Childcare costs in Wales have put some parents out of work and prevented them from having more children.
The Welsh Government is under pressure to bring their childcare plans in line with those of the UK Government in England.
From 2025, parents will receive up to 30 hours a week of free childcare there for children nine months and older.
In Wales, this applies to three and four-year-olds, but a minister said the Welsh Government is planning to extend it to two-year-olds.
Danny Carter, manager of a climbing center in Cardiff, said he ‘constantly’ worries about paying for childcare.
“Our budget is much tighter than ever, but we’re making more than ever,” he said.
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The 32-year-old said he and his partner had recently gotten “significantly” better-paying jobs, but as it meant more days in kindergarten for their two-year-old son, it ended up being a lot worse.
They’ve gone from £200 a month to £900 a day a week.
“It’s a lot of money, it’s a lot more than our mortgage — it’s by far our biggest expense,” he said.
According to children’s charity Coram, childcare prices in Wales have risen faster on average than in England and Scotland – with 50 hours a week for children under two years old, by more than 4% since 2021.
Mr Carter said his son’s nursery recently announced fees would increase from £63 to £70 a day from April.
“There’s no more goodies, we’re living hand to mouth,” he added.
“That shouldn’t be the case. We make £60,000 together. We shouldn’t be so skinny and worry about being able to afford food one week or the next.
“We cannot now plan to have a second child until our son is three years old and eligible for free childcare and the money worries ease a bit.
“It’s an enforced age difference, we’ve always wanted to have more children but we couldn’t afford to have another child now without more support.”
Education and childcare are decentralized so any potential changes to childcare support in Wales will be a matter for the Welsh Government.
Finance Minister Rebecca Evans said the Welsh Government has already budgeted 4,500 extra families with two-year-olds to receive free childcare hours next year.
The Welsh Government is expected to receive a further £180million after Chancellor Jeremy Hunt announced plans to extend free hours of childcare in England.
Ms Evans added: “Obviously we want to do more in this area. The question is, will we have enough funds to move forward and in what timeframe?”
She said ministers needed to sit down and “look at the numbers” to see if there could be further expansion of free childcare in Wales.
Liz Jeffries, 38, has wanted to work more hours since her daughter Elsie turned two last year.
But the mother-of-two, who works part-time as an administrative manager for an estate agent in Abergavenny, Monmouthshire, said she would only take home about an extra £5 a day after childcare was factored in.
“I really wanted to do it, but my decision [to turn down the work] purely for financial reasons.
“Childcare is just so expensive. The situation irritates me because I know I can give more to my current employer, but I am held back by the childcare system.
“I worry it will affect my career because I’m not here that often.”
Ms Jeffries said her daughter would qualify for the Welsh Government’s existing free 30-hour childcare scheme from September but more help was needed.
She added, “Of other people I’ve spoken to about this as well, there are a lot of people out there, all parents, who are being offered more work but can’t take it because of childcare.”
- More of this story on Wales Live on BBC iPlayer
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