> Might as well hire someone directly, I've assumed these costs are substantially driven by safety regulations-- ratios of children to care givers, facility re

> Might as well hire someone directly, I've assumed these costs are substantially driven by safety regulations-- ratios of children to care givers, facility requirements, training/screening requirements, etc. To the extent that's true, it can explain why hiring someone to watch your child in your home could work out financially. I think it raises questions about what the ideal level of safety is-- no one wants any children to come to harm, but if we turn the knob so far towards safe that becomes so costly to have children that people choose to not have then we've done the greatest harm possible to all the children that never get to exist at all.