PALM BEACH GARDENS, Fla. — A Palm Beach Gardens family is speaking out about the financial strain of child care costs, saying they're being forced to drain their savings despite both parents working full-time jobs as engineers.
"We will have to cut back on food and savings, and have even considered opting out of our 401ks and taking out a loan," said Meghan and Pablo Martinez-Reyes, who contacted us through our Let's Hear It email about their struggle to afford care for their nearly 4-month-old son, Emilio Pablo.
"The mortgage payment with child care payment is just out of our budget, there's absolutely no way we can afford that," said Meghan.
The couple says they earn too much to qualify for financial assistance, but not enough to comfortably cover child care expenses.
"I knew it was going to be expensive but I didn't know it was going to be 15, 16, $1,700 a month," Meghan said.
The family represents a growing number of middle-income households caught in what experts call the child care affordability gap.
Pablo expressed his frustration with their limited options.
"I would love for her to stay at home and take care of our little child but that's just not possible," Pablo said.
Despite both parents working full-time, the couple is struggling to budget for child care expenses.
"This is a problem that a lot of families are facing," Meghan said. "My career is not as important as my child. I will quit my career if it meant that I could care for him, we just can't afford it."
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Here's what you need to make to comfortably afford child care in Florida
According to LendingTree, child care expenses for two children in Florida average $22,000 per year.
The Martinez-Reyes family has discovered that infant care is particularly challenging to secure, and expensive.
"You need to get your spot in a daycare before the baby is born, especially for infant care because the places that do offer it offer usually eight beds at a time," Meghan said, expressing childcare for an infant is expensive and at capacity.
Currently, the family relies on help from grandma while they save money.
However, they're preparing to dip into their savings as baby Emilio begins daycare next month.
The financial pressure is affecting their family planning decisions.
The analysis by LendingTree also found that Florida families require an income of $320,286 to cover child care costs for two children while maintaining financial comfort.
"We want to have a big, happy family, we want to have all these kids... but we can't, one child and we are like bankrupt," Meghan said.
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
