The survey has shown that one in five parents in the UK have decided to reduce their working hours or give up work completely because they are struggling to meet their childcare costs.
The cost of childcare is an enormous financial issue in many families with over a quarter of the same parents saying that treats in 2015 will be few and far between if they are to continue paying the same fees.
Even more worryingly, 16% of the parents questioned said that cutting back on essentials will also be necessary in the new year and over half of the people who took part in the poll believe that there is a responsibility on political parties to help more with costs.
Acknowledging the difficulty that working parents are facing today, shadow education secretary Tristram Hunt has said that while wages were down by £1600, childcare costs had rocketed by 30%, thereby leaving parents in a very awkward position.
In a bid to meet the needs of struggling families, the politician went on to say: “We will increase free childcare for working parents with three and four-year-olds from 15 to 25 hours, making a real difference to hard pressed parents.”
