Daycare should really receive government subsidy - the extra income tax they earn can be used to cover the gap. In The Netherlands we have a 33/33/33 model - p

Daycare should really receive government subsidy - the extra income tax they earn can be used to cover the gap. In The Netherlands we have a 33/33/33 model - parents pay 33% of the costs, the state pays 33% and the parent's employers pay 33% (which is an extra charge split over all workers). In recent years they've tweaked the model: parents with 2 x modal income pay 100% of the costs (and their employers also pay 33%). Only the lowest incomes hit 33/33/33. For the 2nd+ children the subsidy is much higher for all income groups. We send our son to daycare for 2 days a week, costing ~700 EUR/month. My wife works 36hrs (4x9) and I work 40hrs (4x9,1x4 at home). Grandma/pa do one day (the other grandparents live in the UK). I really like this mix - he gets 4/days week of parents, 2/days a week playing with other kids and 1 day of being spoilt by grandparents.