At least in the UK the cost of childcare is a major factor putting people off. People simply can't afford to send a kid to pre-school childcare because it's 2

At least in the UK the cost of childcare is a major factor putting people off. People simply can't afford to send a kid to pre-school childcare because it's 2 or 3 thousand GBP per month. So you have to stay at home to look after them, but then you can't afford the rent/mortgage and/or food because you're not working. Woe betide you if you earn over 1 penny over 100K GBP because then you get zero help with costs. They need to provide more government funded (i.e. universally free non-means-tested) pre-schooling like they do for 5-18 year olds.