Double the Joy, Double the Cost: A Twin Mom’s Fight for Affordable Child Care
- Groundwork Ohio
- 6 hours ago
- 4 min read
By Shelley Hill
Advocate, Family Action Network
When I arrived at my first ultrasound for my second pregnancy, I had no intention of going home to show my husband the two dots that appeared on the sonographer’s screen labeled “Baby A” and “Baby B”. And yet, that is exactly what I did.
The tech wasted no time in announcing, “It’s twins!” when placing the ultrasound camera on my stomach, and yet I noticed those two dots just a beat before she spoke and was overcome with many thoughts and emotions. My first thought: I’m never going to sleep again. But not long after breaking the news to my husband, we realized we had to let our daycare provider know that we were having TWO babies, as soon as possible. And then the next thought came: how are we going to afford twins?
Our firstborn was almost three years old and attended daycare three days a week when we found out we were having twins. My husband and I both worked fulltime jobs. We were fortunate to have a wonderful in-home child care provider who we soon informed that we would be welcoming home twins in the coming Spring. We had many conversations with her on the logistics of enrolling twin infants into her daycare, and throughout those conversations she shared with us that, despite having another caregiver working with her, she would not have the capacity to take on both infants at the same time. We appreciated her transparency and intention in ensuring that she could give proper care to all the children in her daycare. While my husband and I were conflicted by this, an honest perspective told us that we wouldn’t have been able to afford to send all three of our children to daycare at the same time anyway.
Throughout the months preparing for our twins, we worked out a situation with our daycare provider that was not ideal, but we would have to make work: our firstborn would continue to attend daycare three days a week, and one of the twins would attend with her. We would alternate which twin went to daycare and which twin stayed home. My husband began working a job that was fully remote and my job allowed me to work from home two days a week.
Our reality looked like my husband being both a full-time employee and a full-time dad simultaneously. On the days that I was working from home, all three of our children were home with us. If it sounds chaotic, it’s because it was. It is a parenting memory that we often reminisce about and say to each other, “How did we do it? How did we make it through that season?” And yet, as parents, there are so many things we just do because we must. But the difference with this situation is, we shouldn’t have had to. As two full-time working parents in the middle-class tax bracket, we shouldn’t have had to worry about affording childcare for our children. As two full-time working parents, we could hardly afford to send two out of our three children to daycare three days a week. After the costs of diapers and supplemental formula and all the other items we now had to buy an extra of due to having two infants, our budget was strapped and did not afford us the option to focus on our jobs during working hours because we were also splitting our physical, mental, and emotional energy and attention being parents with our children being home with us. Monday through Friday, we were not afforded the so-called luxury of giving 100% to either our children or our jobs. One was constantly being sacrificed for the other.
And that is just part of our story. I recall thinking empathetically about mothers who
welcome a singleton, twins, or triplets into the world without the basic stability and
relational support that my husband and I had during that time. I have great compassion on mothers of multiples who live in low-income households, struggling significantly more than we did to make ends meet and sacrificing well beyond what they should ever have to. Many families face a reality that keeps them locked into a despondent cycle: unable to find quality childcare which prevents them from finding and keeping a stable job, and unable to find and keep a stable job because they are unable to find quality childcare.
My husband and I were blessed, in so many ways, but it always came a price and with a sacrifice that should never have been justified. And I know if we needed the support, then there are certainly countless other families out there who need the support even more.
Our children are Ohio’s future: the future parents, workforce, and voting constituents. It is my hope and prayer that my children will be able to look back and see that their mom advocated and fought on their behalf to give them the best chance at a fruitful and purposeful life. Our children will grow up and see how much the generations before them valued and cared for them based on the actions we take today to give them the best opportunities and the best future. And if we don’t take care of the parents of today, how can we expect our children to grow up desiring to raise families of their own? Investing in the parents and children of today demonstrates an investment in and great care for the families of tomorrow.
Your Voice Matters—Share Your Story
Shelley’s story is a powerful reminder that behind every policy are real families doing their best to raise thriving children. If her experience resonates with you, we invite you to share your own. Whether you’ve faced challenges or found support in Ohio’s early childhood systems, your story can help drive the changes families need. Take a moment to complete our story collection form—because when families speak up, policymakers listen.