families and creates a better work-life balance for all?

Millennials are changing the face of the child care industry. Child care costs at centers rose dramatically in the last few years as more Millennials decide to start families but still deal with the economic downturn. Following the Recession, Millennials struggled to find jobs and delayed starting families of their own.

Now, Millennials innovate to balance their personal, professional and family lifestyles. Younger Millennials travel and take on au pair jobs to see more of the world. Older Millennials switch up their careers to take care of their children at home and nanny-share to get out there and lead a fulfilling life as an example for their little ones. You can’t fix what’s broken, but you can change it for the better.

Jennifer Landis

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