Tanya Taylor | Tacoma

Our area needs more quality childcare choices and a better funding solution for both parents and providers. I have finally found a consistently quality care environment for my two children, Curtis (6) and Bryna (10 mos.). Financially, I was only able to stay home with my son for a year. I first tried a family friend as a care provider, but she used the TV as the babysitter and turned my son into a huge fan of Chef Boyardee. I then found what I thought was a quality care place that seemed to be a dream in the beginning -- and it cost $7,800 a year for just one child. That expense almost had us deciding not to have a second child. While this in-home setting with a preschool program seemed to be a dream at first, it turned out that the owner of this place had some issues of her own. Soon, staff started changing frequently and we noticed the care of our children to be deteriorating. Furthermore, with 2 children in daycare, this place charged $305 per week. Had we stayed, we would have paid $15,860 -- almost 20% of our gross income!

With my son starting kindergarten this past fall, I started looking for a new childcare option near our home and his school. When we found our current daycare provider, she had a spot for my son, but not my daughter. Luckily, just before we moved Curtis over, they ended up with a space for Bryna, too. We now pay $1,000 per month for an infant and a school-ager. While this is significantly less than the previous location with a much higher quality, we will still be paying over $140,000 over the life of our children requiring day care.

I have to say, that even though we, as middle-class parents, cannot afford to pay more, the quality providers deserve more. They work very long hours and are taking care of our most important assets!

Kristin Wiggins | Seattle

My son is 2 ½. We are in the thick of preschool application season, and there is much we can say about it; mainly we are prepared for the worst but hoping for the best.

This is the second exhaustive search we have conducted. The first for infant-toddler care resulted in a 100% turn-down rate over a search time period of 3 years which involved doing research on 14+ child care centers and homes, attending 9+ tours, applying to 6+ centers (sometimes paying $100/center to wait list), and being rejected from every single one we formally applied to or inquired about over a 3-year period because they had no space for our son. Three years ago, full-time infant care cost $1,100-$1,800+/month in our area of Seattle.

Now, we’re dealing with a 50% turn-down rate for my son’s acceptance into a 3-4-year-olds preschool class. In the past few weeks, we have toured 5 preschools, applied to all five at $25-55/application, and will continue through the additional steps for each school (e.g. I will observe the classroom in-session and I will take my son in for an "observed play date" by school teachers in the school’s classroom).

With admission into part-time private preschool, primarily the issues are accessibility and affordability which I can say are very significant challenges for private-pay families in my area. Based on our research, annual tuitions for part-time care (6-16 hours/week) start at the $4,000-$6,200 range and go as high as $12,000+ for 16 hours/week. Yes, that's for part-time care in the months of September - June with many breaks woven in. There are also application fees and each school often has arts and/or activity fees of $200+, and sometimes parents rotate the snack responsibility to share costs.

Yes, we care about quality. In fact, that is our primary concern along with making sure the school location and schedule are good matches for our family. Quality to us means learning activities are developmentally-appropriate and fun for 3- and 4-year-olds and teachers who nurture development of the whole child and are not just focused on academics.

The stakes are high. Parents often feel like getting their child into a good, affordable preschool matters not just for this child, but all the children they have in the future, as most school offer priority for siblings in admissions.

What I say to policymakers: child care and preschool affordability and accessibility are immediate, urgent needs to address. Quality is also important, and it is unfortunate the responsibility lies entirely on parents to decipher quality.

What I say to my fellow parents: you are even more dedicated to, resourceful, and creative at finding quality care than I ever realized for before I became a parent!

Randall DuBois | Woodinville

We were so horrified by the prospects and costs of child care that we ended up just working alternate shifts so that one of us was always home with our children. We have less family time together, but never worry about who is watching our kids.

Leah | Seattle

Quality child care is difficult to find. Affordable, quality child care is non-existent. And it’s almost impossible to run a household on one income these days. We have paid over $15,000 a year for childcare for our kids. And no matter which way we slice it, we are barely making it. However, having one person stay home hasn’t been an option. We had a 2nd child, and then we realized that on an average middle-class income, we could no longer afford child care.

Jessica Winsheimer | Port Townsend

With the little wage and no benefits I receive for working this important job, it hardly makes it worth being away from my own children. After all, I am shaping and molding the next generation. Ever heard the saying "Everything I ever needed to know I learned in Kindergarten?" My point is: I go to work to make ends meet in our home, while worrying that my children are receiving the best care they can from someone who is also receiving a wage far lower than average with no benefits. What is on their minds at work? How did we get to be a society that gives no credit or proper wages to educators???

Inga Note | Spokane

The cost of child care in this country is ridiculous. I just had a baby and will be returning to work in September. Most of the large child care centers charge $750 a month. My husband and I are employed as an engineer and an attorney. We are not rich but make just enough that we can’t write off the childcare expense on our taxes. The income limit should be removed so that everyone can deduct child care on their federal taxes.

Shannon Blood | Lacey

My son was in ECEAP (Early Childhood Education and Assistance Program) during his preschool years at what was then Evergreen Vista Child Care. The staff was fabulous – caring, competent, down-to-earth, and took great pains to ensure that the preschool and child care they offered was "comprehensive" and inclusive of both child and parent.

Jennifer Overton | Seattle

I am still paying back the childcare for my son who is now 13 and starting high school. The crazy thing is I will be still paying the cost of daycare off when he is in college. I had to take out additional student loans to cover the cost of daycare.I was a junior in college when we had our son and continued my degree program at the UW. I am now a science teacher in Washington state. I think high-quality child care is very expensive, and it’s hard to find openings in the Seattle area.